Stage 4 of 7 · Cited
What Happens If You Ignore a TABC Citation?
In this guide
Ignoring a TABC administrative notice does not make the case go away. If the business takes no action in AIMS by the deadline stated in the notice email, TABC sends the case to its General Counsel’s Office to be set for a hearing at the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH). If the business then also fails to appear at that hearing, SOAH’s rules allow the case to proceed by default, with the facts in TABC’s notice deemed admitted. Missing one stage does not always end the case, but the remaining remedies become narrower and more procedural.
One distinction first. A criminal citation is issued to an individual, such as the employee who made a sale, while the administrative notice is issued against the permit or license. Ignoring a criminal citation is a court matter with its own consequences; the stages below are those of the administrative notice.
Stage 1: The AIMS deadline passes
TABC’s violations page sets out the rule: “If the license holder doesn’t take action in AIMS by the deadline stated in the email, their violation case will be sent to TABC’s General Counsel’s Office to be set for an administrative hearing.”
Missing that deadline sends the case to a hearing track. Settlement may still be possible, depending on the violation and the posture of the case: a case alleging a sale to a minor or an intoxicated person that caused death or serious bodily injury goes to TABC’s legal services division without a settlement offer (TABC Rule 34.1(e)). TABC’s Penalty Policy for regulatory violations states that “a violation or case can be settled at any time,” and SOAH’s guide for representing yourself in general hearings describes settlement negotiations between the parties while a case is at SOAH.
Stage 2: The notice of hearing
The next document is a notice of hearing. For a default to be possible later, SOAH’s rule on default proceedings, 1 Texas Administrative Code Section 155.501, requires that the notice:
- include a disclosure “in at least 12-point, bold-face type” that the factual matters asserted could be deemed admitted and the relief sought might be granted by default against a party that fails to appear;
- meet the notice requirements of Sections 2001.051 and 2001.052 of the Government Code and SOAH’s own notice rule; and
- have been issued to or received by the party, or properly served on the party or its attorney.
That notice is the business’s opportunity to prepare for the hearing and to continue settlement talks with TABC. One deadline does not restart with it: the sworn Safe Harbor affidavit under TABC Rule 34.20(a) is due within a period counted from receipt of the original administrative notice, not from the notice of hearing.
Stage 3: Missing the hearing
SOAH’s guide puts the consequence plainly: if a party does not show up, “your case may be dismissed and handled by the agency or a default decision may be entered against you.” Under Section 155.501(d), when the notice requirements were met, the judge may grant TABC’s motion for default and issue one of the following. In TABC cases the commission makes the final decision, so the first two apply:
| Default order | What it does |
|---|---|
| Default dismissal | Finds adequate notice and dismisses the case from SOAH's docket on the facts deemed admitted, without a decision on the merits; the case returns to TABC for informal disposition on a default basis |
| Default proposal for decision | Deems admitted the facts asserted in the notice of hearing or TABC's pleadings and issues a proposal for decision to TABC |
| Default decision | Used only where SOAH itself makes the final decision |
Getting back in after a default
After a default dismissal, Section 155.501(e) gives the business 15 days from the order to file a motion to set aside the default. If the motion is granted for good cause, the hearing is reopened. If no timely motion is filed, or the motion is denied, the case goes back to TABC for informal disposition on a default basis under Section 2001.056 of the Government Code.
After a default proposal for decision, the proposal is subject to Section 155.507 of SOAH’s rules (Section 155.501(f)). SOAH’s guide describes a deadline for filing exceptions to a proposal for decision before TABC’s commissioners act on it.
Under Section 155.501(h), a motion to set aside a default must state the grounds and be supported by an affidavit of the business or its attorney showing one of the following:
- the party had no notice of the hearing;
- the party had no notice of the consequences of failing to appear; or
- the failure to appear “was not intentional or the result of conscious indifference, but due to reasonable mistake or accident that can be supported by adequate proof.”
The motion must also state whether it is opposed and, if so, list hearing dates agreeable to both parties. If the judge finds good cause, “the judge shall vacate the default and reset the case for a hearing.”
After the final order
When TABC’s commission issues a final order, the remaining routes are a motion for rehearing filed with TABC and then an appeal to district court, each with its own statutory deadline.
What can a business that missed a deadline do now?
- Notice email unanswered, deadline not yet passed: act in AIMS before the deadline.
- AIMS deadline passed: watch for the notice of hearing, prepare for the hearing, and settlement talks with TABC remain possible.
- Hearing missed: check which default order was issued and its date, and assess the Section 155.501(h) grounds against the 15-day window that applies to a default dismissal.
- Final order issued: the rehearing and appeal deadlines are now running.
This article is general information about Texas alcoholic beverage law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes and TABC rules change; confirm current requirements with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the relevant city or county, or a licensed Texas attorney before acting.