Garcia-Udall v. Udall

141 S.W.3d 323, 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 7152, 2004 WL 1902987
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 11, 2004
Docket05-03-01270-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by81 cases

This text of 141 S.W.3d 323 (Garcia-Udall v. Udall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Garcia-Udall v. Udall, 141 S.W.3d 323, 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 7152, 2004 WL 1902987 (Tex. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

FITZGERALD, Justice.

Ruth Garcia-Udall appeals certain of the child conservatorship provisions in the divorce decree from her marriage to Thomas Howard Udall. Appellant brings three issues asserting the trial court erred by: (a) not following the mediated settlement agreement regarding decisions on the child’s health care; and (b) determining that appellee should have the final say on matters relating to immunization of the child. We modify the judgment and affirm the judgment as modified.

BACKGROUND

The parties married on August 5, 2000, and appellant gave birth to their child on August 1, 2001. Eight-and-one-half months later, on April 22, 2002, appellant filed for divorce.

On June 18, 2002, the trial court held a hearing on the issuance of temporary orders. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court dictated temporary orders and entered them on the docket sheet. Concerning the child’s medical care, the court approved the parties’ agreement that they would jointly choose a pediatrician for the child from appellant’s health-insurance plan and that if a parent took the child to a doctor not covered by the health-insurance plan, that parent would have to pay the cost. The trial court also ordered that both parties had authority to make emergency medical decisions for the child, but appellee would make all non-emergency medical decisions, including whether to have the child immunized. The parties submitted proposed written orders.

On July 30, 2002, the trial court signed written temporary orders. The written temporary orders did not follow the trial court’s oral rendition at the June 18, 2002 hearing concerning the right to consent to medical treatment of the child in a non-emergency situation. Unlike the oral rendition, which gave appellee the authority to make all non-emergency medical decisions, the written orders gave each party the right during his or her period of possession to consent to non-invasive medical and dental treatment for the child. The written orders gave appellee the exclusive right “to consent to medical, dental, and surgical treatment involving invasive procedures, and to consent to psychiatric and psychological treatment, specifically including, but not limited to, the exclusive right to determine whether the child should be immunized.”

After the trial court signed the written temporary orders, the parties signed a mediated settlement agreement, in which they agreed to all the issues relating to the divorce and most of the issues in the suit affecting the parent-child relationship. In underlined, boldface capital letters, the mediated settlement agreement provided, “THIS AGREEMENT IS NOT SUBJECT TO REVOCATION OR CHANGE,” and it was signed by the parties and their attor *326 neys. The mediated settlement agreement stated, “The parental rights and duties shall be allocated between Mother and Father according to the terms set forth in the Temporary Orders in this case” except as modified in the mediated settlement agreement. The mediated settlement agreement contained three modifications of the temporary orders relevant to this appeal. First, concerning the decision making on the child’s health care, “In the event the parties cannot agree on medical, dental or surgical treatment involving invasive procedures and to psychiatric and psychological treatment for the Child, then Father will have the right to make the final decision on those matters.” Second, concerning immunizations, “The issues of rights and duties regarding the Child’s immunizations will be tried before the Court if not resolved by agreement beforehand.” Third, concerning selection of a physician and healthcare appointments, the agreement provided, “The parties will jointly choose the Child’s pediatrician from the list of providers under Mother’s current employer provider health insurance plan. Neither party will take the Child to a healthcare provider without first notifying the other at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance so they may attend the appointment if they so desire.”

The trial court entered the divorce decree, which acknowledged the mediation and stated that except for the issue of immunization of the child, “the terms and provisions” of the mediated settlement agreement “are reflected in this Decree.” Appellant objected to the decree, complaining that some of its provisions differed from those in the mediated settlement agreement. Appellant alleged that one difference was that the divorce decree did not give each parent during periods of possession the right to consent to medical and dental care not involving an invasive procedure as set out in the written temporary orders and incorporated into the mediated settlement agreement. Instead, the decree stated they had the “joint right” to consent to such care. Appellant also objected to the decree stating the parties could not take the child to any healthcare provider other than the agreed-upon physician or, in his absence, one of his associates, because that term was not in the mediated settlement agreement and was contrary to the mediated settlement agreement’s provisions. Appellant also objected to the decree stating that on the issue of immunizations and inoculations, appellee was to consult with appellant on the issue, and if they could not reach a joint decision, then appellee would have the sole right to make decisions regarding the child’s immunizations, because this determination was contrary to the evidence. The trial court subsequently entered findings of fact and conclusions of law, which found the orders in the decree were in the child’s best interest. 1

Appellant filed a motion for new trial, the grounds of which included complaints that the decree varied from the terms of the mediated settlement agreement. She also complained that the trial court had determined the immunization issue without a trial before the court. The trial court *327 agreed it had given the parties “short shrift” on the immunization issue, and the court granted the motion for new trial on that issue. After hearing evidence on the immunization issue, the trial court determined that appellee should consult with appellant about the child’s immunizations, and if they could not agree, then he would have the final decision-making authority on immunizations.

MEDIATED SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

In her first two issues, appellant asserts the trial court abused its discretion by entering provisions in the divorce decree that were inconsistent with the mediated settlement agreement. Section 153.0071(c) of the family code permits the trial court to refer a suit affecting the parent-child relationship to mediation. TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 153.0071(c) (Vernon 2002). 2 If the agreement states in the appropriate font that it is not subject to revocation and is signed by both parties and their attorneys, then “a party is entitled to judgment on the mediated settlement agreement notwithstanding Rule 11, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, or another rule of law.” Id. § 153.0071(d), (e). The mediated settlement agreement in this case meets the requirements of section 153.0071(d).

Right to Consent to Medical Treatment

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
141 S.W.3d 323, 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 7152, 2004 WL 1902987, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garcia-udall-v-udall-texapp-2004.