Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. Abascal

Did the trial court justly deny Hartford its day in court to present affirmative defenses solely on the basis that it objected to, but complied with, discovery? The majority holds that the trial court acted within its discretion. Because I believe this holding does not comply with the constitutional due process dictates of TransAmerican Natural Gas Corp. v. Powell, 811 S.W.2d 913 (Tex.1991), and a trial court does not have discretion to act other than by due process of law, I dissent.

Raul Flores, Jr., brought this workers’ compensation action claiming he suffered an injury when he fell at…