Affirm and Opinion Filed September 2, 2021
In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
No. 05-21-00161-CV
IN THE INTEREST OF P.Z.F., A CHILD
On Appeal from the 305th Judicial District Court
Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. JC-18-00558-X
OPINION
Before Justices Molberg, Reichek, and Nowell
Opinion by Justice Nowell
Father appeals from the trial court’s Decree of Termination that terminated
his parental rights to P.Z.F., a child. In a single issue, Father argues the Decree of
Termination is void because the trial court lost jurisdiction.1 We affirm.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The Department of Family and Protective Services filed its original petition
for protection of a child, for conservatorship, and for termination in a suit affecting
the parent-child relationship on May 11, 2018. P.Z.F. was one of the children who
was the subject of the suit. The trial court executed an ex parte order for emergency
1
Because Father does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence, we only provide the facts relevant
to the disposition of the appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.1.
care and temporary custody of P.Z.F. on May 14, 2018, which appointed the
Department as the temporary managing conservator of P.Z.F. On June 6, 2018, the
trial court entered a temporary order appointing the Department as temporary
managing conservator of P.Z.F.
In February 2019, the court set the case for a bench trial to begin on April 17,
2019. Two days before the trial date, the Department filed a motion for continuance
stating that the results of a home study of the children’s grandparents who lived in
Arkansas were pending. On April 17, 2019, the trial court made the following docket
sheet entry:
TBC – TRIAL BY COURT (1:30pm)
All sides present. Issue of whether ICPC [home study] candidate will
take all three children. Continuance by agreement.
On May 16, 2019, the trial court made another docket sheet entry:
TBC – TRIAL BY COURT (1:30pm)
All sides present. Parties have [mediated settlement agreement] –
awaiting [home study] from Arkansas. Continue by agreement and
extend by agreement. Also OAG Intervention.
A docket sheet entry made on May 20, 2019 states: “CANCELED. DISM –
DISMISSAL (9:00 AM) . . . REQUESTED BY JUDGE.” A new dismissal date was
set for November 15, 2019.
On September 26, 2019, following a hearing, the trial court orally ordered
P.Z.F. returned to Mother for a monitored return pursuant to conditions in the
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parties’ mediated settlement agreement. On October 11, 2019, the court signed a
written order stating:
The Court having reviewed the file, pleadings, arguments of
counsel and parties and noted that this matter has come to the court
prior to the tolling of the one year anniversary date and hereby finds
that it is in the best interests of the children, and necessary for the
administration of justice, pursuant to 263.403 of the Texas Family
Code, to extend the Court’s jurisdiction to allow the children to be
placed in the parent’s home. The Court further finds that retaining
jurisdiction under Section 263.403 of the Texas Family Code is in the
best interests of the children.
The Court further finds that the children will be placed into full-
time possession of [Mother], who will continue to cooperate and
comply with the Court ordered services AND ALL FOLLOW-UP
RECOMMENDATIONS.
The trial court further ordered: “The Court’s jurisdiction shall be EXTENDED and
continue until March 23, 2020[,] which shall become the date of dismissal and it is
the date this Court shall lose its jurisdiction and is also the date the temporary orders
regarding the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services shall expire by
operation of law.” The trial court continued Mother as the Temporary Managing
Conservator on December 17, 2019; in the same order, it reset the trial date for
March 5, 2020.
Trial commenced on March 5, 2020, and continued on several subsequent
dates. The trial court then signed a Decree of Termination terminating Father’s
parental rights to P.Z.F. on March 9, 2021. This appeal followed.
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LAW & ANALYSIS
In his sole issue, Father argues the Decree of Termination is void because the
trial court did not properly extend its jurisdiction pursuant to section 263.401(b) of
the family code. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 263.401(b). A judgment is void when
it is apparent that the court rendering judgment lacked jurisdiction over the parties
or subject matter, had no jurisdiction to enter the particular judgment, or had no
capacity to act. In re D.S., 602 S.W.3d 504, 512 (Tex. 2020). Appellate courts have
jurisdiction to determine whether an order or judgment underlying the appeal is void
and to make appropriate orders based on that determination. See Freedom
Commc’ns., Inc. v. Coronado, 372 S.W.3d 621, 623 (Tex. 2012).
In cases where the Department requests termination of parental rights or
conservatorship of a child, the family code requires the court to begin trial no later
than the first Monday after the first anniversary of the date the court rendered a
temporary order appointing the Department as temporary managing conservator.
See TEX. FAM. CODE § 263.401(a). The trial court may extend the deadline if it finds
that “extraordinary circumstances necessitate the child remaining in the temporary
managing conservatorship of the department and that continuing the appointment of
the department as temporary managing conservator is in the best interest of the
child.” Id. § 263.401(b). If the court makes those findings, the court may retain the
suit on its docket “for a period not to exceed 180 days after the time described by
Subsection (a).” Id. If the trial court grants an extension under subsection (b) but
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fails to commence the trial on the merits before the dismissal date, “the court’s
jurisdiction over the suit is terminated and the suit is automatically dismissed without
a court order.” Id. § 263.401(c); see also In re G.X.H., No. 19-0959, 2021 WL
1704234, at *1 (Tex. Apr. 30, 2021). “The court may not grant an additional
extension that extends the suit beyond the required date for dismissal” under
Subsection (b). TEX. FAM CODE § 263.401(c).
However, notwithstanding the provisions of section 263.401, the trial court
may retain jurisdiction over a case if it: (1) finds that retention is in the best interest
of the child; (2) orders a Department-monitored return of the child to a parent; and
(3) continues the Department as temporary managing conservator of the child. See
TEX. FAM. CODE § 263.403(a); see also In re A.H.J., No. 05-15-00501-CV, 2015
WL 5866256, at *2 (Tex. App.—Dallas Oct. 8, 2015, pet. denied) (mem. op.). If the
trial court renders an order pursuant to section 263.403, it shall “schedule a new date,
not later than the 180th day after the date the temporary order is rendered, for
dismissal of the suit unless a trial on the merits has commenced.” TEX. FAM. CODE
§ 263.403(b).
In this case, the trial court initially appointed the Department as temporary
managing conservator of P.Z.F. on May 14, 2018; accordingly, the automatic
dismissal date was May 20, 2019. See generally TEX. FAM. CODE § 263.401(a) (the
first Monday after the first anniversary of the date the court rendered a temporary
order appointing the Department as temporary managing conservator). Father
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argues the May 16, 2019 docket sheet entry, made four days before the automatic
dismissal date, did not extend the trial court’s jurisdiction and, therefore, the order
terminating his parental rights is void. The Department responds that, based on the
Texas Supreme Court’s recent opinion in In re G.X.H., the trial court’s docket sheet
entry was sufficient, and the trial court never lost jurisdiction.
In G.X.H., the Department filed suit seeking to terminate both parents’
parental rights to two children. G.X.H., 2021 WL 1704234, at *1. The trial court
entered a temporary order appointing the Department as the children’s temporary
managing conservator, and it set the case for trial one month before the automatic
dismissal date. Id. at *1-2. One month before the automatic dismissal date, the
Department filed a motion to retain the suit on the court’s docket and set a new
dismissal date. Id. at *2. The Department’s motion tracked the statutory language,
asserting “[t]here are extraordinary circumstances that necessitate the children
remaining in the temporary managing conservatorship of the Department” and
“continuing the appointment of the Department as temporary managing conservator
is in the best interest of the children.” Id. (quoting Department’s motion). The
Department also filed a motion for continuance. Rather than entering an order, the
trial court made a docket sheet entry:
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Motion for continuance – cps, strickling, cooper, parents, serious injury
case, med recs missing for trial, agreed continuance – 10/17/18 for trial,
extension granted to reach the agreed trial date; trial – 10/17/18.2
Id. The rescheduled trial commenced on October 17, 2018, which was within the
180-day extension period permitted by section 263.401(b).
Generally docket sheet entries are insufficient to constitute a decree of the
court; however, the family code alters this general rule in suits affecting the parent-
child relationship, including parental-rights-termination cases. Id. at *6 (discussing
TEX. FAM. CODE § 101.026). In G.X.H., the docket sheet showed the court granted
both an agreed continuance of the trial date to a date approximately seven weeks
later and “an ‘extension . . . to reach the agreed trial date.’” Id. at *7 (quoting docket
sheet entry). The supreme court concluded “the only reasonable interpretation of
this docket entry—which was entered on the date of the hearing on the Department’s
motion for continuance—is that the trial court granted both a continuance of the trial
date and an extension of the automatic dismissal date under section 263.401(b).” Id.
The supreme court further concluded that the trial court’s extension of the automatic
dismissal date as reflected in its docket sheet entry “allowed the trial court to retain
jurisdiction beyond [the original automatic dismissal date],” and the final decree
terminating parental rights was not void. Id. at *7.
2
The supreme court opinion states the references to “strickling” and “cooper” “appear to be references
to counsel for the Department and the attorney ad litem appointed to represent the children, respectively.”
Id. at *2, n.2.
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A. Father’s Arguments
As in G.X.H., the trial court entered an extension of the trial date and
automatic dismissal date in a docket sheet entry. See id. at *7. Father argues the
May 16 docket sheet entry is distinguishable from that in G.X.H. and does not satisfy
section 263.401 because the family code prohibits the court from extending the
deadlines by agreement, no party filed a motion for extension of the dismissal date,
the trial court did not include the new dismissal date in the docket sheet entry, and
no reporter’s record was made on May 16, 2019. We consider each argument in
turn.
Section 263.402 states: “The parties to a suit under this chapter may not extend
the deadlines set by the court under this subchapter by agreement or otherwise.”
TEX. FAM. CODE § 263.402. Father asserts the May 16 docket sheet entry shows the
deadlines were extended by agreement in violation of this provision. We disagree.
Docket sheet entries are made by the trial court, and reflect the court’s decision to
extend the relevant dates. We conclude the trial court, not the parties, extended the
relevant deadlines, and the parties were in agreement with the decision to extend the
deadlines.
Father argues this case is distinguishable from G.X.H. because no party filed
a motion for extension of the dismissal date in the instant case and no pleadings were
presented to the court that quoted the language of the required findings pursuant to
section 263.401(b). Father does not explain why this distinction is relevant to our
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analysis about whether the trial court lost jurisdiction, and we cannot conclude it is
determinative. The statute does not require a party file a motion or other pleading
for the trial court to retain the suit on its docket beyond the one-year dismissal date.
See TEX. FAM. CODE § 263.401(a), (b).
Father also asserts this case is distinguishable from G.X.H. because the trial
court did not write the date of the extension in the docket sheet entry nor did the
court include the new dismissal date on the docket sheet entry. We begin by noting
the trial court in G.X.H. did not include the new dismissal date in the docket sheet
entry; the trial court set the new trial date and noted “extension granted to reach the
agreed trial date”; the supreme court considered this entry sufficient. See G.X.H.,
2021 WL 1704234, at *2. The trial court then entered an order approximately two
months after extending the trial date to specify the new dismissal date. See id. at *9.
In the case before us, the May 16 docket sheet entry also does not include the new
dismissal date. However, as in G.X.H., the trial court later issued an order setting
the new dismissal date in March 2020.
Additionally, section 263.401(b) requires the court render an order in which
it: (1) schedules the new date on which the suit will be automatically dismissed if
the trial on the merits has not commenced; (2) makes further temporary orders for
the safety and welfare of the child; and (3) sets the trial date on the merits on a date
not later than the new automatic dismissal date. See TEX. FAM. CODE § 263.401(b).
Although none of these findings was on the docket sheet entry, the supreme court
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stated that “while a trial court’s failure to timely extend the automatic dismissal date
before that date passes—through a docket-sheet notation or otherwise—is
jurisdictional, claimed defects relating to the other requirements of 263.401(b) are
not. Accordingly, with the exception of a trial court’s failure to extend the automatic
dismissal date before it passes, complaints regarding the trial court’s compliance
with the requirements in subsection (b) must be preserved for appellate review.”
G.X.H., 2021 WL 1704234, at *9. Here, as in G.X.H., the trial court extended the
automatic dismissal date before the deadline passed, but did not note the new
dismissal date until later. Father’s other complaints that the trial court failed to make
the findings described in subsection (b) were not raised in the trial court and, thus,
were not preserved for our review. See id.
Finally, Father argues that no reporter’s record was made on May 16, 2019,
and therefore, we cannot imply the trial court made the findings required by section
263.401(b) orally or in writing. The trial court’s docket sheet shows all sides were
present on May 16. “Where, as here, the trial court held an oral hearing on the
proposed extension and the parties failed to bring forth the record of that hearing on
appeal, we will presume the trial court made the necessary findings to support the
extension orally on the record at the hearing.” Id. at *8. While trial courts “should
make the section 263.401(b) findings in a written order as a matter of course . . . the
failure to do so is not error, provided the findings are made orally on the record or
in some other writing.” Id. Further, “where the trial court granted an extension after
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conducting an oral hearing and the record of that hearing is not made part of the
record on appeal, courts may imply the section 263.401(a) findings were made on
the record at the oral hearing.” Id. Based on G.X.H., we imply the section
263.401(a) findings were made on the record at the oral hearing. Additionally, to
the extent we were to presume a court reporter was not present, “no objection was
raised, and thus any complaint that the [May 16] hearing was not recorded is
waived.” Id. at *8 n.6.
Having considered each of Father’s arguments and, applying the supreme
court’s analysis in G.X.H., we conclude “the only reasonable interpretation of [the
May 16] docket entry” is that the court extended the dismissal date in accordance
with section 263.401(b). See G.X.H., 2021 WL 1704234, at *7.
B. Jurisdiction Beyond Section 263.401
Section 263.401 only empowered the trial to extend the automatic dismissal
date for 180 days. And the trial court extended it beyond that date. Therefore, we
must still ensure the trial court retained jurisdiction over this matter between May
20, 2019, the original automatic dismissal date, and March 5, 2020, the date trial
began.
After the May 16 docket sheet entry, the trial court set a new dismissal date
for November 15, 2019, which is within 180 days of May 20, 2019. See TEX. FAM.
CODE § 263.401(b). Based on the docket sheet entry, the reasons the court continued
the trial and extended the automatic dismissal date were because the parties were
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waiting on the results of a home study and the parties reached a mediated settlement
agreement. Section 263.403 allows a trial court to retain jurisdiction and enter an
order for the monitored return of the child beyond the provisions of section 263.401.
See TEX. FAM. CODE § 263.403(a); In re of K.R., No.07-20-00149-CV, 2020 WL
6266286, at *2 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Oct. 23, 2020, pet. denied) (mem. op.); In re
R.S., No. 10-10-00350-CV, 2011 WL 2480341, at *6 (Tex. App.—Waco June 22,
2011, pet. denied) (mem. op.). During the monitored return, the Department
remained the temporary managing conservator, but Mother had physical possession
of the children. In its October 11, 2019 Order of Monitored Return/Extension of
Dismissal Date, the trial court reset the dismissal date to March 23, 2020, which is
fewer than 180 days from the date of the October 11, 2019 order. The trial then
commenced on March 5, 2020. By commencing trial on March 5, which was before
the March 23 dismissal date, the trial court retained jurisdiction over this case.
We overrule Father’s sole issue.
CONCLUSION
We conclude the trial court did not lose jurisdiction and the Decree of
Termination is not void. Therefore, we affirm the trial court’s Decree of
Termination.
210161 /Erin A. Nowell//
ERIN A. NOWELL
JUSTICE
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Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
JUDGMENT
IN THE INTEREST OF P.Z.F., A On Appeal from the 305th Judicial
CHILD District Court, Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. JC-18-00558-
No. 05-21-00161-CV X.
Opinion delivered by Justice Nowell.
Justices Molberg and Reichek
participating.
In accordance with this Court’s opinion of this date, the trial court’s Decree
of Termination is AFFIRMED.
Judgment entered this 2nd day of September, 2021.
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