In an early jurisdictional ruling that Texas litigators will want to watch closely, the Texas Business Court has sent a former Exxon Mobil executive’s $5 million racial discrimination suit back to state district court, holding that the court’s enabling statute does not reach employment disputes. The decision marks one of the clearer signals yet about how narrowly the new court may read its own authority.

The case arose from claims by a former Exxon executive alleging race-based discrimination and seeking substantial damages.