Special Appearance in Texas Courts to Object to Jurisdiction

Have you or your company been sued in Texas although you have no or littile connection with this state?  If you or your company are domiciled in another state or country and are named in a Texas lawsuit, it is imperative that you properly object to jurisdiction if warranted by the facts. This is done through the use of a special appearance. Likewise, if you wish to sue a non-resident individual or company in Texas courts, you must properly establish jurisdiction and respond to any special appearance filed by the defendant.

Failure to properly object to jurisdiction will require you to defend the action in Texas. Failure of a Plaintiff to establish jurisdiction and/or respond to a special appearance will cause the case to be dismissed and require that party to seek justice in a foreign state or country.

The attorneys at Michael P. Fleming & Associates, P.C. have experience in both objecting to and establishing jurisdiction in Texas courts. For example, we have recently handled the following matters involving jurisdictional issues:

• We recently sued a Missouri company in a Texas court on behalf of a Houston man. The company hired a Houston area law firm to file a special appearance and objection to jurisdiction. They claimed that the Defendant did not have sufficient minimum contacts to subject him to the jurisdiction of the Texas court. After the judge held a full hearing on the special appearance motion, he ruled that we had established jurisdiction. The case then settled on terms favorable to our client.
• Our firm represents a company based in Slovakia in eastern Europe. Our client was named as a defendant in a Texas lawsuit. We filed a special appearance and objection to jurisdiction on behalf of our client. The court ruled in our favor and dismissed the case.

If you have a jurisdictional issue involving a special appearance, contact Michael P. Fleming, former Harris County Attorney today.