Yunan Zhou, a Houston landlord, lost her appeal when the Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals affirmed a lower‑court ruling that returned a $2,600 security deposit to tenants Adrienne and Corey Rawlings – a decision reached on Oct. 15, 2026. The court corrected the damages calculation, setting the total award at $7,800 and trimming incorrect prejudgment interest from $3,019.36 to $158.
The dispute began when the Rawlingses vacated a three‑bedroom rental in 2024, after which Zhou claimed the unit needed repairs, cleaning, rekeying and painting. She held the deposit and sued the couple for alleged breach of contract and fraud. The tenants counter‑claimed statutory damages and challenged the landlord’s withholding.
Harris County’s County Civil Court at Law No. 2 heard the case without a jury. The judge ruled against Zhou, awarding the Rawlingses damages under Texas’s security‑deposit law, prejudgment interest, attorney’s fees, costs and post‑judgment interest. Zhou appealed, arguing the trial record was incomplete and that the tenants had failed to provide a forwarding address.
The appellate court found no transcript of the trial, which meant the record was incomplete. It held that a party challenging evidence must supply a complete appellate record; without it, the court presumed the trial court’s findings were correct. Zhou’s fraud claim was dismissed as unsupported by the record.
In correcting the judgment, the court agreed that the original $2,600 deposit had been counted twice in the $7,800 treble‑damages award and removed the duplicate. It also recalculated prejudgment interest to $158, reflecting the true time value of money. The attorney‑fee award stood, as Zhou could not prove the basis for it.
The Rawlingses, a married couple who recently relocated for a new job, now have the deposit back and a clear legal victory. The case underscores the importance of proper documentation for landlords and the power of the Texas appellate system to enforce statutory protections for tenants.