TxDOT employee “agent” or ROWAPS provider

Court record of court where proceedings are pending.

As soon as warrant is received and Notice is completed.

Ensure the Cause Number is on the document.

If objections were filed, notify appraiser of the need to photograph and inspect the property on the date of deposit.

Ensure a receipt for the deposit is obtained.

Send file-marked copy to the AAG and upload to OnBase. Include a copy of receipt of the warrant by the clerk of the court.

Usually the Notice of Deposit is done in conjunction with a Judgment in Absence of Objections. Whether objections have or have not been filed, the depositing of the funds in the registry of the court is the action that transfers possession of the property to the State.

The Notice of Deposit pleading form will be prepared locally by TxDOT employee or ROWAPS provider in order to expedite the commissioners' award funds being deposited into the registry of the court. The Notice of Deposit and the Certificate of Service will be signed by an agent for TxDOT (either a TxDOT employee or a ROWAPS provider) and will then be delivered and filed with the proper court clerk along with the warrant. All parties to the suit, or their attorneys of record if they have one, need to be listed in the certificate of service portion of the form. The date in the certificate is to be the date the warrant and Notice of Deposit are delivered to the court clerk.

On this same date,

copies

must

be transmitted to all parties or their attorneys of record as stated in the certificate. If transmitted by mail, utilize certified mail, return receipt requested. Sufficient copies of the signed Notice of Deposit should be made so that all of the parties or attorneys of record as listed in the Notice are properly served with such copies, as stated in the certificate. Note that the Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule 21a) provide that service by mail shall be complete upon mailing by certified mail (depositing the properly addressed and postage paid envelope) in a post office or official depository under the care and custody of the United States Postal Service.

If service is by telephonic document transfer (fax) it must be accomplished before 5 p.m. (local time of the recipient) of the date in the certificate, as Rule 21a provides that any such notice by telephonic document transfer after 5 p.m. (local time of the recipient) shall be deemed served on the following day.

The court clerk's receipt showing the date the deposit was made into the registry of the court will be obtained and retained by TxDOT, with copies of this receipt to be forwarded immediately to the Assistant Attorney General handling the proceeding, in order to document the date possession is taken by the State.

To preclude unnecessary payment of interest when no objections are filed to the award, the State's warrant must be deposited into the registry of the court prior to or no later than the date that the Judgment in Absence of Objections is signed by the judge of the court in which the proceedings were held.