Paul Sudhivarakom v. Anne Marie Helgeson ( 2023 )

Opinion issued August 8, 2023
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-22-00754-CV
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PAUL SUDHIVARAKOM, Appellant
V.
ANNE MARIE HELGESON, Appellee
On Appeal from the 257th District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 2021-25471
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This is an appeal from a Final Decree of Divorce signed on July 19, 2022
(“Final Decree of Divorce”) in Cause No. 2021-25471, filed in the 257th District
County of Harris County, Texas. On March 14, 2023, the parties reached settlement
and signed a “Mediated Settlement Agreement for Final Orders” (“Mediated
Settlement Agreement”) memorializing the terms of their agreement. Subsequently,
the parties filed a Joint Motion for Voluntary Dismissal by Agreement” (“Joint
Motion”) in this Court requesting we dispose of the present appeal.1
Pursuant to Rule 42.1(a)(2)(B) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, the
parties request that we “affirm the divorce as rendered on June 2, 20222 and [] affirm
all terms included within the July 19, 2022 Final Decree of Divorce which relate to
the suit affecting the parent-child relationship.” The parties further request that we
“set aside the terms of the July 19, 2022 Final Decree of Divorce which addresses a
division of the marital estate, including confirmation of separate property, without
regard to the merits and that those matters be remanded to the trial court for entry of
a Reformed Final Decree of Divorce” consistent with the parties’ Mediated
Settlement Agreement. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.1(a)(2)(B); Stampede TX Energy,
LLC v. Bridgetex Pipeline Co., No. 01-18-00113-CV, 2019 WL 758003, at *1 (Tex.
App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Feb. 21, 2019, no pet.) (mem. op.) (granting joint motion
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The parties attached their Mediated Settlement Agreement to their Joint Motion to
Dismiss and also filed the agreement with the Clerk of this Court. Exhibit A of the
Mediated Settlement Agreement, which memorializes the parties’ agreement to file
the Joint Motion, identifies Cause No. 2022-39911, which appears to be a
typographical error. Cause No. 2022-39911 involves different parties and is
pending in a different trial court before another trial judge. This Court’s order
concerns Cause No. 2021-25471, filed in the 257th Harris County District Court,
styled as Anne Marie Helgeson v. Paul Sudhivarakom.
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The trial court issued its rendition on June 2, 2022, and signed the Final Decree of
Divorce on July 19, 2022.
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to dismiss appeal, setting aside trial court’s judgment without regard to merits, and
remanding to trial court for rendition of judgment); Correct Checks, Inc. v. Carew,
No. 01-12-00128-CV, 2012 WL 2159365, at *1 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.]
June 14, 2012, no pet.) (mem. op.) (same). The parties request that the mandate
issue upon judgment. See TEX. R. APP. P. 18.1(c). No opinion has issued in this
appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.1(c).
We grant the parties’ Joint Motion. We affirm the terms of the July 19, 2022
Final Decree of Divorce which relate to the suit affecting the parent-child
relationship. We set aside the terms of the July 19, 2022 Final Decree of Divorce,
which address the division of the marital estate, including confirmation of separate
property, without regard to the merits of those matters, and we remand the case to
the trial court for entry of a Reformed Final Decree of Divorce consistent with the
parties’ Mediated Settlement Agreement. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.1(a)(2)(B), 43.2(f).
We direct the Clerk of this Court that costs are to be taxed against Appellant Paul
Sudhivarakom and to issue the mandate concurrent with this opinion and judgment.
See TEX. R. APP. P. 18.1(c), 42.1(d). We deny all other pending motions as moot.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Justices Goodman, Landau, and Rivas-Molloy.
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