1. (a) If a respondent fails to appear in person or by authorized representative on the day and time set for hearing in the contested case, regardless of whether an appearance has been entered, the judge shall enter a default judgment in the matter adverse to the respondent.
2. (b) For purposes of this section, default judgment means the issuance of a proposal for decision against the respondent in which the factual allegations against the respondent in the notice of hearing are deemed admitted as true, without any requirement for additional proof to be submitted by the petitioner.
3. (c) Any default judgment granted under this section will be entered on the basis of the factual allegations contained in the notice of hearing, and upon the proof of proper notice to the defaulting party opponent.

4. (d) After the granting of a motion for default judgment, a motion by the respondent to reopen the record may be granted if the respondent establishes that the failure to attend the hearing was neither intentional nor the result of conscious indifference.

   1. (1) A motion to reopen the record must be filed with the judge within five (5) days of the date of the hearing. The judge shall only grant the motion to reopen the record upon a showing of good cause for the respondent's failure to attend the hearing.
   2. (2) A motion to reopen the record is not a motion for rehearing and is not to be considered a motion for rehearing. The filing of a motion to reopen has no effect on either the statutory time periods for the filing of a motion for rehearing or on the time period for ruling on a motion for rehearing.

Source Note:The provisions of this §29.27 adopted to be effective May 10, 2000, 25 TexReg 4191.