David Diaz, Scott Fisher, and Kristi Fisher v. SMS Financial Cap, LLC, Capital One, National Association, Stephen F. Perkins, and Christopher Fitzwater
Reverse and Remand and Opinion Filed August 30, 2023
In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
No. 05-21-00696-CV
DAVID DIAZ, SCOTT FISHER, AND KRISTI FISHER, Appellants
V.
SMS FINANCIAL CAP, LLC, CAPITAL ONE, NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION, STEPHEN F. PERKINS, AND CHRISTOPHER
FITZWATER, Appellees
On Appeal from the 199th Judicial District Court
Collin County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 199-00653-2011
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Justices Molberg, Reichek, and Garcia
Opinion by Justice Molberg
This case involves an interlocutory appeal and a related petition for a writ of
mandamus.1 In the interlocutory appeal, appellants David Diaz, Scott Fisher, and
Kristi Fisher argue the trial court erred by granting appellees’ motion to strike
appellant Diaz’s motion to vacate the trial court’s turnover order appointing appellee
Chirstopher Fitzwater as receiver. They also argue the trial court erred by
alternatively denying the motion to vacate the order appointing Fitzwater receiver.
1
We previously consolidated the mandamus petition proceeding into this cause.
In the petition for writ of mandamus, relators Scott Fisher and Kristi Fisher argue
the trial court abused its discretion by rendering a turnover order against them. For
reasons explained below, we reverse the trial court’s order striking Diaz’s motion to
vacate and its order denying Diaz’s motion to vacate, and we conditionally grant the
writ of mandamus sought by the Fishers.
I. Background
The 199th District Court entered a final judgment on May 23, 2011, in favor
of Capital One against Stephen Perkins, PS Royal Self Storage, and GP Royal Self
Storage for $2,428,227.83 plus attorney’s fees. On October 14, 2013, Capital One
assigned its interest in the judgment to SMS Financial (SMS).
Matthew Tadlock announced himself as lead counsel for SMS on August 13,
2019. The same day, SMS filed a post-judgment application for turnover relief and
appointment of receiver against PS Royal, GP Royal, and Stephen Perkins. The
application stated SMS’s judgment remained unsatisfied and the defendants had
non-exempt property. SMS requested the trial court appoint a receiver—Christopher
Fitzwater—under § 31.002(b)(3) of the civil practice and remedies code and to order
the defendants to turn over all non-exempt property to the receiver. Attached to the
application was the final judgment in favor of Capital One.
On August 13, 2019, at the hearing on the application for appointment of
receiver, Tadlock appeared for SMS and no other parties appeared. No evidence
was presented to the trial court. The court announced it would grant the requested
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fees of $1,500 for preparing the application and would appoint Fitzwater receiver at
the negotiated rate of $200 per hour.
The trial court signed an order on September 25, 2019, granting SMS’s
application, finding that the defendants owned non-exempt property, and appointing
Fitzwater receiver. The order stated Fitzwater had the power and authority to take
possession of and sell all leviable property of the defendants, and it ordered each
defendant to turn over to Fitzwater within five days of a request “all documents and
financial records which may be requested” by him and “all checks, cash, securities
(stocks and bonds), promissory notes, documents of title, and contracts owned by or
in the name of each defendant.” Each defendant was required to identify and turn
over to Fitzwater all interests of each defendant in any business or venture and all
agreements and other documents pertaining to the business or venture within five
days of each defendant’s receipt of a copy of the order. Each defendant had a
continuing obligation to turn over to Fitzwater, except for paychecks for current
wages and social security income, all checks, cash, securities, promissory notes,
documents of title, and contracts within three days of each defendant’s receipt and
possession of any such property. The order further specified certain other rights and
powers Fitzwater had with respect to the defendants’ property.
On December 18, 2019, Fitzwater filed a notice of appearance that Tadlock,
counsel for SMS, would also represent Fitzwater.
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Fitzwater filed his first report on February 4, 2021. Among other things,
Fitzwater noted he learned David Diaz was appointed on June 18, 2020, as receiver
by the 219th District Court of Collin County in Cause No. 219-01665-2014 relating
to Scott and Kristi Fisher’s judgment against Perkins and two corporate entities.
Fitzwater argued he and the 199th District Court had “exclusive possession and
custody of the non-exempt assets of judgment debtor Stephen Perkins due to being
first in time.” Fitzwater learned Diaz sold a Perkins property, yielding $49,097,
despite there being five judgments senior to the Fishers’ judgment. The net proceeds
were then distributed to the Fishers ($31,545.75) and to Diaz ($17,551.25).
Fitzwater argued the sale of the property was void and the cash transfers were void.
At the same time he filed his report, Fitzwater filed an application for
temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, and permanent injunction against
Diaz. Fitzwater alleged that, on January 26, 2021, he demanded Diaz turn over all
assets and cash seized or recovered from his activities as receiver within five days,
and he sent Diaz a copy of the 199th District Court’s order appointing Fitzwater
receiver. Fitzwater alleged that despite this demand, Diaz filed a receiver’s report
of sale, seeking to sell another Perkins property and listed it for sale on
January 28, 2021. Fitzwater argued that, because his receivership was first in time,
Diaz’s unauthorized transfers were void. Accordingly, Fitzwater requested Diaz be
restrained from acting as receiver of assets of the judgment debtors in circumvention
of the 199th court’s order establishing Fitzwater as receiver and from “seizing,
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transferring, selling, disbursing or otherwise disposing of assets and cash belonging
to the Receivership Estate[.]” Fitzwater specifically sought to restrain Diaz from
selling the additional Perkins property.
The trial court granted Fitzwater’s application for a temporary restraining
order and set a date for a hearing on the temporary injunction.
On February 5, 2021, Fitzwater filed a motion to compel turnover from Diaz,
arguing that, because Diaz was appointed nine months after Fitzwater was appointed
receiver, “any transfer of the judgment debtor’s non-exempt property that was not
authorized by the [199th] court or [Fitzwater] is void.” Fitzwater argued that,
“[u]nder the Turnover Receivership Order and Section 31.002” of the civil practice
and remedies code, he was entitled to the turnover of assets as demanded. Fitzwater
filed a motion to compel turnover from the Fishers for the same reasons stated above,
arguing “the proceeds of a void transaction were delivered to the Fishers as a result
of an interfering receiver David Diaz[.]”
Fitzwater also filed a notice of prior-appointed receiver in the 219th District
Court, notifying the court and the parties of his senior receivership estate. He “made
demand upon Diaz for the turnover of any and all assets of the defendants pursuant
to the receivership order.” He made demand upon the Fishers for the turnover of all
assets of the defendants, particularly the $31,545.75 of proceeds from the sale of the
property.
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On February 22, 2021, Diaz filed, in the 199th District Court, intervenor’s
emergency motion to vacate the order appointing Fitzwater receiver and to
disqualify him. Diaz argued SMS failed to present any evidence to support the
elements required for a valid turnover and receivership. Thus, he argued, Fitzwater’s
actions against Diaz were “improper and unauthorized.” Diaz requested that the
receivership order in the case be vacated. Diaz further argued SMS failed to present
any evidence of Fitzwater’s qualifications to be appointed receiver, and that
Fitzwater was not a disinterested party given his relationship with SMS’s counsel.
Diaz contended Fitzwater was thus disqualified and the receivership order should be
vacated. The Fishers filed a motion in support of Diaz’s motion to vacate the
receivership.
SMS and Perkins—plaintiff and defendant in the underlying cause—filed a
joint motion to strike Diaz’s motion to vacate the receivership in which they argued
the motion should be struck “because it was filed after the judgment was rendered
and after the Receivership Order was entered, and the judgment has not been set
aside and the Receivership Order was not appealed.” They further argued Diaz had
no justiciable interest in the controversy as he represented the 219th District Court,
not himself. They made the same arguments against the Fishers, noting that “as third
party creditors, the Fishers have no justiciable interest in the suit.” SMS and Perkins
also argued the trial court had no jurisdiction to consider a challenge to the
receivership because it was a final order and was not appealed.
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Diaz responded in opposition and made four arguments. First, he argued SMS
and Perkins waived their jurisdictional and standing complaints by voluntarily
joining Diaz when they filed an application for injunctive relief against him and then,
later, a motion to compel turnover from Diaz. Relatedly, Diaz argued that, as a result
of being joined, he was properly before the court, had standing to assert his claims
and defenses, and the trial court had jurisdiction over Diaz. Second, in response to
the contention that his intervention was untimely, Diaz argued an exception to the
general rule regarding timeliness applied because he was not attacking the judgment
but seeking to protect his interest in property that is the subject of a turnover motion.
Third, Diaz argued he necessarily had a justiciable interest in the controversy as
receiver because the parties had competing claims to the property sought by
Fitzwater. Thus, he was “intervening in order to protect and defend his interest in
the property as the court-appointed receiver from the 219th District Court.” Further,
he pointed out, the motion to compel and application for injunctive relief were filed
against him. Finally, Diaz argued Perkins was judicially estopped from taking the
position he took in the motion to strike because, in the proceedings in the 219th
District Court, he supported the post-judgment intervention of a third party to vacate
or amend the receivership order.
On March 1, 2021, the trial court heard the motions to strike and vacate. The
trial court granted Fitzwater’s motion to compel turnover from the Fishers on May
26, 2021. Two months later, the trial court granted the joint motion to strike Diaz’s
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motion to vacate the receivership, and it also denied Diaz’s motion to vacate the
receivership.2
The Fishers subsequently filed a petition for mandamus seeking to reverse the
trial court’s order granting Fitzwater’s motion to compel turnover against them. And
Diaz and the Fishers appealed the trial court’s orders granting the motion to strike
their motion to vacate the receivership and denying their motion to vacate the
receivership. Both the petition for mandamus and the interlocutory appeal are before
us here.
II. Petition for writ of mandamus
In their petition for writ of mandamus, the Fishers contend the trial court
abused its discretion by ordering them—non-judgment debtors—to turn over
property. A party is entitled to relief by mandamus if it shows (1) the trial court
clearly abused its discretion and (2) it has no adequate remedy by appeal. In re
Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 148 S.W.3d 124, 136–37 (Tex. 2004) (orig. proceeding).
The turnover statute was enacted to expand procedures through which judgment
creditors could reach the property of their debtors. Cross, Kieschnick & Co. v.
Johnston, 892 S.W.2d 435, 438 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 1994, no writ). It
authorizes a trial court to (1) “order the judgment debtor to turn over nonexempt
property that is in the debtor’s possession or is subject to the debtor’s control,
2
We construe the order denying the motion to vacate as the trial court’s alternative ruling to its order
granting the motion to strike.
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together with all documents or records related to the property, to a designated sheriff
or constable for execution;” (2) “otherwise apply the property to the satisfaction of
the judgment”; or (3) “appoint a receiver with the authority to take possession of the
nonexempt property, sell it, and pay the proceeds to the judgment creditor to the
extent required to satisfy the judgment.” TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 31.002(b)
(emphasis added). Turnover proceedings are limited to their “purely procedural
nature”; the turnover statute may not be used “to determine parties’ and non-
judgment debtors’ substantive rights.” Alexander Dubose Jefferson & Townsend
LLP v. Chevron Phillips Chem. Co., L.P., 540 S.W.3d 577, 583 (Tex. 2018). Though
some cases “view intervention as a proper method for a third party to protect its
rights in a turnover proceeding, none go as far as holding that intervention enables a
court to adjudicate third-party rights in what is otherwise a purely procedural
device.” Id. at 585. “[T]he turnover statute has no provision conferring authority
on trial courts to decide the substantive rights of the parties properly before it in a
turnover proceeding, let alone the rights of strangers to the underlying judgment.”
Id. The statute “does not create a right in the judgment creditors and debtors to
initiate and incorporate in the proceedings an entirely different lawsuit against a third
party who is not a part of the original judgment.” Kothmann v. Cook, 113 S.W.3d
471, 475 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2003, no pet.); see also Elgohary v. Herrera
Partners, L.P., No. 01-13-00193-CV, 2014 WL 2538556, at *4 (Tex. App.—
Houston [1st Dist.] June 5, 2014, no pet.) (mem. op.). Instead, “[t]he purpose of the
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turnover proceeding is merely to ascertain whether or not an asset is in the possession
of the judgment debtor or subject to the debtor’s control.” Beaumont Bank, N.A. v.
Buller, 806 S.W.2d 223, 227 (Tex. 1991).
Here, the trial court ordered the Fishers to turn over “all assets demanded
turned over under the January 26, 2021, Receiver’s Demand.” According to the
demand, those were “any assets, including all cash and accounts, seized by Mr. Diaz
from the Judgment Debtors” because they “belong in the custody of the court under
the prior-established receivership”; the demand required “those assets [ ] be turned
over to [Fitzwater], including anything paid to you from Mr. Perkins or from the sale
or seizure of Mr. Perkins’ assets after September 25, 2019[.]”
We conclude the trial court’s order was not authorized by the turnover statute.
See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 31.002. The Fishers were third parties, not part
of the original judgment, and it is undisputed that the assets ordered to be turned
over were not in Perkins’s possession or subject to his control. Thus, in ordering the
Fishers to turn over assets pursuant to the turnover statute, the trial court “enlarge[d]
the turnover statute’s scope beyond the procedural vehicle contemplated by the
legislation.” Republic Ins. Co. v. Millard, 825 S.W.2d 780, 783 (Tex. App.—
Houston [14th Dist.] 1992, no writ); see also Cravens, Dargan & Co. v. Peyton L.
Travers Co., Inc., 770 S.W.2d 573, 576–77 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1989,
writ denied).
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In reaching this conclusion, we find that SMS and Fitzwater’s argument that
the Perkins property was in custodia legis is misplaced. They argue the proceeds
from the sale of the Perkins property in question belonged to the 199th District Court
receivership because it was created before the 219th District Court receivership, and
that the turnover order was therefore properly rendered to secure the sale proceeds
from the Fishers. See M&E Endeavours LLC v. Air Voice Wireless LLC, No. 01-18-
00852-CV, 2020 WL 5047902, at *5 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 27,
2020, no pet.) (mem. op.) (“Once a turnover order appointing a receiver is signed,
all of the judgment debtor’s non-exempt property becomes property in custodia
legis.”). But this question is beside the point before us, which is whether the trial
court erred in ordering the Fishers to turn over money to Fitzwater pursuant to the
turnover statute. Put simply, the turnover statute cannot be used as it was here
because “Texas courts do not apply the turnover statute to non-judgment debtors.”
In re deShetler, No. 09-17-00031-CV, 2017 WL 1173811, at *4 (Tex. App.—
Beaumont Mar. 30, 2017, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.); see also In re Karlseng, No.
05-14-00049-CV, 2014 WL 1018321, at *3 (Tex. App.—Dallas Feb. 12, 2014, orig.
proceeding) (mem. op.) (concluding turnover statute could not be used to compel
non-party wife to turn over money the receiver argued was judgment-debtor
husband’s income). Accordingly, we conclude the trial court clearly abused its
discretion by ordering the Fishers to turn over assets to Fitzwater.
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We also conclude the Fishers have no adequate remedy by appeal. Relators
argue they have no adequate remedy by appeal because they could be subject to
contempt proceedings if they fail to turn over property to Fitzwater and because they
cannot be required to post a supersedeas bond to delay the order’s enforcement. We
agree. Mandamus relief is appropriate when a trial court issues a turnover order
jeopardizing assets of a non-judgment debtor. In re Alsenz, 152 S.W.3d 617, 620
(Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2004) (orig. proceeding); see also In re deShetler,
2017 WL 1173811, at *4. We observed in In re Karlseng that, while a “supersedeas
bond is security for delay in enforcing the judgment against the judgment debtor[,]”
a non-judgment debtor “cannot be required to supersede the judgment to prevent
execution against her assets.” 2014 WL 1018321, at *2.
Accordingly, we conditionally grant relator’s petition for writ of mandamus.
A writ will issue only in the event the trial court fails to vacate its May 26, 2021,
Order Granting Receiver’s Motion to Compel Turnover from Scott Fisher and Kristi
Fisher.
III. Interlocutory appeal
In the interlocutory appeal before us, appellants argue the trial court erred by
granting the motion to strike Diaz’s motion to vacate the receivership, prohibiting
him from intervening in the case after judgment. They also argue the trial court erred
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by alternatively denying the motion to vacate the order appointing Fitzwater receiver
and disqualify him.3
Motion to strike
In their motion to strike Diaz’s motion to vacate and the Fishers’ motion in
support, appellees argued Diaz’s motion should be struck “because it was filed after
the judgment was rendered and after the Receivership Order was entered, and the
judgment has not been set aside and the Receivership Order was not appealed.” They
also argued Diaz and the Fishers had no justiciable interest in the suit.
Any party may intervene by filing a pleading, subject to being stricken out by
the court for sufficient cause on the motion of any party. TEX. R. CIV. P. 60. Review
of a trial court’s order on a motion to strike intervention is subject to an abuse of
discretion standard. In re Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co., 184 S.W.3d 718, 722 (Tex.
2006) (orig. proceeding); Lerma v. Forbes, 166 S.W.3d 889, 893 (Tex. App.—El
Paso 2005, pet. denied).
Generally, a plea in intervention filed after final judgment has been rendered
is not timely and may not be considered unless the judgment is set aside. State v.
Naylor, 466 S.W.3d 783, 788 (Tex. 2015). Absent a timely filed motion for new
trial, or a motion to modify, correct, or reform a judgment, the trial court loses its
plenary power over its judgment thirty days after the judgment is signed. TEX. R.
3
Appellants filed a notice of appeal for each of the trial court’s orders, and, on Diaz’s motion, we
previously consolidated the two appeals into this cause.
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CIV. P. 329b(d). But if a motion for new trial, or a motion to modify, correct, or
reform the judgment is filed within this thirty-day period, the trial court’s plenary
power over its judgment is extended for up to an additional seventy-five days,
depending on when or whether the court acts on the motion. Lane Bank Equip. Co.
v. Smith S. Equip., Inc., 10 S.W.3d 308, 310 (Tex. 2000). “Judicial action taken after
the trial court’s jurisdiction over a case has expired is a nullity.” In re Abira Med.
Labs., LLC, No. 14-17-00841-CV, 2018 WL 1004672, at *2 (Tex. App.—Houston
[14th Dist.] Feb. 22, 2018, no pet.) (mem. op.) (quoting State ex rel. Latty v. Owens,
907 S.W.2d 484, 486 (Tex. 1995) (per curiam)).
However, there is an exception to the general rule that a post-judgment
intervention is untimely. Post-judgment intervention is allowed when the intervenor
has no complaint with the merits of the judgment obtained in the underlying lawsuit,
but only seeks to protect his or her interest in the post-judgment proceedings.
Breazeale v. Casteel, 4 S.W.3d 434, 436 (Tex. App.—Austin 1999, pet. denied);
Lerma, 166 S.W.3d at 893. In Breazeale, Breazeale sued Casteel and obtained a
final judgment against him, and in an unrelated suit, Casteel obtained a judgment
that he then partially assigned to third parties. 4 S.W.3d at 435. Breazeale filed a
turnover motion in her suit, recognizing that Casteel had an asset—the judgment in
the unrelated suit—that might be used to satisfy her judgment. Id. The third-party
assignees then filed pleas in intervention in Breazeale’s suit to protect their interests,
and Breazeale moved to strike the interventions as untimely, arguing that the
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judgment had been rendered years prior. Id. The trial court and the court of appeals
rejected Breazeale’s arguments. The court of appeals observed that the third-party
intervenors had “no complaint with the merits of the judgment obtained by Breazeale
against Casteel; rather, they merely seek to protect their own interests in” the
judgment won by Casteel. Id. at 436. The court found “no reason to prohibit post-
judgment intervention where, as here, the intervenor merely seeks to protect his
interest in property that is the subject of a turnover motion.” Id.
We conclude that this same exception applies to the facts before us. Diaz’s
motion did not complain of the merits of the judgment obtained in the underlying
suit. Instead, Diaz sought to protect his interest in property that SMS and Fitzwater
claimed was subject to a turnover motion. We also reject SMS and Perkins’
contention that Diaz had no justiciable interest in the proceedings. Fitzwater sought
to compel turnover not just from the Fishers but from Diaz himself, and furthermore
had applied for injunctive relief against Diaz where Fitzwater argued Diaz was
subject to the trial court’s September 25, 2019, turnover and receivership order.
Under these circumstances, we conclude the trial court abused its discretion by
striking Diaz’s intervention. See Breazeale, 4 S.W.3d at 436. We reverse the trial
court’s order striking Diaz’s motion to vacate.
Motion to vacate
We turn now to the merits of Diaz’s motion to vacate. We review a turnover
order on appeal under an abuse of discretion standard. Tanner v. McCarthy, 274
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S.W.3d 311, 320 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2008, no pet.). As stated above,
a judgment creditor is entitled to aid from a court “to reach property to obtain
satisfaction on the judgment if the judgment debtor owns property, including present
or future rights to property, that is not exempt from attachment, execution, or seizure
for the satisfaction of liabilities.” TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 31.002(a). The
court may “order the judgment debtor to turn over nonexempt property that is in the
debtor’s possession or is subject to the debtor’s control, together with all documents
or records related to the property, to a designated sheriff or constable for
execution[,]” or “appoint a receiver with the authority to take possession of the
nonexempt property, sell it, and pay the proceeds to the judgment creditor to the
extent required to satisfy the judgment.” Id. § 31.002(b).
A turnover order is proper if the conditions of § 31.002 are met. HSM Dev.,
Inc. v. Barclay Properties, Ltd., 392 S.W.3d 749, 751 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2012, no
pet.). The creditor must show that the debtor owns property, including present or
future rights to property, that cannot readily be attached or levied on by ordinary
legal process. Id. Thus, to be entitled to a turnover order, the judgment creditor
must put on evidence that the judgment debtor owns property that cannot be readily
attached or levied on by ordinary legal process. Id.; Weir v. Sterling State Bank, No.
05-16-00500-CV, 2017 WL 1684634, at *1 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 2, 2017, no
pet.) (mem. op.); Pajooh v. Royal W. Investments LLC, Series E, 518 S.W.3d 557,
566 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2017, no pet.). Should the judgment creditor
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meet this burden, the trial court may render the requested turnover order, and it may
also “appoint a receiver with the authority to take possession of the nonexempt
property, sell it, and pay the proceeds to the judgment creditor to the extent required
to satisfy the judgment.” Vaccaro v. Raymond James & Associates, Inc., 655 S.W.3d
485, 489–90 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2022, no pet.) (citing TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.
CODE § 31.002(b)(3)). But if the judgment creditor fails to bring forth such evidence,
the trial court abuses its discretion if it provides relief under § 31.002. Weir, 2017
WL 1684634, at *1; Clayton v. Wisener, 169 S.W.3d 682, 683 (Tex. App.—Tyler
2005, no pet.); see also Burns v. Miller, Hiersche, Martens & Hayward, P.C., 948
S.W.2d 317, 324 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1997, writ denied).
In Weir, the judgment creditor filed an application for turnover and
receivership in aid of judgment; no evidence was attached to the application. 2017
WL 1684634, at *1. At the hearing on the application, only the judgment creditor
appeared, and it did not put on any evidence. Id. The trial court signed the turnover
order and appointed a receiver. Id. This Court concluded the trial court erred in
ordering relief under § 31.002 and reversed the order appointing a receiver and
granting turnover relief. Id.
The pertinent facts are the same here. SMS filed an application for turnover
and receivership, and it did not include any evidence with its application. Further,
SMS did not present any evidence at the hearing on the application. Because SMS
failed to meet its burden under § 31.002, we conclude the trial court erred in
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rendering the turnover order and appointing a receiver. See Weir, 2017 WL
1684634, at *1.
We sustain Diaz’s issue and reverse the trial court’s order denying the motion
to vacate and remand the cause to the trial court for further proceedings.
/Ken Molberg/
KEN MOLBERG
210696f.p05 JUSTICE
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Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
JUDGMENT
DAVID DIAZ, SCOTT FISHER, On Appeal from the 199th Judicial
AND KRISTI FISHER, Appellants District Court, Collin County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 199-00653-
No. 05-21-00696-CV V. 2011.
Opinion delivered by Justice
SMS FINANCIAL CAP, LLC, Molberg. Justices Reichek and
CAPITAL ONE, NATIONAL Garcia participating.
ASSOCIATION, STEPHEN F.
PERKINS, AND CHRISTOPHER
FITZWATER, Appellees
In accordance with this Court’s opinion of this date, the order of the trial
court is REVERSED and this cause is REMANDED to the trial court for further
proceedings consistent with this opinion.
It is ORDERED that appellants DAVID DIAZ, SCOTT FISHER, AND
KRISTI FISHER recover their costs of this appeal from appellees SMS
FINANCIAL CAP, LLC, CAPITAL ONE, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,
STEPHEN F. PERKINS, AND CHRISTOPHER FITZWATER.
Judgment entered this 30th day of August, 2023.
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