Appellate lawyer Chad Baruch has secured a victory at the Texas Supreme court, setting precedent for procedural issues for Texas litigators.
The opinion stems from a case out of Dallas involving a personal injury claim where a teenager suffered a traumatic brain injury. The ruling highlights the issue of a missed deadline in responding to a motion for summary judgment.
After the trial court denied leave for the filing of a response one day after the deadline, Mr. Baruch argued on appeal that the missed deadline was due to a “calendaring mistake,” or a scheduling error, and was not the result of conscious indifference. The justices agreed, and determined that allowing the late filing would not have harmed or prejudiced the other side. The trial court’s refusal to accept the late response was considered an abuse of discretion, and the summary judgment was reversed.
“We are pleased with the Texas Supreme Court’s decision to reverse the lower courts’ rulings in this important matter,” said Mr. Baruch. “The Court recognized that our clients’ late filing resulted from a simple calendaring mistake, not willful disregard for the legal process. This decision reaffirms the principle that fairness should prevail when mistakes are made in good faith.”