Swearing About Jurisdiction

The defendant in Western Securities, Ltd. v. Jaffer filed a special appearance, supported by a declaration. The trial court denied the special appearance.

The plaintiff did not object to the procedural adequacy of the special appearance, in the trial court or on appeal.

Although there was no party presentation of the issue, the Fifth Court reversed, citing its precedent that this special appearance was “unsworn” because the declaration and special appearance were not identical in substance, and thus did not comply with Tex. R. Civ. P. 120a:

Brescia’s declaration did not attest to all the facts alleged in the special appearance—only those stated in his declaration. His declaration did not say he had read the special appearance. It never even mentioned the special appearance. In fact, it was dated about one month before the special appearance was filed. Moreover, based on our review of the special appearance and the declaration, it is apparent that the special appearance set out several jurisdictional allegations that Brescia did not attest to in his declaration.

No. 05-24-01492-CV (Sept. 5, 2025).