The Associated Press reports that Sigma Alpha Epsilon intends to appeal. See article posted on the Houston Chronicle’s site:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6077025.html
Sigma Alpha Epsilon has a statement on its national HQ web site:
http://www.sae.net/NETCOMMUNITY/Page...=299&srcid=329
Excerpt from SAE’s statement:
The national organization believes there was an administrative error in answering this complaint. No record of the organization filing an appearance was available to the court. The result was a default judgment without the opportunity to defend. A motion to vacate this default judgment has been or will be made shortly by Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s defense counsel. The organization is hopeful, based on the facts, that the court will act as requested and that it will have an opportunity to answer as it already has for the individuals and others named in the lawsuit.
Edited to add:
An article posted on the Austin paper’s site reports that the lawyer for the parents of the late Mr. Cross has said he doesn’t know what SAE means by “administrative error.” See:
http://www.statesman.com/news/conten...5/1025sae.html
Excerpt:
Robby Alden, the attorney for Cross' parents, said Friday that he didn't know what the fraternity meant by an administrative error.
"Travis County has an 'e-filing' system that immediately confirms to all parties when anything is filed," he said.