HOUSTON - Today, the 14th Court of Appeals reversed a ruling denying Unifund CCR’s motion to reinstate a breach of contract lawsuit.
Court records show Unifund filed suit against Galen Rice in April 2020. In June 2020, the company moved for summary judgment. A bench trial was set for April 20, 2021. Three days later, Unifund filed a notice to reset the hearing on its summary judgment motion for June 21, 2021. The company did not appear for the bench trial and eight days later the trial court signed an order dismissing the suit for want of prosecution.
Court records further show that on June 16, 2021, Unifund filed a verified motion to reinstate the case, arguing that its counsel “inadvertently failed to attend the trial on April 20, 2021 because counsel did not receive notice of trial setting.”
The trial court denied the company’s motion and an appeal followed.
On appeal, Unifund argues that the trial court erred when it denied its motion to reinstate the case.
The 14th Court found that it cannot conclude that Unifund’s failure to appear was the result of intentional conduct or the result of conscious indifference.
Justices did find, however, that Unifund’s failure to appear at trial was due to an accident or mistake.
“Thus, we conclude that the trial court erred when it denied Unifund’s motion to reinstate,” the opinion states. “We reverse the trial court’s order and remand for further proceedings.”
Case No. 14-21-00386-CV