Roosth v. Roosth

889 S.W.2d 445, 1994 WL 513978
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 20, 1994
DocketB14-93-00329-CV, B14-93-00686-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by119 cases

This text of 889 S.W.2d 445 (Roosth v. Roosth) 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
Roosth v. Roosth, 889 S.W.2d 445, 1994 WL 513978 (Tex. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

OPINION

LEE, Justice.

This is an appeal from a decree of divorce and an appeal from an order for turnover, for appointment of a receiver and for injunctive relief. We have consolidated the two appeals. In the appeal from the divorce decree, Michael Roosth raises nine points of error. In his appeal from the turnover order, Michael Roosth brings six points of error. Appellee has filed a motion to dismiss the appeal which we have taken with the ease and now deny. As to the divorce decree, we affirm in part and reverse and remand in part. We affirm the turnover order as modified.

MOTION TO DISMISS

Before turning to appellant’s points of error, we must address appellee’s motion to dismiss the appeal. The basis of this motion is Geesbreght v. Geesbreght, 570 S.W.2d 427 (Tex.App.—Fort Worth 1978, writ dism’d). Appellee quotes one sentence from this ease:

The proper order of an appellate court is to dismiss the appeal where an appellant is in obvious contempt of the judgment of the trial court from which the appeal has been taken.

570 S.W.2d at 429. Because appellant has not paid ordered child support, appellee asserts that we should dismiss the appeal under authority of Geesbreght.

Texas appellate courts have dismissed appeals from divorce judgments where the appellant has refused to comply with a trial court order regarding custody. See Geesbreght, 570 S.W.2d at 429 (appellant took child and left the state); Steed v. Woods, 475 S.W.2d 814, 816 (Tex.Civ.App.—Amarillo *450 1972, writ dism’d) (appellant took child and left the state); Strange v. Strange, 464 S.W.2d 216, 218 (Tex.Civ.App.—Fort Worth 1970, writ dism’d w.o.j.) (appellant withheld custody from appellee). Although parties have cited these cases as authority’for dismissal of appeals that do not involve custody violations, none has been successful. See O’Connor v. Sam Houston Med. Hosp., Inc., 807 S.W.2d 574, 576-77 (Tex.1991) (failure to respond to post-judgment discovery orders); Goodridge v. Goodridge, 591 S.W.2d 571, 572 (Tex.Civ.App.—Dallas 1979, writ dism’d) (discovery abuse). In O’Connor, the supreme court said:

We express no opinion on whether a court of appeals may ever properly dismiss an appeal because of appellant’s failure to comply with a trial court order. We hold that it was an abuse of discretion to do so in this case. Cf. Goodridge v. Goodridge, 591 S.W.2d 571 (Tex.Civ.App.—Dallas 1979, writ dism’d) (limiting Geesbreght to its facts).

807 S.W.2d at 576-77. Because no authority supports dismissal of an appeal where the appellant has failed to obey a trial court order regarding child support, we decline appellee’s invitation to extend the Geesbreght line of authority to such a case. We deny appellee’s motion.

VISITATION

In granting the divorce, the trial court appointed appellee the sole managing conservator of the four children. The court limited appellant’s possession of the children as follows:

... Michael shall have possession of the children (any of them) only at times mutually agreed to in advance by the Managing Conservator, Linda Weiner, such ruling being made in view of the facts and conditions surrounding the separation and Michael’s leaving the marital home and his family, and in particular the children, the inadequate support by the father, although having ability and assets, and considering the conduct of Michael since separation to date, as well as his conduct regarding visitation during this divorce proceeding, i.e. tardiness picking up and returning the children, interference in the mother’s home on numerous occasions, and in particular his use of physical force with the teenage girls and the boys, and his physical attack upon Linda in the presence of the children, his lack of sensitivity in regard to school, religious, and cultural activities, failure to provide adequate physical facilities at this time to accommodate the children, although assistance was available. It is therefore the opinion and order of the Court for the best interests of the children, that any and all visitation by the father or other contact or conversation with the children, shall be only upon agreement by Linda, and at such times, places and conditions she, in her sole discretion, may determine.

In his first three points of error, appellant challenges this portion of the decree, claiming the trial court abused its discretion because (1) no good cause was shown to support deviating from the standard possession order of Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 14.038, (2) the court did not file findings of fact and conclusions of law in response to a proper request and appellant cannot determine the grounds upon which the court based its visitation order, and (3) the court did not give appellant a specific period of visitation that could be enforced by the court. In point of error four, appellant claims the visitation portion of the decree must be reversed because the trial court erred in not appointing an attorney ad litem to represent the best interests of the children.

Section 14.033 sets forth the standard order regarding minimum possession of a child for a parent named as possessory conservator. See Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 14.033 (Vernon Supp.1994). A rebuttable presumption arises in any suit affecting the parent-child relationship that this standard order is in the best interest of the child. Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 14.033(k) (Vernon Supp.1994). The trial court may determine, however, that application of this standard order would be unworkable or inappropriate under the circumstances. Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 14.033(k) (Vernon Supp.1994). If possession of a child is contested and the court sets possession of a child at variance with the standard guidelines, the court, upon request, shall state in *451 the order the specific reasons for all deviations from the standard order. TexFam. Code ANN. § 14.033(k) (Vernon Supp.1994).

The best interest of the child is the primary consideration of the court in determining questions of possession of a child. See MacCallum v. MacCallum, 801 S.W.2d 579, 582 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1990, writ denied). Trial courts have wide discretion in determining the best interests of the child. Id.

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Bluebook (online)
889 S.W.2d 445, 1994 WL 513978, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roosth-v-roosth-texapp-1994.