in the Interest of P.A.C and K.V.C., Children

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. 1 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. 2 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. 3 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 4 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 5