Location: Tarrant County, TX
Hello, I figured I asked for some advice here as the timing is pretty awful for me. Today I was served documents in Virginia. Apparently I am being sued with the case being filed in Tarrant County, TX. I am active duty military currently stationed in Virginia. The document listed my first and last name, but under my father’s old address. I had only used it once to route my mail during a move.
The documents claim that I had driven a 2001 GMC Sierra into the plaintiff’s GMC Yukon on 26 Nov 2024. I have never owned or insured that type of vehicle and the last time I was physically in Texas was in the Summer of 2022. With the exception of being in CA for a week (flew directly into) last month, I have been in Virginia since moving in June 2024. I haven’t even gone on leave in Texas for years now, so this came out of the blue.
The first step I have is calling my JAG office and sending them the documents I was served. The case number provided is legit as I can find it on the case lookup tool in the official county website. I know under the Service Member’s Civil Relief Act, they cannot issue a default judgment for at least 90 days. The awful timing comes in with me going to Korea for about two months the very next day and by the time I received the documents, my legal office had already closed.
I wanted to ask if there was any kind of steps I should take besides hiring a lawyer. I know that my options are pretty limited other than that since military legal offices don’t take any representation in civil lawsuits. If it comes down to it, once I come back to the U.S. mainland am I able to present any documentation to the court (like my orders to VA and a memorandum from my CDR) showing that I wasn’t authorized to be in Texas?