Few writs of mandamus are granted in Dallas, so when I see one in the daily case updates I like to check the opinion out. I was glad I did so today! The Dallas Court of Appeals issued an informative opinion today conditionally granting a writ of mandamus to vacate an order that compelled the production
Special Appearance
Personal Jurisdiction Notes
By Mike Northrup on
Posted in Special Appearance
Personal Jurisdiction challenges is one area of the law that I’ve found interesting since I took Dean Frank Newton’s conflicts of law class in law school. Recently there have been a number of personal jurisdiction opinions that have come out. I’ve summarized what I see as the highlights of some of those cases below:
- In Jackson
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Waiver of Special Appearances in Default Challenges
By Mike Northrup on
Posted in Special Appearance
The San Antonio Court of Appeals has held that a party challenging a default judgment may well risk losing the opportunity to challenge the exercise of personal jurisdiction over him unless special precautions are taken.
In Boyd v. Kobierowski, Kobierowski, a Texas resident, sued Boyd, a California resident, in Texas for breach of contract, fraud, misrepresentation and DTPA violations. All causes of action arose from the sale of a vehicle Boyd sold to Kobierowski.
Boyd did not answer the suit and Kobierowski took a default judgment against Boyd. Boyd subsequently filed a restricted appeal to challenge the default judgment. He prevailed on appeal because of a defect in personal service. See Appeal No. 04-06-0041-CV.
On remand, Kobierowski repeatedly tried to get Boyd to answer the suit, but Boyd did not respond. Kobierowski then took a second default judgment. Boyd subsequently filed a special appearance and a motion for new trial subject to the special appearance. The trial court denied the special appearance, but granted the motion for new trial. In a second (interlocutory) appeal, Boyd argued that it was error to deny his special appearance.Continue Reading Waiver of Special Appearances in Default Challenges
Disqualification Requires Notice and Evidentiary Hearing
By Byron Henry on
Posted in Mandamus, Opinions & Judgments
The Corpus Christi Court of Appeals recently held that a respondent is entitled to notice and an evidentiary hearing before having its counsel disqualified. First, the court determined it had jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus against a presiding judge of a administrative judicial district because the judge was acting in the capacity of…
Party Ordered to Sign Medical Records Authorization
By Byron Henry on
The Amarillo Court of Appeals recently held that a party may be ordered to sign a medical records authorization in response to a request for disclosure pursuant to TRCP 194.2. The defendant served a request for disclosures including a request for execution of an authorization to release medical records under Rule 194.2(j). The plaintiffs argued they could respond by…
Pro Se Letter Waived Special Appearance
By Byron Henry on
Posted in Opinions & Judgments, Special Appearance
The Dallas Court of Appeals held that a pro se letter from an Illinois resident denying liability and requesting an extension of time to retain counsel and file a "complete answer" waived the defendant’s subsequent special appearance. The defendant argued that the letter did not consitute an answer. The court held that the letter constituted an answer. …
Tax Returns Not Relevant to Net Worth
By Byron Henry on
Posted in Discovery, Opinions & Judgments
In this mandamus action, the Eastland Court of Appeals held that federal tax returns are not relevant or material to the issue of the defendant’s net worth. While the court of appeals held that a plaintiff seeking exemplary damages need not make a prima facie showing of entitlement of exemplary damages in order to obtain discovery on…
En Banc Fifth Circuit Orders Volkswagen Case Transferred
By Byron Henry on
"The overarching question before the en banc Court is whether a writ of mandamus should issue directing the transfer of this case from the Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas–which has no connection to the parties, the witnesses, or the facts of this case–to the Dallas Division of the Northern District of…
Mandamus waiver
By Mike Northrup on
Posted in Appellate Rules, Mandamus
The Houston Fourteenth District Court of Appeals has held that a Relator must challenge all possible grounds supporting a trial court’s ruling by its Petition for Writ of Mandamus or the Relator waives its complaint. In In re TCW Global Project Fund II, Ltd., No. 14-08-00116-CV (Sept. 24, 2008), the Relator filed a Petition…