ACCEPTED
14-14-00799-CV
FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS
HOUSTON, TEXAS
3/12/2015 1:47:22 PM
CHRISTOPHER PRINE
CLERK
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
FOURTEENTH SUPREME JUDICIAL DISTRICT
HOUSTON, TEXAS FILED IN
14th COURT OF APPEALS
HOUSTON, TEXAS
IN THE INTEREST OF § 3/12/2015 1:47:22 PM
CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE
P.A.C. AND K.V.C., § Cause No. 14-14-00799-CV Clerk
CHILDREN §
APPELLANT’S MOTION TO ABATE APPEAL
TO THE HONORABLE JUDGES OF SAID COURT:
COMES NOW MARISA LAW CASEY, Appellant in this cause, through
the undersigned attorney, and would respectfully grant this Court to abate this
appeal so that the record may be supplemented. In support of said motion,
appellant would show as follows:
I.
This appeal lies from a judgment entered against Appellant in In the Interest
of P.A.C. and K.V.C, Children, Cause No. 2013-17788, in the 309th District Court,
Harris County, Texas. Judgment was entered on July 23, 2014. A motion for new
trial was filed on August 16, 2014, and overruled by operation of law. Notice of
appeal was filed on October 5, 2014. The record was marked as completed on
January 13, 2015.
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II.
The record does not contain the reporter’s notes from the July 23, 2014
hearing, where objections were made to the trial court’s orders regarding terms and
conditions of visitation and other matters, and when final entry of judgment was
made. The undersigned has spoken to Delores Johnson, the official court reporter,
who has stated that no reporter was present for the hearing on this date. However,
counsel has spoken to Barry Hards, Appellant’s attorney at trial, who says that a
reporter was present. It will be necessary for this Court to abate this appeal,
remand to the trial court for a full and complete hearing into this matter, and for the
court reporter to either file the record from the July 23, 2014 hearing, or the trial
court make a finding on the record that a reporter was not present for this hearing.
III.
In addition, the reporter’s record from June 4, 2015, the date the jury verdict
was received, does not appear to be complete. Counsel was told that objections and
proposed judgments were discussed after the jury’s verdict, and that a reporter was
present. However, no such transcription appears in the record. It will be necessary
for this Court to abate this appeal, remand to the trial court for a full and complete
hearing into this matter, and for the court reporter to either file the record from the
June 4, 2015 hearing conducted after the jury verdict was returned, or the trial
court make a finding on the record that a reporter was not present for this hearing.
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IV.
The missing portions of the reporter’s record contain extensive and detailed
enough objections and rulings that the parties cannot reasonable agree on a
statement of facts in substitution for a transcription of the reporter’s notes.
V.
In addition, the following documents have been excluded from the appellate
record:
(1) Charge signed by the trial judge and delivered to the jury;
(2) Jury’s signed verdict;
(3) Petitioner’s suggested findings of fact, filed on June 6, 2014;
(4) Petitioner’s motion in limine, filed on May 12, 2014;
(5) Judge’s report, filed on July 7, 2014; and
(6) Petitioner’s proposed final orders, filed June 10, 2014.
Appellant has filed a supplemental designation of matters to the clerk requesting
that these documents be include in the appellate record.
VI.
An appropriate motion for extension of time to file Appellant’s brief has
been filed along with this motion.
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WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Appellant prays this
Honorable Court to grant this motion to abate the appeal, remand this case to the
trial court for a hearing regarding whether a court reporter was present at the July
23, 2014 hearing, and for this appeal to remain abated until such time as the
reporter’s and clerk’s records have been properly supplemented and forwarded to
this Court.
Respectfully submitted,
Penny Wymyczak-White
PENNY WYMYCZAK-WHITE
TBN 22100350
723 Main St. Ste. 808
Houston, Texas 77002
713/225-5296 (direct)
713/227-5290 (fax)
pennywhitetx@aol.com
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT
CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE
I certify that I have conferred with Mr. John Cossum regarding this
requested abatement, and was told that he would not oppose this request.
Penny Wymyczak-White
PENNY WYMYCZAK-WHITE
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on this 12th day of March, 2015, a true and correct copy
of the forgoing motion abate the appeal was emailed to Mr. John Cossum, at
jcossum@cossumlaw.com.
Penny Wymyczak-White
PENNY WYMYCZAK-WHITE
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