John Joseph Simmons v. Sandra Pamela Simmons ( 2003 )

TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN
NO. 03-02-00517-CV
John Joseph Simmons, Appellant
v.
Sandra Pamela Simmons, Appellee
FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF BELL COUNTY, 169TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
NO. 189,988-C, HONORABLE GORDON G. ADAMS, JUDGE PRESIDING
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellee Sandra Pamela Simmons sued appellant John Joseph Simmons for divorce.
When John failed to answer or appear, the trial court granted Sandra a default judgment. John timely filed a
motion for new trial, which the trial court denied. He now appeals, by four issues, arguing that the trial court
erred in denying him a new trial. We will reverse and remand.
BACKGROUND
John and Sandra Simmons were married on February 14, 1998. The couple had no
children. Sandra filed for divorce on January 4, 2002. On April 19, John was served by citation; he was
incarcerated at the time in the Texas Department of Corrections, Institutional Division. John failed to file an
answer, and on May 24, 2002, the trial court rendered a default judgment, by which it granted a divorce
and divided the couple=s property. On June 21, John filed a motion for new trial. In his motion, John
claimed that upon being served with the divorce petition, he contacted the attorney who had been
representing him on his criminal matter and informed him of the divorce case. The attorney sent John a Apro
se, pre-printed form@ to file as his answer. John filled out the form and mailed it back to his attorney for
filing. John was not aware that he was supposed to file the answer with the court clerk, and apparently, the
attorney did not file the answer on John=s behalf. The trial court denied John=s motion for new trial in an
order dated July 11, 2002. John also requested and the trial court filed findings of fact and conclusions of
law.
DISCUSSION
By his third issue, John argues that the trial court erred in failing to grant his motion for new
trial; he contends he satisfied all of the Craddock requirements for a new trial. See Craddock v. Sunshine
Bus Lines, Inc., 133 S.W.2d 124, 126 (Tex. 1939). The Craddock test is well-established: A default
judgment should be set aside and a new trial ordered in any case in which
(1) the failure of the defendant to answer before judgment was not intentional, or the
result of conscious indifference on his part, but was due to a mistake or an accident;
(2) provided the motion for a new trial sets up a meritorious defense and
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(3) is filed at a time when the granting thereof will occasion no delay or otherwise work an
injury to the plaintiff.
Id. at 126. The disposition of a motion for new trial is within the trial court=s sound discretion; we will not
disturb the court=s ruling absent an abuse of that discretion. Director, State Employees Workers= Comp.
Div. v. Evans, 889 S.W.2d 266, 268 (Tex. 1994). A trial court abuses its discretion, however, by failing
to grant a new trial when all three elements of the Craddock test are met. Id.
Failure to Answer
To be entitled to a new trial, John first had to establish that his failure to answer was not
intentional or the result of conscious indifference. Conscious indifference means failing to take some action
that would seem obvious to a reasonable person under the same circumstances. State v. Sledge, 982
S.W.2d 911, 914 (Tex. App.CHouston [14th Dist.] 1998, no pet.); Johnson v. Edmonds, 712 S.W.2d
651, 652-53 (Tex. App.CFort Worth 1986, no writ). A failure to appear is not intentional or due to
conscious indifference merely because it was deliberate or the result of negligence; it must be without
adequate justification. Smith v. Babcock & Wilcox Constr. Co., 913 S.W.2d 467, 468 (Tex. 1995).
The controlling factor under this analysis is the absence of a purposeful or bad faith failure to appear.
Craddock, 133 S.W.2d at 125-26. Accordingly, the defaulting party must provide A[s]ome excuse, but
not necessarily a good excuse@ for failing to appear. Id. at 125. Even a slight excuse may justify a new trial.
Gotcher v. Barnett, 757 S.W.2d 398, 401 (Tex. App.CHouston [14th Dist.] 1988, no writ).
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Courts apply this first prong liberally and examine each case based on its own facts. Id.;
Harlen v. Pfeffer, 693 S.W.2d 543, 545 (Tex. App.CSan Antonio 1985, no writ). We look to the
knowledge and acts of the defaulting party to determine whether the failure to appear was due to intentional
disregard or conscious indifference. Evans, 889 S.W.2d at 269; Texas Sting, Ltd. v. R.B. Foods, Inc.,
82 S.W.3d 644, 650 (Tex. App.CSan Antonio 2002, pet. denied). The defaulting party satisfies its burden
if the factual assertions in the defaulting party=s new trial affidavits are not controverted and if the affidavits
set forth facts that, if true, negate intent or conscious indifference. Evans, 889 S.W.2d at 269; Texas
Sting, 82 S.W.3d at 650-51. In determining whether the defaulting party=s assertions are controverted, the
court looks to all the evidence in the record. Evans, 889 S.W.2d at 269; Texas Sting, 82 S.W.3d at 651.
In his new trial affidavit, John averred that he contacted his criminal defense attorney and
informed him of the divorce case. The attorney sent John a form to file as his answer, which John filled out
and mailed back to his attorney for filing. John asserted that he did not know that he was supposed to file
the answer with the court. John filed no other evidence in support of his motion. Our review of the record
indicates that Sandra did not file a response to the motion for new trial.
The trial court signed an order setting John=s motion for new trial for a hearing on July 11,
2002. On July 8, John filed an application for writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum, requesting that he
be allowed to appear at the new trial hearing either in person or by telephone. It appears the trial court did
not rule on John=s motion, as the only order addressing the motion that is included in the record is unsigned.1
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A prisoner has a qualified right to appear at civil proceedings. Ex parte Guajardo, 70 S.W.3d
202, 205 (Tex. App.CSan Antonio 2001, no pet.); Dodd v. Dodd, 17 S.W.3d 714, 717 (Tex.
App.CHouston [1st Dist.] 2000, no pet.). In this appeal, John does not challenge the trial court=s failure to
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The trial court=s order denying John=s motion for new trial indicates that the trial court Aheard@ the motion
and considered Athe arguments of counsel@ before it reached its ruling. There is no record of the motion for
new trial hearing, if indeed one took place. We thus conclude that appellant=s factual assertions negating an
intentional failure to answer or conscious indifference were not controverted. And, John=s factual assertions
are sufficient to negate intentional or conscious indifference. See In re A.P.P., 74 S.W.3d 570, 574 (Tex.
App.CCorpus Christi 2002, no pet.) (defaulting party=s failure to follow up with attorney is not relevant;
goes to question of negligence); K-Mart Corp. v. Armstrong, 944 S.W.2d 59, 63 (Tex. App.CAmarillo
1997, writ denied) (failure to follow up with attorney is defining characteristic of default judgments; does not
prevent finding of accident or mistake). Thus, the trial court=s implied finding that John failed to meet this
prong of the Craddock test is not supported by the record.
Meritorious Defense
Next, we must determine whether John set up a meritorious defense in his motion for new
trial. To prevail, John was not required to conclusively prove the truth of the meritorious defense; he was
merely required to set up a meritorious defense. Evans, 889 S.W.2d at 270. A meritorious defense is one
that, if proved, would cause a different result on retrial of the case, although not necessarily the opposite
result. Liepelt v. Oliveira, 818 S.W.2d 75, 77 (Tex. App.CCorpus Christi 1991, no writ). The motion
must do more than merely allege that the defaulting party has a meritorious defense; it should allege specific
facts that, in law, would constitute a defense to the cause of action. Ivy v. Carrell, 407 S.W.2d 212, 214
rule on his motion to appear at the new trial hearing. We therefore express no opinion on this issue.
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(Tex. 1966). The supporting facts may be set forth by affidavit or other competent evidence. Guaranty
Bank v. Thompson, 632 S.W.2d 338, 339 (Tex. 1982).
In his new trial affidavit, John did not dispute the divorce but instead challenged the trial
court=s division of property. The trial court awarded Sandra as her sole and separate property all
household items and furnishings in her personal possession and all sums of cash in her possession or subject
to her control. John was awarded all clothing, jewelry, and personal effects in his possession and all sums
of cash in his possession or subject to his control. John was incarcerated at the time of the divorce. Thus,
he had no property in his possession and no access to funds in any bank accounts. John maintained in his
motion for new trial that in awarding Sandra all household items, furnishings, and sums of cash in her
possession or subject to her control, the trial court effectively awarded Sandra property that John claims
was his separate, personal property. He listed several property items as well as funds in his bank account
and a mutual fund that he acquired prior to his marriage to Sandra. John averred that he has clear and
convincing evidence establishing that certain items that were awarded to Sandra by the court were either
property that he had acquired before the marriage or gifts by his family members before the marriage.
Although trial courts enjoy broad discretion in dividing community property in a divorce action, the court
abuses its discretion if it divests one spouse of separate property and awards it to the other spouse.
Eggemeyer v. Eggemeyer, 554 S.W.2d 137, 142 (Tex. 1977). We hold that John adequately set up a
meritorious defense regarding the trial court=s property division and therefore satisfied the second prong of
the Craddock test.
Delay
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Under the final Craddock requirement, John must establish that the grant of a new trial
would not cause delay or otherwise work an injury to Sandra. Evans, 889 S.W.2d at 270. To satisfy this
test, John must offer and show that he is ready, willing, and able to go immediately to trial and he is willing to
reimburse Sandra for reasonable expenses incurred in obtaining the default judgment. United Beef
Producers, Inc. v. Lookingbill, 532 S.W.2d 958, 959 (Tex. 1976). In his new trial affidavit, John states
that he is ready to go to trial and prepared to reimburse Sandra for her reasonable expenses incurred in
obtaining the default judgment. We hold that John has satisfied this final prong of the Craddock test.
Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in failing to grant John=s motion for new
trial and sustain his third issue on appeal.
CONCLUSION
Because John satisfied all three elements of the Craddock test, we hold the trial court
abused its discretion in failing to grant his motion for new trial. John does not challenge the portion of the
divorce decree granting a divorce. We therefore affirm that part of the decree. We reverse and remand
that portion of the decree dividing the couple=s property.
__________________________________________
Mack Kidd, Justice
Before Justices Kidd, Yeakel and Patterson
Affirmed in Part; Reversed and Remanded in Part
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Filed: July 11, 2003
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