Diego Velasquez v. Regina Rayon ( 2022 )

Order entered February 7, 2022
In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
No. 05-21-01165-CV
DIEGO VELASQUEZ, Appellant
V.
REGINA RAYON, Appellee
On Appeal from the 429th Judicial District Court
Collin County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 429-54051-2021
ORDER
This is an appeal from a protective order. Appellee is the adult step-
daughter 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