COURT OF APPEALS
SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS
FORT WORTH
NO. 02-16-00394-CV
IN RE STEPHAN HWANG RELATOR
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ORIGINAL PROCEEDING
TRIAL COURT NO. 15-02287-158
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DISSENTING MEMORANDUM OPINION1
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I respectfully dissent. Relator alleges that Respondent gave an order in
open court for Relator to appear before him on October 24, 2016, to face a
contempt hearing if payment had not been made on the assessed sanctions
(attorney’s fees), and we stayed that proceeding while considering Relator’s
petition. A trial court has no authority to hold a party in contempt for failing to pay
1
See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4.
attorney’s fees assessed as discovery sanctions. See In re McLaurin,
467 S.W.3d 561, 564–66 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2015, orig. proceeding)
(granting habeas relief when any imprisonment of relator for either civil or
criminal contempt for failure to pay a debt—attorney’s fees assessed as
sanctions—was void). Therefore, in the interest of conserving judicial resources,
I would have requested a response to address the trial court’s contempt authority
under the circumstances presented by this case to avoid the necessity of
addressing this issue in a subsequent original proceeding for habeas corpus
relief. Because the majority opinion does not, I dissent.
/s/ Bonnie Sudderth
BONNIE SUDDERTH
JUSTICE
DELIVERED: November 22, 2016
2