Judgment Entered Without My Knowledge, in Texas

[mantis1984]

I live in Dallas County, TX. I have a judgment passed against me. I was notified by phone a year ago that a woman is attempting to sue me. She did not provide the court my correct address information. The constable who called attempted to verify my information; I then provided correct info. He told me to come to the court and pick up the docket info. The docket info was already printed prior to the call with the constable. Thus, it did not have the correct address. In actuality, the address the plantiff gave is a residence I have never lived at. I was told that I had less than 10 days to respond to the court, thus I faxed the response. A few days ago a constable came to my parents' house looking for me. A writ of execution was passed against me. Does anyone have a link in the Texas Rule of Civil procedure that gives reference to appealling small claims judgments??

[aaron]

Here are the statutes (PDF) governing small claims court litigation. Section 28.052 describes the right to appeal.

[mantis1984]

I printed the PDF and I also read: TEXAS RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
PART II - RULES OF PRACTICE IN DISTRICT AND COUNTY COURTS


It does not state explicitly my situation. The constable called me. I was never given any notice by mail. He stated that I was being sued but the plaintiff. The constable verified my information and I updated. The address that he had on file as my residence was incorrect; I provided the correct address and gave an alternate phone num. I was told that I needed to act with haste and that it would be best that I come to the court and pick up the docket sheet, which I did. I received the docket in person at the court house and faxed the response. That was the last I heard of the issue until I was notified of the judgment by my parent's. Apparently, the court did finally find me. Who is responsible for verifying that defendant and plaintiff info is correct. How can I appeal this properly??

[seniorjudge]

The time for appeal has long since passed.

Pay the judgment.

[aaron]

The issue may arise from your faxing your answer rather than serving it by mail, perhaps not serving it on all required parties, and probably not filing any form of proof of service. Have you even checked to see if the answer made it into the court file?

If you want to try to fashion some form of appeal not contemplated by the court rules, I suggest that you hire a lawyer to assist you.

[mantis1984]

thanks for your help. Yesterday, after much personal deliberation, I proved without a doubt my case for an appeal. And, the best thing, my proof comes directly from the documents on file with the court. My next question, which form do I need to begin this appeal. Once again, the small claim was filed in Dallas County JP court

[aaron]

The statutes describing how to appeal were previously provided. You can check with the court to see if they can provide additional forms or instructions.

[mantis1984]

The appeal is based on clerical error, which I have evidence for (provided by the court documents). I was contacted by the court and I did send the response via fax. However, I did update my correct contact info with the court. The woman who is suing me presented the court an address that is not only not my address, but an address that does not exist within its own parameters: the zip code and city did not match, and the address does not exist in the city that she provided to the court. The court, knew the address was incorrect. I went to the court and received a copy of the court file for my case. One of the documents was a copy of the actual citation I received. On that citation a court clerk scratched the address they had on file and wrote the correct city, state, and zip. But, instead of updating their system with correct info, the court sent the notice for the court appearance to the address that was originally given by the plaintiff. Yes, I have physical evidence for everything that I stated above. I know I have a case, but how can I present this new information to the court since the statue for the appeal is up? Would I use the same form? Administrators, what would you personally do in this situation. Thanks for all your help

[lwpat]

Rather than filing an appeal you need to request that the court reopen the case due to failure to provide you with proper notice of the court date.

[mantis1984]

I wrote and mailed a certified letter to the court asking them to reopen the case. I called the court and the clerks refused to. I asked the woman who her supervisor is she said the Judge name (Al Cercone). I told the court clerk that I followed directions of the Constable gave me. She read my response which displayed the clerical error. They repeat to me that I need to get a lawyer. Why do I need to pay for a lawyer to fix their mistake. Is there a government agency or free legal aid that can help me. I cannot afford an atty.