Levine v. Shackelford, Melton & McKinley, L.L.P.

In this case, we consider whether the court of appeals applied the correct standard in affirming a trial court’s denial of a motion to set aside a default judgment. A three-part test determines whether a court should grant a motion for new trial to set aside a proper default judgment. Craddock v. Sunshine Bus Lines, Inc., 134 Tex. 388, 133 S.W.2d 124, 126 (1939). The first part of the Craddock test requires that “the failure of the defendant to answer before judgment [i]s not intentional, or the result of conscious indifference on his part, but [i]s due to a mistake or an accident.” Id. When…