Dancy v. Daggett

In Dancy v. Daggett, 815 S.W.2d 548, 34 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 828 (Tex. 1991), the trial court set a hearing on temporary orders in Dancy's divorce action on April 16, 1991. Id. at 549. After the setting, Dancy's attorney received notice of an April 16, 1991 hearing in federal court on a separate matter in which he was counsel of record. Id. Dancy's attorney filed a motion to reset, and the trial court reset the hearing in the divorce case for the next day. Id. On April 17th, the federal court judge informed the state trial court judge that Dancy's attorney's attendance was still required in federal court. Id. The state trial court judge, however, refused to postpone the hearing and granted a default judgment in favor of Dancy's wife. Id. The Texas Supreme Court held that the trial court's actions violated local rules regarding conflicts in docket settings and deprived Dancy of representation at the hearing on his divorce case. Id.