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