Opinion
NO. 14-18-00330-CV
08-07-2018
IN THE INTEREST OF K.T.A.M., AKA K.A; V.R.A.M., AKA V.A.; AND L.A.A.M., AKA L.A., CHILDREN
On Appeal from the 315th District Court Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 2014-05210J
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This accelerated appeal arises from a final decree in a suit in which termination of the parent-child relationship was at issue. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 109.002(a-1) (West 2014 & Supp. 2017). The appellant, I.J.A.S., is the alleged father of the three children at issue in this case.
On July 30, 2018, appellee the Texas Department of Protective & Family Services ("the Department") filed an unopposed motion for disposition of this appeal under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 42.1(a)(2). Rule 42.1(a)(2) provides:
In accordance with an agreement signed by the parties or their attorneys and filed with the clerk, the court may:Tex. R. App. P. 42.1(a)(2).
(A) render judgment effectuating the parties' agreements;
(B) set aside the trial court's judgment without regard to the merits and remand the case to the trial court for rendition of judgment in accordance with the agreements; or
(C) abate the appeal and permit proceedings in the trial court to effectuate the agreement.
The Department's motion states the parties have agreed to a reversal of only that portion of the decree that terminates appellant's parental rights and remand to the trial court for a new trial on only that issue. Attached to the motion is the agreement between the Department, appellant, and John Maisel, the children's attorney ad litem, providing for such reversal and remand. The agreement is signed by the Department's counsel, appellant's appointed counsel, and Maisel. The Department asks us to render judgment effectuating the parties' agreement. Tex. R. App. P. 42.1(a)(2)(A).
We GRANT the Department's motion and render judgment that Paragraph 10 of the judgment signed by the associate judge on March 6, 2018, and adopted by the district judge on March 28, 2018, is REVERSED, and the Department's cause of action for termination of the parental rights of the respondent named in that paragraph is REMANDED for a new trial. The judgment is in all other respects AFFIRMED.
PER CURIAM Panel consists of Justices Christopher, Jamison, and Brown.