$629.00 in U.S. Currency v. State ( 2010 )

COURT OF APPEALS
SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS
FORT WORTH
NO. 02-10-00253-CV
$629.00 IN U.S. CURRENCY APPELLANT
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS STATE
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FROM THE 372ND DISTRICT COURT OF TARRANT COUNTY
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MEMORANDUM OPINION1
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Appellant Christopher Norried appeals the default judgment against his
interest in $629.00 in U.S. Currency. The State of Texas filed a notice of seizure
and intended forfeiture of the money on May 27, 2010. Mr. Norried was served
with the notice on May 28. On June 22, 2010, the trial court found that Mr.
Norried both failed to answer and failed to appear and entered a default
judgment ordering the forfeiture of the money.
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See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4.
Mr. Norried’s first six issues concern evidence that was not presented to
the trial court. We cannot consider evidence that does not appear in the record.
Alexander v. Lynda's Boutique, 134 S.W.3d 845, 848 (Tex. 2004). Thus, we
overrule Mr. Norried’s first six issues.
In his seventh issue, Mr. Norried claims that he timely answered by mailing
a written answer through the mail system at the county jail where he was
incarcerated, and thus the default judgment was error. The document was
received by the clerk, but it is not file stamped nor is there any other indication of
when it was received. The State claims that Mr. Norried cannot demonstrate that
he timely answered and thus, the default judgment should be upheld. Because
we hold that Mr. Norried’s answer should be deemed timely filed, we reverse the
trial court’s default judgment and remand the case to the trial court.
Standard of Review
Mr. Norried did not file a motion for new trial with the trial court but did file a
notice of appeal; therefore, this is a restricted appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 30.
To prevail on a restricted appeal, an appellant must demonstrate: (1) the notice
of restricted appeal was filed within six months of the date of the judgment or
order; (2) he was a party to the suit; (3) he did not participate in the hearing that
resulted in the judgment complained of and did not timely file a post-judgment
motion or request for findings of facts and conclusions of law; and (4) error is
apparent on the face of the record. See id.; Hubicki v. Festina, 226 S.W.3d 405,
407 (Tex. 2007). The only contested element in this case is whether there is
error on the face of the record.
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Discussion
A default judgment may not be granted based on a failure to answer when
the defendant has an answer on file, even if the answer was filed late. Tex. R.
Civ. P. 239; Davis v. Jefferies, 764 S.W.2d 559, 560 (Tex. 1989). The clerk’s
record does not show when Mr. Norried’s answer was filed, but the fact that the
record contains a copy of his answer is evidence that the trial clerk received it.
The answer contains a statement by Mr. Norried that he put the document in the
county jail mail system on June 2, 2010, five days after he was served and well
within the statutory time to respond. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 99(b) (directing a
defendant to file a written answer “on or before 10:00 a.m. on the Monday next
after the expiration of twenty days after the date of service thereof”). Because
Mr. Norried is a pro se inmate, his answer is deemed filed when he put it in the
county jail mail system. See Warner v. Glass, 135 S.W.3d 681, 682 (Tex. 2004)
(“[W]e decline to penalize a pro se litigant for failing to obtain a postmark or file-
stamp when the litigant has timely placed the document in the prison mail
system, the only delivery system to which he or she has access.”). 2 The State
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We further note that there is a handwritten notation on the document in
different handwriting other than Mr. Norried’s that states “Do not have original.”
The notation is unsigned and there is no evidence in the record as to who wrote it
or when it was written. Given that the original copy of Mr. Norried’s answer is
missing and the only copy presented in the court’s record is not file-stamped, we
believe the only reasonable explanation is that there was some mistake in the
clerk’s office between the time they received Mr. Norried’s answer and the time
they placed the copy in the record. We refuse to hold this mistake against Mr.
Norried. See Warner, 135 S.W.3d at 684 (“Once a party has satisfied his duty to
put a legal instrument in the custody and the control of the court clerk, he should
not be penalized for errors made by the court clerk.”). We also note that the fact
that the answer is not file-stamped creates a reasonable presumption that neither
the State nor the trial court judge knew the answer had been filed. Although
error occurred, we do not place fault with the State or the trial court judge.
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does not contest Mr. Norried’s statement that he mailed his answer on June 2,
2010. Thus we hold that Mr. Norried timely filed an answer.
Conclusion
Because an answer was filed with the court, the default judgment was
error. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 239; Davis, 764 S.W.2d at 560. This error is apparent
on the face of the record. See Tex. R. App. P. 30; Hubicki, 226 S.W.3d at 407.
We reverse and remand this case to the trial court for further proceedings
consistent with this opinion.
LEE GABRIEL
JUSTICE
PANEL: McCOY, MEIER, and GABRIEL, JJ.
DELIVERED: December 23, 2010
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