in Re Orgoo, Inc.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 5, 2011
Docket04-10-00058-CV
StatusPublished

This text of in Re Orgoo, Inc. (in Re Orgoo, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
in Re Orgoo, Inc., (Tex. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION No. 04-09-00729-CV

ORGOO, INC., Appellant

v.

RACKSPACE US, INC., Appellee

From the 37th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas Trial Court No. 2009-CI-06776 Honorable Peter A. Sakai, Judge Presiding 1

No. 04-10-00058-CV

IN RE ORGOO, INC. Original Mandamus Proceeding 2

Opinion by: Sandee Bryan Marion, Justice

Sitting: Catherine Stone, Chief Justice Sandee Bryan Marion, Justice Steven C. Hilbig, Justice

Delivered and Filed: January 5, 2011

REVERSED AND REMANDED; PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS DENIED

1 This proceeding arises out of Cause No. 2009-CI-06776, styled Rackspace US, Inc. v. Orgoo, Inc., pending in the 37th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas, the Honorable David A. Berchelmann presiding. However, the challenged default judgment was signed by the Honorable Peter Sakai, presiding judge of the 225th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas. 2 This proceeding arises out of the same trial court proceedings the appeal from the default judgment. However, the Honorable David A. Berchelmann signed the two orders at issue in this mandamus proceeding. 04-09-00729-CV & 04-10-00058-CV

This is an appeal from a no-answer default judgment rendered in favor of appellee,

Rackspace US, Inc. Because we conclude appellant was not properly served with notice, we

reverse the default judgment and remand to the trial court, and we deny the petition for writ of

mandamus.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Rackspace US, Inc., which is an internet hosting company located in San Antonio, is a

subsidiary of Rackspace Hosting, Inc. Through its subsidiaries, Rackspace Hosting operates

computer servers that maintain networks and websites for a variety of businesses. Under a

contract dated February 25, 2008, Rackspace US provided web-hosting services to appellant

Orgoo, Inc., an internet start-up company located in California. According to Rackspace US,

beginning in August 2008, Orgoo failed to pay for services rendered by Rackspace US. In

September and October 2008, Rackspace US discovered that the Orgoo website was allegedly

being used to transmit and display images in which children were sexually abused and raped and

that Orgoo’s live video streaming feature was allegedly showing child pornography and child

molestation. Rackspace US notified the FBI. The FBI ordered Rackspace US to preserve all

electronic evidence of the images displayed on Orgoo’s website. Rackspace US decided to

suspend services to Orgoo and to disable the servers that hosted Orgoo’s website.

Orgoo’s CEO, Michael Kantor, demanded that Rackspace US resume hosting Orgoo’s

website, and Rackspace US refused. On March 3, 2009, Orgoo sued Rackspace Hosting in

California state court (the “California suit”). According to Rackspace US, this lawsuit violated

the parties’ forum selection agreement, which required Orgoo to file its lawsuit in Bexar County,

Texas. On June 23, 2009, the California court enforced the forum selection agreement and

dismissed the suit. Meanwhile, in April 2009, Rackspace US filed the underlying lawsuit against

-2- 04-09-00729-CV & 04-10-00058-CV

Orgoo in Bexar County. In October 2009, Orgoo sued Rackspace Hosting in Bexar County,

asserting the same claims it asserted in the California suit. Orgoo’s lawsuit against Rackspace

Hosting has been abated.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On August 6, 2009 in the underlying lawsuit, the trial court rendered a default judgment

against Orgoo and in favor of Rackspace US following Orgoo’s failure to appear. Less than

ninety days later, Orgoo filed a Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 306a motion to extend post-

judgment deadlines (hereinafter “Rule 306a motion”), alleging it did not receive notice of the

signing of the default judgment until October 19, 2009. On November 3, 2009, a hearing was

conducted on Orgoo’s Rule 306a motion and, at the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court

denied the motion. A week later, Orgoo filed a motion pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate

Procedure 4.2(c) (hereinafter “Rule 4.2(c) motion”) asking the court to find the date on which

Orgoo received notice or acquired actual notice of the judgment. On November 20, 2009, a

hearing was conducted on Orgoo’s Rule 4.2(c) motion and, at the conclusion of the hearing, the

trial court denied the motion. Because the trial court denied both motions, it did not sign a

written order finding the date when Orgoo or Orgoo’s attorney first either received notice or

acquired actual knowledge that the judgment was signed. On January 21, 2010, Orgoo filed a

petition for writ of mandamus complaining of the trial court’s denial of its Rule 306a and Rule

4.2(c) motions to establish the operative date of the judgment. 3

Orgoo filed a notice of restricted appeal from the default judgment on November 13,

2009. Four days later, Orgoo filed a motion for new trial with the trial court. The court denied

the motion without a hearing on December 16, 2009. On January 19, 2010, Orgoo filed an

amended notice of appeal, stating it did not intend to amend or modify its restricted notice of 3 The mandamus proceeding (04-10-00058-CV) is consolidated with this appeal.

-3- 04-09-00729-CV & 04-10-00058-CV

appeal, but instead it intended to perfect for appeal the arguments it made in its motion for new

trial under Craddock v. Sunshine Bus Lines, Inc., 133 S.W.2d 124 (Tex. 1939).

OPERATIVE DATE OF THE JUDGMENT

In both its petition for writ of mandamus and on appeal, Orgoo asserts the trial court

abused its discretion by denying its Rule 306a motion and its Rule 4.2(c) motion and by refusing

to make a finding on the operative date of the default judgment. If the operative date is August

6, 2009, the date the default judgment was signed, then this is a restricted appeal, and we may

only consider whether there is error apparent on the face of the record. Norman Commc’n v. Tex.

Eastman Co., 955 S.W.2d 269, 270 (Tex. 1997) (per curiam). If the operative date is October

19, 2009, the date Orgoo alleges it first received notice of the default judgment, then this is a

traditional Craddock appeal and, if Orgoo was properly served with process, in order to be

granted a new trial after a no-answer default judgment, Orgoo must prove the now familiar

Craddock elements. However, we do not reach the issues of whether the trial court erred by not

making a finding on the operative date of the judgment 4 or whether the operative date can be

implied from the trial court’s denial of the two motions because under either the restricted appeal

standard or the Craddock standard, we conclude the trial court did not acquire jurisdiction over

Orgoo because service was defective.

A default judgment rendered on defective service “will not stand” and rules governing

service will be “rigidly enforced” on appellate review of the judgment. Hubicki v. Festina, 226

S.W.3d 405, 408 (Tex. 2007). Here, the trial court rendered a default judgment in favor of

4 We agree, however, with the Texas Supreme Court that “a trial court could dispel ambiguities about the notice date if, in ruling on 306a motions, it followed the procedure mandated by Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 4.2(c) and issued a finding of the notice date as a matter of course. In re Lynd, 195 S.W.3d 683, 686 (Tex. 2006).

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