Default Judgment
A judgment entered against a defendant who was served with citation and still has no answer on file after the answer deadline. In Texas district and county courts the plaintiff may take it once the return of service has been on file for ten days (Tex. R. Civ. P. 239, 107(h)). Justice courts follow a separate rule (Rule 503.1).
A Texas default judgment is taken against a served defendant who still has not answered after the deadline, 10:00 a.m. on the Monday after 20 days from service (Tex. R. Civ. P. 99(b)). In district or county court, a new-trial motion filed within 30 days after signing can seek to set it aside (Rule 329b).
A default judgment is the judgment a Texas court signs when a defendant who has been served files no answer. The citation carries its own warning. It must tell the defendant that if no written answer is filed with the clerk by 10:00 a.m. on the Monday following the expiration of 20 days after service, "a default judgment may be taken against you" (Tex. R. Civ. P. 99(c)).
Justice court runs on a shorter clock: the answer is due by the end of the 14th day after service (Rule 502.5(d)), and the judge must confirm that service was proper before rendering a default (Rule 503.1(a)). An answer filed at any point before the judge signs the default keeps the case alive there, and it is set for trial instead (Rule 503.1(b)).
- Answer deadline
- 10:00 a.m. on the Monday after 20 days from service (Rule 99(b))
- Justice court
- Answer due by the end of the 14th day after service (Rule 502.5(d))
- Waiting period
- Return of service on file ten days, not counting the filing day or judgment day (Rule 107(h))
- New trial motion
- 30 days after signing in district or county court; 14 days in justice court (Rules 329b(a), 505.3(b))
- Restricted appeal
- Notice of appeal within six months after signing (Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(c))
What the plaintiff must have on file
The return of service has to sit in the clerk's file for ten days, excluding the day it was filed and the day of judgment, before any default can be granted (Rule 107(h)). At or just before rendition, the plaintiff or its lawyer certifies to the clerk the defaulting party's last known email and mailing address. The clerk then mails notice of the signed judgment to that address (Rule 239a). A missing notice does not affect the finality of the judgment, though it can matter later to the timetable under Rule 306a.
Federal law adds a step in every no-appearance case. Before entering judgment the court must require an affidavit stating whether the defendant is in military service, or that the plaintiff cannot determine it, and a servicemember defendant must be given an appointed attorney first (50 U.S.C. § 3931(b)). Where some defendants answer and others default, the court may enter an interlocutory default against those who defaulted and proceed against the rest (Rule 240).
How damages are decided
If the claim is liquidated and proved by a written instrument, the court assesses damages and renders final judgment (Rule 241). Everything else requires evidence. For an unliquidated claim the court must hear evidence of damages before rendering judgment, and a defendant entitled to a jury may demand one on damages (Rule 243).
Justice court has a parallel split. A claim based on a written document signed by the defendant, filed and served with a sworn statement, can go to judgment without a hearing. Other claims need a hearing at which the plaintiff proves damages, and a plaintiff who cannot prove them takes nothing (Rule 503.1(a)).
Setting a default judgment aside
The trial court has plenary power to grant a new trial for 30 days after the judgment is signed, extended while a timely motion for new trial is pending (Rule 329b(d)-(e)). The test for a new trial after a no-answer default comes from Craddock v. Sunshine Bus Lines, set out below. If the defendant learned of the judgment more than 20 days after it was signed, a sworn motion under Rule 306a(4)-(5) can move the start of these periods, but never past 90 days after signing.
Once plenary power expires, the trial court can set the judgment aside only by bill of review filed within the time allowed by law (Rule 329b(f)). A party who did not take part in the hearing and filed no post-judgment motion may instead file a restricted appeal within six months after the judgment is signed (Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(c), 30).
Enforcement after signing
A default judgment is enforced like any other money judgment. If the judgment has not been superseded, the clerk issues execution on request after 30 days from signing, or 30 days after a timely new-trial motion is overruled (Rule 627). A recorded abstract of judgment becomes a lien on the defendant's nonexempt real property in that county (Tex. Prop. Code § 52.001). Every judgment awarding money must also tell an individual defendant that some property may be protected from collection (Rule 306a(3)).
The Craddock test for a new trial
Under Craddock, a no-answer default judgment should be set aside and a new trial ordered when the motion shows all three of the following.
- The failure to answer was not intentional or the result of conscious indifference, but was due to a mistake or an accident.
- The motion for new trial sets up a meritorious defense.
- The motion is filed at a time when granting it will cause no delay and will not otherwise injure the plaintiff.
Can you go to jail for a default judgment in Texas?
Not for the debt itself. The Texas Constitution provides that "no person shall ever be imprisoned for debt" (Tex. Const. art. I, § 18). A money judgment is collected from property: a writ of execution after 30 days if the judgment is not superseded (Rule 627), and a lien on nonexempt real property once an abstract is recorded (Tex. Prop. Code § 52.001). A debtor who disobeys an order to turn over nonexempt property can face contempt (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 31.002(c)).
Does a default judgment ever go away in Texas?
It can go dormant. If no writ of execution issues within 10 years after the judgment is rendered, it becomes dormant and cannot be executed on until revived (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 34.001). The creditor then has until the second anniversary of dormancy to revive it (§ 31.006). A recorded judgment lien lasts 10 years from recording and ends sooner if the judgment goes dormant (Tex. Prop. Code § 52.006). Judgments for the state and for child support follow different rules.
What happens if you don't pay a judgment in Texas?
The judgment creditor can use the court's collection tools. After 30 days, if the judgment has not been superseded, the clerk issues a writ of execution on request (Rule 627). Recording an abstract of judgment creates a lien on the debtor's real property in that county, other than exempt property such as a homestead (Tex. Prop. Code § 52.001). The judgment must state that an individual's money or property may be protected from being taken (Rule 306a(3)).
Is a default judgment a final judgment?
It can be either final or interlocutory. Rule 239a speaks of an "interlocutory or final default judgment," and when only some defendants default, the court may enter an interlocutory default against them while the case goes on against the others (Rule 240). The 30-day plenary period and the appellate deadlines run from the date the judgment is signed (Rules 306a(1), 329b; Tex. R. App. P. 26.1).
For a company, the answer period runs from service on its registered agent or on an officer or other person the law makes its agent for service, whether or not the papers reach anyone who can hire counsel (Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code §§ 5.201, 5.255; Rule 99(b)). Craddock came out of that kind of gap. The bus company sent the citations to its liability insurer, they were mislaid in the insurer's claims department, and no answer was filed. The court held the default should have been set aside. Twenty days and a Monday in district or county court, fourteen in justice court, is a short time for a citation sitting in someone's inbox.
- The deadline that controls is 30 days after the judgment is signed for a motion for new trial in district or county court (Rule 329b(a)), or 14 days for a motion to set aside a justice court default (Rule 505.3(b)); if notice arrived more than 20 days after signing, a sworn motion under Rule 306a(5) can move the start date, capped at 90 days after signing.
- The court file usually comes next: the petition, the return of service and its filing date, the Rule 239a certificate and the signed judgment.
- A motion under Craddock is commonly supported by affidavits explaining why no answer was filed and setting out the facts of a meritorious defense.
- After plenary power ends, the remaining routes are a restricted appeal within six months (Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(c)) or a bill of review (Rule 329b(f)), each with its own requirements.
- A Texas lawyer who handles civil litigation and post-judgment motions can review the record against these deadlines.