Fifteenth Court Holds 'Action' Means Entire Lawsuit, Not Individual Claims, for Business Court Removal Eligibility

The Fifteenth Court of Appeals denied mandamus relief to relators seeking to remove derivative claims filed in December 2024 from a divorce action commenced in July 2024, holding that the term "civil action" in the Business Court Act's effective-date provision refers to the entire lawsuit—not individual claims added later—and thus the Act does not apply to any part of a case filed before September 1, 2024. The decision reinforces In re ETC Field Services and rejects arguments that later-added commercial claims could be severed and removed as a separate "action."