Sutherland v. Spencer

in which Justice HECHT, Justice WAINWRIGHT, Justice MEDINA, Justice JOHNSON, Justice GUZMAN and Justice LEHRMANN joined.

In this case, we consider whether the excuse offered by defendants for failing to answer a lawsuit timely is sufficient to satisfy the first element of the Craddock test for setting aside a no-answer default judgment; ie., that the failure to appear was not intentional or the result of conscious indifference but was the result of a mistake or an accident.1 See Craddock v. Sunshine Bus Lines, Inc., 134 Tex. 388, 133 S.W.2d 124, 126 (Tex.Com.App.1939). Because the affidavits…