On November 10, 2010 the First Court of Appeals granted an interlocutory appeal of the denial of a special appearance filed by The Vethan Law firm on behalf of its client, Morris Industries, Inc. The trial court in Cause No. 2009-57578; Trident Steel Corporation v Morris Industries, Inc., In the 215th Judicial District of Harris County, Texas, had denied Morris Industries’ special appearance on December 11, 2009, but had not reached the issue of Trident Steel Corporation’s request for a continuance to conduct additional discovery regarding jurisdiction.
In its memorandum opinion, the First Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s order denying Morris Industries’ special appearance, holding that the affidavit of Morris Industries’ vice president was sufficient to negate the allegations of jurisdiction in Trident’s petition. The Court then remanded the case to allow the trial court to consider Trident’s request for continuance for additional discovery on the issue of personal jursidction.