In Re MF

173 S.W.3d 220, 2005 WL 2403432
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 30, 2005
Docket05-04-01418-CV
StatusPublished

This text of 173 S.W.3d 220 (In Re MF) 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
In Re MF, 173 S.W.3d 220, 2005 WL 2403432 (Tex. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

173 S.W.3d 220 (2005)

In the Interest of M.F., a Child.

No. 05-04-01418-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Dallas.

September 30, 2005.

*221 April E. Smith, Mesquite, for appellant.

William T. (Bill) Hill, Jr., Dallas, for appellee.

Before Justices MOSELY, BRIDGES, and O'NEILL.

OPINION

Opinion by Justice O'NEILL.

Mother appeals an order terminating her parental rights to her son, M.F. Mother contends the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the trial court's order. We conclude that the evidence is both legally and factually sufficient to terminate Mother's parental rights and affirm the trial court's order.

BACKGROUND

The Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (The Department) filed a suit seeking termination of Mother's parental rights to M.F. The Department alleged that Mother (1) knowingly placed or allowed M.F. to remain in conditions or surroundings which endangered his physical or emotional well-being and (2) engaged in conduct or knowingly placed M.F. with persons who have engaged in conduct which endangered his physical or emotional well-being. See TEX. FAM.CODE ANN. § 161.001(1)(D), (E) (Vernon 2002). The Department also alleged that Mother has a mental or emotional illness or a mental deficiency that renders her unable to provide for the physical, emotional, and mental needs of M.F. See TEX. FAM.CODE ANN. § 161.003 (Vernon 2002). Finally, the Department alleged that the termination of Mother's rights was in M.F.'s best interest. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 161.001(2) (Vernon 2002). Following a bench trial, the trial court found the allegations in the Department's petition to be true and entered an order terminating Mother's parental rights. In this appeal, Mother asserts the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the trial court's order.

TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS

Before parental rights can be involuntarily terminated, the trial court must find that (1) the parent has committed one of the enumerated statutory conditions, and (2) termination is in the best interest of the child. TEX. FAM.CODE ANN. § 161.001 (Vernon 2002). The burden of proof necessary to involuntarily terminate parental rights is proof by clear and convincing evidence. TEX. FAM.CODE ANN. § 161.001 (Vernon 2002). Here, the trial court terminated Mother's parental rights under sections 161.001(1)(D), 161.001(1)(E), and 161.003 of the family code. The trial court was required to find only one of the statutory conditions to be true and that the termination was in M.F.'s best interest in order to terminate Mother's parental rights. TEX. FAM.CODE § 161.001 (Vernon 2002). Wilson v. State, 116 S.W.3d 923, 928 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2003, no pet.)

Under section 161.001(1)(D), the Department is required to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the parent "knowingly placed or knowingly allowed the child to remain in conditions or surroundings which endangers the physical or emotional well-being of the child." TEX. FAM.CODE ANN. § 161.001(1)(D) (Vernon 2002). This section refers only to the acceptability of the child's living conditions. See In re *222 S.H.A., 728 S.W.2d 73, 84 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1987, writ ref'd n.r.e.).

"Endanger" means to "expose to loss or injury; to jeopardize." In re M.C., 917 S.W.2d 268, 269 (Tex.1996). Although "endanger" means more than a threat of physical injury or the possible ill effects of a less than ideal family environment, it is not necessary that the conduct be directed at the child or that the child actually suffer an injury. Id.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

In reviewing the legal sufficiency of the evidence, this court looks at all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the termination finding to determine whether a reasonable trier of fact could have formed a firm belief or conviction about the truth of the matter on which the Department bears the burden of proof. In re J.F.C., 96 S.W.3d 256, 265-66 (Tex.2002); Wilson, 116 S.W.3d at 928. We assume that the factfinder resolved any disputed facts in favor of its finding, if a reasonable factfinder could so do, and disregard all evidence that a reasonable factfinder could have disbelieved or found incredible. J.F.C., 96 S.W.3d at 266. We do not, however, disregard undisputed evidence that does not support the finding. Id.

When reviewing the factual sufficiency of the evidence to support a termination finding, we must give "due consideration" to any evidence the factfinder could reasonably have found to be clear and convincing. Id. We must consider the disputed evidence and determine whether a reasonable factfinder could have resolved that evidence in favor of the finding. Id. The evidence is factually insufficient if, in light of the entire record, the disputed evidence that a reasonable factfinder could not have credited in favor of its finding is so significant that a factfinder could not have reasonably formed a firm conviction or belief. Id.

FACTS

In October of 2003, Officer Jeff Smith was dispatched to an apartment complex where M.F. had fallen from a second-story balcony. When Smith arrived, he observed paramedics attending to M.F. who informed him that they were taking M.F. to the hospital because it appeared his leg was broken. Smith noticed toys laying around the area and also the remnants of M.F.'s soiled diaper. The diaper exploded when M.F. hit the ground, and pieces of it were scattered about the scene. Smith spoke with a witness at the apartment complex who told him she found M.F. after he had fallen from the balcony and that she alerted his mother about the incident. The witness directed Smith to Mother's apartment where Smith observed "one of the top five worst environments" he had ever seen in his eight years in law enforcement. The apartment was so cluttered he could not see the floor. There were trash bags everywhere and it smelled like a "dirty bathroom at a truck stop." The stench made him nauseous. In the bedroom, there was a bandana on the floor with clothes piled around it where Mother and M.F. slept. Smith almost fell three times on his way to examine the balcony door because of the clutter. When he got to the balcony door, he found that the latch was not working and that Mother had taped the door shut, but the tape was not sufficient to keep it shut. Smith found that the refrigerator and freezer were full of bags which held soiled diapers. The refrigerator also contained a bottle of PediaSure, milk, and a package of bologna. However, it was so full with soiled diapers that it was not cooling. Smith concluded his testimony by stating that he believed the conditions in the apartment were a *223 danger to M.F.'s physical and emotional well-being.

In 1991, Mother suffered a brain injury in a motor vehicle accident. Dr. Karen Grable, Mother's psychiatrist, testified that as a result, her short-term memory is impaired. Mother has also undergone a personality change that causes her to become obsessive and to exhibit poor judgment. She is delusional, psychotic, and is paranoid that there is a conspiracy to take her child away from her.

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Related

Holley v. Adams
544 S.W.2d 367 (Texas Supreme Court, 1976)
Wilson v. State
116 S.W.3d 923 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2003)
In the Interest of S.H.A.
728 S.W.2d 73 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1987)
In re M.C.
917 S.W.2d 268 (Texas Supreme Court, 1996)
In the interest of C.H.
89 S.W.3d 17 (Texas Supreme Court, 2002)
In the Interest of J.F.C.
96 S.W.3d 256 (Texas Supreme Court, 2002)
In the Interest of M.F.
173 S.W.3d 220 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
173 S.W.3d 220, 2005 WL 2403432, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-mf-texapp-2005.