I had a respondent file a pro se answer objecting to an Article 59 seizure, but he didn't cite any law or facts in support.

I was thinking about asking for a nihil dicit judgment. Anything I should watch out for?

Preface: We don't have chapter 59 jurisdiction, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express ...

Under general principles of civil procedure, a nihil dicit judgment is appropriate if the defendant/claimant fails to appear after an answer or otherwise fails to assert claims or defenses. In other words, it's descriptively referred to as a "post-answer default judgment." So you generally need something more than an inartful answer to make it appropriate. If the answer is abbreviated to the point of being ineffectual, my inclination would be to file a special exception pointing out the defect, set it for hearing, get it sustained (including an order to replead with a deadline) and then move for post-answer default when the deadline passes.