[tx] Landlord Charging Me $2,695 For A Shower Pan Replacement, Took 5 Weeks To Provide Any Evidence, And Now Says The Justification Document Is "proprietary." Do I Have A Case?

Location: Dallas, Texas

I moved out of an apartment owned and operated by a large corporation with tens of thousands of units across the country at the end of February 2026. They sent me a final statement and the biggest charge was $2,695 for a full shower pan replacement.

I had no idea what the damage even was so I requested proof on March 9th. They initially responded that the damage was caused by "tenant/pet" which was extremely vague and still gave me no idea what was actually damaged. After many follow ups and phone calls they finally provided an invoice on April 9th — but the entire description just said they completed the "approved scope" with no additional notes on what that scope actually was.

After a couple more follow ups asking for the defined scope, they responded on April 13th that their internal written assessments by their own maintenance team and the vendor are "internal documents and proprietary" and they won't be sharing them.

They do point to a stain in the inspection photo as the damage. It's from a shampoo bottle that sat in the corner of the shower pan and never got moved. I've been able to clean that type of stain before. There's also a possibility the stain is rust from the bottom of the bottle. Their stated reason for the full replacement is that they couldn't remove it using "standard cleaning methods."

My questions:

1. It took them an extremely long time to provide any evidence, with multiple commitments from management falling through. Does that constitute bad faith under Texas law?
2. I understand the concept of internal documents, but can they really withhold documentation that is directly tied to a charge they are billing me for?
3. Don't landlords have a duty to mitigate costs? Even if it is rust and standard cleaning didn't work, shouldn't they be required to try stronger rust-removing chemicals before jumping to full replacement? And if that doesn't work, reglazing and repainting the shower pan is common industry practice and would cost a fraction of $2,695.

Notes:

I had to pay the full balance because they threatened to send it to collections before they even finished gathering their own evidence. I sent them a written notice the same day stating I was paying under duress and reserving my right to pursue recovery in small claims court. I plan on filing in JP court depending on the feedback here.