Diego Velasquez v. Ximena Rayon

Order entered February 7, 2022

In The Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas

No. 05-21-01167-CV

DIEGO VELASQUEZ, Appellant

V.

XIMENA RAYON, Appellee

On Appeal from the 429th Judicial District Court Collin County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 429-54055-2021

ORDER

This is an appeal from a protective order. Appellee is the adult stepdaughter of appellant, who has separately filed for divorce from appellee’s mother.

Before the Court is appellee’s motion to abate the appeal pursuant to Texas Family Code section 81.009(b). That section provides that “[a] protective order rendered against a party in a suit for dissolution of a marriage may not be appealed until the time the final decree of dissolution of the marriage becomes a final, appealable order.” See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 81.009(b). Appellee asserts the appeal should be abated because the divorce is still pending, and “it was the actions which led to a protective order that was the motive behind the Divorce.”

Because section 81.009(b) has been interpreted to apply only to a protective order entered in a divorce action and the protective order here was entered in a proceeding separate from the divorce, we DENY the motion. See Puente v. Puente, No. 01-18-00583-CV, 2019 WL 3418510, *3 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] July 30, 2019, no pet.) (citing In re Keck, 329 S.W.3d 658, 661 (Tex. App.— Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, orig. proceeding)).

/s/ ROBERT D. BURNS, III CHIEF JUSTICE