Stallworth v. Stallworth
| Decision Date | 29 August 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 05-04-01730-CV.,05-04-01730-CV. |
| Citation | 201 S.W.3d 338 |
| Parties | Phyllis C. STALLWORTH, Appellant, v. Maurice STALLWORTH, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Phyllis Stallworth, Orlando, FL, pro se.
Tammy Daniels Low, Dallas, for Appellee.
Before Justices WRIGHT, MOSELEY, and LANG.
Phyllis Stallworth (Wife) appeals from a final decree of divorce from Maurice Stallworth (Husband). In seven issues, Wife challenges: (1) the trial court's conclusion regarding (a) personal and subject matter jurisdiction and (b) Husband's residency requirements pursuant to the family code; (2) the trial court's denial of a trial by jury as to custody and lack of notice of the trial; and (3) the trial court's findings regarding mediation, custody, and the division of retirement proceeds. For the reasons below, we resolve Wife's issues against her and affirm the final decree of divorce.
Husband and Wife were married in 1980 and moved to Texas in 1983. Their three children, who were thirteen, twelve, and nine years old when the divorce was granted, were born in Texas. In 1996, Husband moved out of the home, but continued to reside in Texas and later moved to Kaufman County. In March of 1999, Wife moved to New York with the three children and later moved again to Florida in August of 2000.
Husband filed a petition for divorce on November 27, 2000. Wife filed a special appearance, a plea to the jurisdiction, and a motion for rehearing as to jurisdiction, all of which the trial court heard and denied. Trial was to the court. The final divorce decree: (1) dissolved the marriage; (2) provided for joint conservatorship of the three children with Wife as the managing conservator; and (3) awarded that portion of the marital estate in each party's possession to that party, including each party's respective retirement funds, benefits, and accounts. The decree recited that a court in the state of New York had entered a prior child support order setting forth Husband's obligation to support the children, and therefore the decree did not include an order concerning child support.
Wife appealed.
In January 2001, Wife filed a special appearance contesting the trial court's jurisdiction over her. The special appearance also requested the court to dismiss the action because the trial court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction under sections 152.201 and 152.203 of the family code. Alternatively, if the trial court had subject-matter jurisdiction, Wife asked the trial court to decline to exercise that jurisdiction or stay any custody proceedings in favor of custody proceedings that she would institute in Florida.
In March 2001, Wife filed a motion for rehearing, noting the trial court had denied the special appearance when it issued its temporary orders in February 2001. (The trial court's temporary orders are not in the clerk's record.) The motion requested a rehearing "on the question of jurisdiction . . . ." Wife filed an amended motion for rehearing in May 2003, making the same request. That motion contains a notice that a hearing on the motion was set for July 7, 2003.
On February 24, 2004, the trial court signed an order denying Wife's "plea to the jurisdiction . . . ." The order specifically stated that "this Court has jurisdiction over the parties and the children, the subject of this suit, and has jurisdiction on all issues in controversy." The order did not specify the date on which the court considered the issue.
In her first issue, Wife challenges the trial court's assertion of personal jurisdiction in both the suit for dissolution of the marriage and the suit affecting the parent-child relationship.
A nonresident respondent challenging personal jurisdiction through a special appearance carries the burden of negating all bases of personal jurisdiction. CSR Ltd. v. Link, 925 S.W.2d 591, 596 (Tex.1996). Whether a court has personal jurisdiction is a question of law. Am. Type Culture Collection, Inc. v. Coleman, 83 S.W.3d 801, 805-06 (Tex.2002).
A trial court may exercise jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant when (1) the Texas long-arm statute authorizes the exercise of jurisdiction, and (2) the exercise of jurisdiction is consistent with federal and state constitutional guarantees of due process. Schlobohm v. Schapiro, 784 S.W.2d 355, 356 (Tex.1990). In a suit for dissolution of a marriage, a trial court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a non-resident respondent if there is any basis consistent with the Texas and United States constitutions for the exercise of personal jurisdiction. TEX. FAM.CODE ANN. § 6.305(a)(2) (Vernon 2006). Once the court acquires jurisdiction under section 6.305(a), the court also acquires jurisdiction over the respondent in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship. Id. at § 6.305(b). An assertion of personal jurisdiction based on physical presence alone constitutes due process. Burnham v. Superior Court of Cal., County of Marin, 495 U.S. 604, 610-19, 110 S.Ct. 2105, 109 L.Ed.2d 631 (1990).
When a trial court does not issue findings of fact and conclusions of law with its special appearance ruling, all facts necessary to support the judgment and supported by the evidence are implied. BMC Software Belg., N.V. v. Marchand, 83 S.W.3d 789, 795 (Tex.2002). When the appellate record includes the reporter's and clerk's records, these implied findings are not conclusive and may be challenged for legal and factual sufficiency in the appropriate appellate court. See id.
No findings of fact or conclusions of law are filed in the record, nor is there any evidence that they were requested. It is undisputed that Wife was served with process while visiting some family in Killeen, Texas.
Although there appears to have been a hearing on Wife's special appearance and on her motion for rehearing, no reporter's record of either hearing is before us. At the hearing on the final decree of divorce, Wife repeatedly adduced — or attempted to adduce — evidence concerning the court's personal jurisdiction over her. Husband objected numerous times, stating that the issue had been determined previously by the court. The court agreed it had done so — twice.
Because Wife was served with process while present in the state, she was not denied due process under the United States Constitution. See Burnham, 495 U.S. at 610-19, 110 S.Ct. 2105. Moreover, absent a reporter's record, Wife may not challenge the trial court's implied findings in support of its ruling on jurisdiction. See BMC Software Belg., N.V., 83 S.W.3d at 795. We therefore resolve Wife's first issue against her.
In her third issue, Wife challenges the trial court's assertion of subject matter jurisdiction to determine custody over the children.
Subject matter jurisdiction is essential for a court to have the authority to resolve a case. Tex. Ass'n of Bus. v. Tex. Air Control Bd., 852 S.W.2d 440, 443 (Tex.1993). A party may challenge a court's subject matter jurisdiction by filing a plea to the jurisdiction. Tex. Dep't of Transp. v. Jones, 8 S.W.3d 636, 638-39 (Tex.1999). When a plea to the jurisdiction challenges the pleadings, we determine if the pleader has alleged facts that affirmatively demonstrate the court's jurisdiction to hear the cause. Texas Dep't of Parks & Wildlife v. Miranda, 133 S.W.3d 217, 226 (Tex.2004). However, if a plea to the jurisdiction challenges the existence of jurisdictional facts — as Wife does here — we consider relevant evidence submitted by the parties when necessary to resolve the jurisdictional issues raised, as the trial court is required to do. Id. at 227 (citing Bland Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Blue, 34 S.W.3d 547, 555 (Tex.2000)).
Where findings of fact and conclusions of law are neither filed nor requested, it is implied that the trial court made all necessary findings to support its judgment. Holt Atherton Indus., Inc. v. Heine, 835 S.W.2d 80, 83 (Tex.1992). The legal and factual sufficiency of those findings may be challenged when a reporter's record is brought forward. Id. at 84 (citing Roberson v. Robinson, 768 S.W.2d 280, 281 (Tex.1989) (per curiam)).
The clerk's record contains no document entitled "plea to the jurisdiction." However, Wife's special appearance contests not just personal jurisdiction, but also subject matter jurisdiction, as do Wife's original and amended motions for rehearing "as to jurisdiction." Thus, we conclude the trial court's order denying Wife's plea to the jurisdiction is referring to this motion.
Again, we have no reporter's record of the original hearing on Wife's plea, nor of the motion for rehearing. Absent a reporter's record, Wife may not challenge the trial court's implied findings in support of its ruling on jurisdiction. See Roberson, 768 S.W.2d at 281. We resolve Wife's second issue against her.
In her second issue, Wife challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the finding that the suit for dissolution of the marriage satisfied the applicable statutory residency requirements.
Section 6.301 of the Texas Family Code states that no suit for divorce shall be maintained unless, at the time the suit is filed, either the petitioner or respondent has been a domiciliary of this state for the preceding six-month period and a resident of the county of suit for the preceding 90-day period. TEX. FAM.CODE ANN. § 6.301 (Vernon 2006). The provisions of the residency statute are not jurisdictional, but rather provide the necessary qualifications for bringing an action for divorce. Aucutt v. Aucutt, 122 Tex. 518, 523-24, 62 S.W.2d 77, 79 (1933); Nowell v. Nowell, 408 S.W.2d 550, 556 (Tex.Civ.App.-Dalla...
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