Gfi Computer Industries, Inc. v. Errol D. Fry

GODBOLD, Circuit Judge:

Appellant Fry was sued by GFI, a corporation of which he had been an officer and director. A default judgment on liability was entered against him by the court, and a jury then assessed damages of $471,803. We reverse and remand.

Fry was a resident of Dallas, Texas, from the filing of suit in December 1970 until around April 1971, when he removed to Spanish Wells, a small island in the Bahamas some 1500 miles distant from Dallas, the situs of the lawsuit.

The default judgment on liability was predicated upon Fry’s failure to comply with an order of court entered April 12,…