Form 3-14

This plea must be made before any other pleading, but other pleadings may be contained in the same instrument. The client must swear to the plea to the jurisdiction. Tex. R. Civ. P. 120a.

NOTICE: THIS DOCUMENT
CONTAINS SENSITIVE DATA

[Caption. See § 3 of the Introduction in volume 1 of this manual.]

Respondent’s Special Appearance

Respondent, [name of respondent], files this special appearance under rule 120a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. [The last three numbers of Respondent’s driver’s license number are [numbers]./Respondent has not been issued a driver’s license.] [The last three numbers of Respondent’s Social Security number are [numbers]./Respondent has not been issued a Social Security number.]

1.Respondent’s legal domicile is outside Texas and is in [location]. Respondent’s person and property are not amenable to process issued by the courts of Texas. None of the grounds for personal jurisdiction provided in the Texas Family Code are applicable. Assump­tion of jurisdiction over Respondent by this Court would offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. Respondent has had insufficient contacts with Texas to warrant an assumption of jurisdiction. Respondent prays that this Court hear and determine this challenge to personal jurisdiction before hearing any other plea or pleading and enter an appropriate order. In conjunction with this special appearance, Respondent is providing an affidavit that sets out in greater detail the factual circumstances that support this special appearance.

Respondent requests that the Court grant Respondent’s special appearance.

2.If Respondent’s special appearance is denied, Respondent requests this Court to dismiss this action because Texas lacks subject-matter jurisdiction in this action under section 152.201 of the Texas Family Code.

3.In the alternative, if Respondent’s special appearance is denied and if the Court finds that it has subject-matter jurisdiction to make a child-custody determination in this pro­ceeding, Respondent requests this Court to decline jurisdiction [include if applicable: or, alter­natively, stay these proceedings on the condition that a custody proceeding be promptly convened in [state]] because [include one or both of the following: Texas is an inconvenient forum to make a custody determination under the circumstances in this case, and [state] is a more appropriate forum for this custody determination/[and] Petitioner has wrongfully taken the child[ren] from another state or has engaged in similar reprehensible conduct].

Further, if the Court finds that Texas is an inconvenient forum or that Petitioner has engaged in conduct that causes this Court to decline jurisdiction, Respondent asks that the Court require Petitioner to pay necessary travel and other expenses, including attorney’s fees, incurred by Respondent or any witness of Respondent. Respondent requests that the Court order that payment be made to the clerk of the Court for remittance to Respondent.

   
[Name]
Attorney for Respondent
State Bar No.:
[E-mail address]
[Address]
[Telephone]
[Fax]

Verification

The undersigned states under oath: “I am Respondent in the foregoing Respondent’s Special Appearance. I have personal knowledge of the allegations and facts stated in it, and they are true and correct.”

   
[Name of respondent]

SIGNED under oath before me on ______________________________.

   
Notary Public, State of Texas

Certificate of Service

I certify that a true copy of this [document/[title of document]] was served in accor­dance with rule 21a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure on the following on [date]:

[Name of attorney of record or party to be served] by [electronic filing manager/e-mail at [e-mail address]/fax at [fax number]/personal delivery at [address]/commercial delivery service at [address]/certified mail at [address]/first-class mail at [address]]. [Repeat for each attorney of record or party to be served.]

   
[Name]
Attorney for Respondent