Opinion
NO. 14-18-00053-CV
02-01-2018
IN RE CATHALEEN MONTELONGO, Relator
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING WRIT OF MANDAMUS
257th District Court Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 2013-48430
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On January 26, 2018, relator Cathaleen Montelongo filed a petition for writ of mandamus in this court. See Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 22.221 (West Supp. 2017); see also Tex. R. App. P. 52. In the petition, relator asks this court to compel the Honorable Deborah Patterson, associate judge of the 257th District Court of Harris County, to vacate the August 18, 2017 order denying relator's motion for enforcement by contempt.
Relator named the Honorable Judy Warne, presiding judge of the 257th District Court, as the respondent. However, Judge Patterson signed the August 18, 2017 order, which is complained-of order in this original proceeding.
Effective September 1, 2017, the Texas Legislature amended Section 22.221 of the Government Code. This court's mandamus jurisdiction now encompasses associate judges who are appointed by a district or county court judge under Chapter 201 of the Texas Family Code in the court of appeals district for the judge appointing the associate judge. However, the amendment applies only to "a suit filed under Chapter 45, Title 1, Title 4, or Title 5, Family Code, on or after the effective date of this Act." The underlying suit was filed on June 8, 2017, before the September 1, 2017 effective date of the amendment and, therefore, the amendment does not apply to this proceeding. Therefore, we do not have jurisdiction over the associate judge in this mandamus proceeding.
In re Shaw, No. 14-17-00971-CV, 2017 WL 5505727, at *1 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Nov. 16, 2017, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.) (citing Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 22.221(b)(3)).
Id. (quoting Act of June 15, 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., ch. 1013, § 2(b), 2017 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 4051).
See Act of June 15, 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., ch. 1013, § 2(b), 2017 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 4051 ("A suit filed under Chapter 45, Title 1, Title 4, or Title 5, Family Code, before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the suit was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.").
Accordingly, we dismiss relator's petition writ of mandamus for lack of jurisdiction.
PER CURIAM Panel consists of Justices Boyce, Jamison, and Brown.