Access Dental Management, LLC v. June’s Boutique, LLC

Summary

The Thirteenth Court of Appeals of Texas considered a restricted appeal from a default judgment against Access Dental Management, LLC. The court held that the record did not show strict compliance with substituted-service requirements because the person and address used were associated with a different entity, rendering the default judgment void, and it reversed and remanded.

Holdings

1. A party seeking to invoke Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 306a(4) must obtain the trial court’s grant of the Rule 306a(5) motion; absent that grant, the ordinary deadline for filing a motion for new trial applies. Because the trial court did not grant or impliedly rule on Access Dental’s Rule 306a(5) request, its motion for new trial was untimely and did not preclude the restricted appeal.
2. Substituted service on the Secretary of State is invalid when the record does not show that process was forwarded to the entity’s most recent address on file with the Secretary of State and the registered agent or registered office used for the attempted service belonged to a different entity.
3. The default judgment was void because the trial court did not acquire personal jurisdiction over Access Dental Management, LLC through valid service of process.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Access Dental Management, LLC filed a timely post-judgment motion that precluded a restricted appeal.
2. Whether the face of the record demonstrated defective service of process and lack of personal jurisdiction over Access Dental Management, LLC.
3. Whether the default judgment was void and had to be vacated.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded