Texas Case Summaries
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Texas 7th Court of Appeals, Child Custody, Civil Procedure, Family Law

Bracken v. Bracken — Default Divorce Judgment Reversed Because Pro Se Party Received No Notice of Trial After Attorney Withdrew Without Following Rule 10

automatic / June 9, 2026

The Seventh Court of Appeals reversed a post-answer default judgment in a divorce case, holding that a pro se defendant received no notice of the trial setting after her attorneys withdrew without serving her by certified mail as required by Rule 10, and that subsequent electronic-only service failed to comply with the trial court’s own notice order and could not trigger the Rule 21a presumption of receipt.

Texas 7th Court of Appeals, Criminal, Criminal Procedure

McGruder v. State — Defendant Who Refused Court-Ordered Sanity Evaluation Cannot Complain of Its Denial on Appeal

automatic / June 9, 2026

The Seventh Court of Appeals affirmed convictions after holding that a defendant who refuses a court-ordered sanity evaluation waives any right to such an evaluation and cannot complain on appeal of its denial, and that a December 2022 incompetency finding was legally irrelevant to the separate question of the defendant’s sanity at the time of the offenses.

Texas 8th Court of Appeals, Appellate Procedure, Constitutional, Municipal Law, Tax

City of El Paso v. Pickett — City’s “Environmental Franchise Fee” Was an Unlawful Tax, Eighth Court Holds

automatic / June 9, 2026

The Eighth Court of Appeals affirmed that El Paso’s monthly Environmental Franchise Fee—charged to all residential solid-waste customers and raised without cost studies to fund police and fire equipment—was an impermissible tax, not a legitimate regulatory fee, and that governmental immunity did not bar a refund because nonpayment was criminal.

Texas 7th Court of Appeals, Criminal, Criminal Procedure, Evidence

Nichols v. State — Threats Relayed Through Crisis Negotiators Satisfy Aggravated Assault on Public Servant; Felony Deadly Conduct Is Not a Lesser-Included Offense When Indictment Charges Exhibiting, Not Discharging, a Weapon

automatic / June 10, 2026

The Seventh Court of Appeals affirmed a fifteen-year conviction for aggravated assault on a public servant, holding that threats relayed through crisis negotiators to officers on scene satisfy the statute, and that felony deadly conduct is not a lesser-included offense of aggravated assault by threat where the indictment charges only exhibiting — not discharging — a weapon. The court modified the judgment to delete an attorney’s fees provision entered without the required finding of financial resources.

Texas 7th Court of Appeals, Breach of Contract, Civil Procedure, Construction Law

Martignoni v. Artistry Homes — Homebuyers Lose Summary Judgment Fight After Failing to Preserve Evidentiary Objections

automatic / June 10, 2026

The Seventh Court of Appeals affirmed no-evidence summary judgment against homebuyers who contracted for a $600,000 custom home, holding that their failure to respond to the builder’s evidentiary objections in the trial court forfeited those challenges on appeal under the preservation rule — leaving them without sufficient evidence to withstand summary judgment on any claim.

Texas 8th Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Jurisdiction, Tax

Gonzalez v. City of El Paso — Texas Residents Cannot Use Special Appearance to Contest Defective Service; Misspelled Name Is a Curable Process Defect

automatic / June 10, 2026

The Eighth Court of Appeals held that Texas residents cannot file a special appearance under Rule 120a to contest defective service of process, because Texas courts have presumptive personal jurisdiction over all Texas residents. A misspelled name in a citation is a curable service defect, not a jurisdictional flaw, properly raised by a motion to quash — not a special appearance that risks constituting a general appearance.

Texas 8th Court of Appeals, Criminal, Evidence, Post-Conviction Relief

Johnson v. State — Post-Conviction DNA Retesting Denied Where Law-of-Parties Conviction Leaves Third-Party DNA Non-Exculpatory

automatic / June 10, 2026

The Eighth Court of Appeals affirmed denial of a second post-conviction DNA testing motion in a capital murder case, holding that Chapter 64 does not permit comparison of a DNA specimen to a specific named individual, and that third-party DNA on the murder weapon is not exculpatory where the defendant was convicted under a law-of-parties theory and substantial evidence of guilt exists independent of the DNA.

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