Opinion
No. 14-10-00600-CV
Opinions filed April 28, 2011.
On Appeal from the 245th District Court, Harris County, Texas, Trial Court Cause No. 2003-55514.
Panel consists of Justices BROWN, BOYCE, and JAMISON.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Following a bench trial, the court granted the motion of appellee Hollie Marie Anderson Carranza to modify the parent-child relationship. The court named Carranza and appellant Jimmy Ervin Anderson joint managing conservators of the couple's two children and expanded Carranza's terms of possession.
In two issues, Anderson challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support findings that (1) there was a material and substantial change in the circumstances of any person affected by the prior terms of possession and (2) changing the terms of possession was in the children's best interests. Concluding there was no evidence to support a finding there had been a material and substantial change in circumstances to warrant modification, we reverse and render judgment denying the motion.
Background
Anderson and Carranza divorced in 2005. There were two children of the marriage: A.A., born in 1997; and J.A., born in 2001. At the time of the divorce, Carranza was living with her present husband, with whom she had borne a child. In the divorce decree, the court named Anderson as sole managing conservator and Carranza as possessory conservator because naming Carranza as a joint managing conservator was "not in the best interest of the children." Based on the testimony of A.A.'s therapist, the court ordered that Carranza's periods of possession "be supervised at all times through the SAFE Supervised Visitation Program." Carranza was ordered to pay all fees and costs assessed by the SAFE program and was granted access to the two children for four hours on alternate Saturdays.
Both parties refer to the divorce as occurring in February 2005. The decree in this court's record shows a signature date of April 15, 2005.
J.A. was born before the 1998 marriage; however, his paternity was established in 1997. The paternity of a third child, C.C., born during the 1998 marriage, was determined to be that of Carranza's present husband and not Anderson.
SAFE is a project of the Victim Assistance Center.
In February 2006, Carranza filed a motion to modify the parent-child relationship. She requested that she be appointed as the person who has the right to designate the primary residence of the children, that the court declare the supervised visitation void, and that her possession of the children conform to the Texas Family Code's standard possession order.
See Tex. Fam. Code §§ 153.312-.317.
The court heard the motion on March 11, 2009. On April 20, 2009, the court issued temporary orders, which provided, among other matters, that Carranza and Anderson be appointed temporary joint managing conservators of the children and that Carranza's periods of possession or access be continued through SAFE in accordance with the standard SAFE visitation schedule of four hours on alternate Saturdays.
As of March 11, 2009, the live pleading was Carranza's second amended petition.
The case came before the court for final trial on July 30, 2009. The parties stipulated that, in rendering final judgment, the court also would consider evidence admitted at the March 11 hearing.
Carranza and Mary Timmons, the SAFE executive director, testified on both March 11 and July 30. The other witnesses testified only on March 11.
On appeal Carranza states she does not substantially disagree with Anderson's recitation of the facts adduced at those hearings. After independently reviewing the record, we largely adopt his statement of facts as augmented by facts gleaned from our review.
In her petition, Carranza did not specify the changed circumstances justifying her request to modify the parent-child relationship. At the hearings, she testified her changed circumstances were her improved health, her stability, and her family. She also referred to a change in Anderson's circumstances.
According to Carranza, at the time of the divorce, she was totally disabled because of a serious automobile accident, but presently she was "in perfect health." On cross-examination, she admitted she suffered from bi-polar disorder and was taking Paxil, Welbutrin, and Abilify.
Carranza testified she had been together with her present husband for five years. She referred to the three children for whom she had cared during the last four years and testified she had no problems with them, that they were "perfect." She also testified her son C.C. has "pervasive development disorder, which is on the autistic spectrum." When asked why she believed increasing her access to the children was appropriate at this time, she answered, "I'm an excellent mother."
One of the children was her husband's through a prior relationship. The other two were hers and her husband's.
Finally, Carranza testified Anderson had "moved in with his girlfriend" and the children were living with Anderson and the girlfriend. According to SAFE executive director, Mary Timmons, Carranza told her that the girlfriend had been arrested and jailed overnight.
According to Timmons, Carranza visited the children only three times between the divorce and the March 11 hearing, and her visitation privileges were suspended because of failure to pay the required fees. The standard fee at the time was $30.00 per month, but Carranza told SAFE she could not afford the standard fee, so SAFE gave her a reduced fee of $5.00 per month. SAFE later learned Carranza was living with her present husband, who was earning $80,000 to $90,000 per year. SAFE then required Carranza to pay the standard rate retroactively for her visitation. The past due fee totaled $425.00, and Timmons repeatedly told Carranza she could resume visitation through the SAFE program if she would pay the past due fees.
On March 12, 2009, Carranza completed additional intake papers for SAFE. On March 30, 2009, she completed the registration papers and paid the fees. She visited the children on April 25, May 9, May 23, and June 6, 2009. Anderson cancelled a visit on June 20, and had not rescheduled it by the time of the final trial on July 30. During the four-hour visits, Anderson would not let the children eat anything he had not provided, including food provided by SAFE. Anderson told SAFE he was afraid Carranza would put something in the children's food — that she had done so before.
When cross-examined about her financial situation, Carranza testified her husband lost his job in February 2009 and was unemployed as of July 30, 2009. Carranza had not earned any income since the divorce, but hoped to earn money by selling clothes on eBay. Carranza and her husband had monthly expenses of $4,000 and no means of support. Carranza had $492 in the bank. She had no health insurance and, since the divorce, never had health insurance for A.A. or J.A. She had been found in contempt for failure to pay child support in 2006 and, as of July 30, 2009, had not made her last two child support payments.
According to Carranza, she did not have access to her husband's bank account.
The following two witnesses testified about A.A.: Christie Moore, a special education aide at A.A.'s school; and Janet Thompson, a marriage and family counselor who was treating A.A. Moore testified A.A. had improved since the divorce and seemed "be doing really, really well. He's very smart in class. He has acquired a few friends, which is very good for him socially being that he lacks that."
Thompson had been treating A.A. since September 2008 and had talked with him alone many times. Based on statements made by A.A. to Thompson during his treatment, she concluded that visitation outside SAFE "would definitely be a bad thing." Thompson concluded that Carranza, of her own volition, had been inconsistently involved in her children's lives. Thompson stated, "I'm aware [Carranza] has not been in their lives for quite sometime [sic]." Thompson testified A.A. would "like to have his mother be consistent and be able to rely on her, but he doesn't believe he can." She elaborated, "[A.A.] only wants to be in contact with [Carranza] if she will follow through this time." Based on her treatment of, and sessions with, A.A., Thompson believed it would be detrimental to A.A. if Carranza had access to him unless the visitation was monitored and supervised through SAFE.
Thompson testified on March 11, 2009. See note 6 above.
On May 4, 2010, the trial court issued an order naming Anderson and Carranza joint managing conservators and granting Carranza standard visitation. On June 7, 2010, the court signed findings of fact and conclusions of law that included the following:
5. Changing conservatorship or the terms and conditions of conservatorship would be in the best interest of the children.
6. Changing Hollie Anderson Carranza's possession of and/or access to the children would be in the best interest of the children.
7. Hollie Anderson Carranza's petition to modify should not be denied. Hollie Anderson Carranza established the requirements for modification under section 156.101 of the Texas Family Code.
8. It is in the best interest of the children that Hollie Anderson Carranza and Jimmy Anderson be appointed joint managing conservators of the children.
9. It is in the best interest of the children that Hollie Anderson Carranza no longer have supervised access to the children the subject of the suit.
10. It is in the best interest of the children that Hollie Anderson Carranza have periods of possession that do not vary from the Standard Possession Order.
11. There has been a material and substantial change of circumstances of Jimmy Anderson, Hollie Anderson Carranza, [A.A.], [J.A.] or any party affected by the order.
Anderson appealed. He argues the trial court abused its discretion in naming Carranza joint managing conservator and expanding her terms of possession.
Standard of Review
Because a trial court has broad discretion to decide the best interest of a child in family law matters such as custody, visitation, and possession, we review a decision to modify conservatorship for a clear abuse of that discretion. See Gillespie v. Gillespie, 644 S.W.2d 449, 451 (Tex. 1982). A trial court abuses its discretion when it acts arbitrarily or unreasonably, or when it clearly fails correctly to analyze or apply the law. See In re D.S., 76 S.W.3d 512, 516 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2002, no pet.). Under the abuse-of-discretion standard, legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence are not independent grounds of error, but are factors in assessing whether the trial court abused its discretion. Baltzer v. Medina, 240 S.W.3d 469, 475 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, no pet.).
An appellant challenging the sufficiency of the evidence must show that the evidence, or lack thereof, caused the court to act without reference to any guiding rules or principles or to act arbitrarily or unreasonably. In re T.W.E., 217 S.W.3d 557, 559 (Tex. App.-San Antonio 2006, no pet.); see also Baltzer, 240 S.W.3d at 475. There is no abuse of discretion so long as some evidence of a substantive and probative character exists to support the trial court's decision. In re T.J.L., 97 S.W.3d 257, 266 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2002, no pet.). Conversely, a trial court abuses its discretion when there is no evidence to support its decision. See In re T.L.S., No. 02-08-00238-CV, 2009 WL 976007, at *5 (Tex. App.-Fort Worth Apr. 9, 2009, no pet.) (mem. op.).
An appellate court will sustain a no evidence point when (1) the record discloses a complete absence of evidence of a vital fact, (2) the court is barred by rules of law or of evidence from giving weight to the only evidence offered to prove a vital fact, (3) the evidence offered to prove a vital fact is no more than a mere scintilla, or (4) the evidence establishes conclusively the opposite of a vital fact. See Heiskell v. Kendrick, No. 14-06-00972-CV, 2007 WL 3072002, at *2 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] Oct. 23, 2007, no pet.) (mem. op.). In reviewing the legal sufficiency of the evidence, we consider only the evidence and inferences tending to support the trial court's finding, disregarding all contrary evidence and inferences. In re P.M.B., 2 S.W.3d 618, 621-22 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1999, no pet.).
Statute
"Chapter 156 modification suits raise . . . policy concerns such as stability for the child and the need to prevent constant litigation in child custody cases." In re V.L.K., 24 S.W.3d 338, 343 (Tex. 2000). To prevail on her petition to modify the parent-child relationship, Carranza had to establish that (1) modification would be in A.A.'s and J.A.'s best interest and (2) "the circumstances of the child, a conservator, or other party affected by the order [had] materially and substantially changed" since the date of the rendition of the 2005 divorce decree. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 156.101(a)(1)(A).
Material and Substantial Change
In issue one, Anderson contends the evidence was legally and factually insufficient to support a finding of a material and substantial change in circumstances that would justify a change in conservatorship. A prior custody decree is res judicata of the best interests of the child regarding conditions existing at the time of the prior decree. In re C.Q.T.M., 25 S.W.3d 730, 735 (Tex. App.-Waco 2000, pet. denied). If the moving party does not establish a material and substantial change in circumstances from the date of the custody order she seeks to modify, the trial court must deny the petition. In re A.L.E., 279 S.W.3d 424, 428 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2009, no pet.).
In deciding whether a material and substantial change of circumstances has occurred, a trial court is not confined to rigid or definite guidelines. Id. Instead, the court's determination is fact-specific and must be made according to the circumstances as they arise. Id. Nevertheless, "[t]o prove that a material change in circumstances has occurred, the petitioner must demonstrate what conditions existed at the time of the entry of the prior order as compared to the circumstances existing at the time of the hearing on the motion to modify." Zeifman v. Michels, 212 S.W.3d 582, 589 (Tex. App.-Austin 2006, pet. denied), quoted in A.L.E., 279 S.W.3d at 429. Circumstantial evidence may establish changed circumstances. A.L.E., 279 S.W.3d at 429.
In the 2005 divorce decree, the court stated that, "based on the history during the temporary orders wherein supervised access was agreed to by and between the parties," it found appointment of Anderson and Carranza as joint managing conservators was not in the best interest of the children. The court also stated that, "having considered the testimony of [A.A.]'s therapist," it found supervision of Carranza's periods of possession or access to the children through SAFE was in the children's best interest.
Evidence at the 2009 hearings indicated the following conditions existed at the time of the 2005 divorce decree: (1) Carranza had been in a serious automobile accident and was "totally disabled," (2) she had borne a child with her then boyfriend (present husband), (3) she was living with the boyfriend, (4) she was pregnant with another child, and (5) her grandmother was supporting her.
Anderson contends there is no evidence the accident occurred before the divorce in spring 2005. Although Carranza stated by affidavit that the accident occurred on March 29, 2004, it does not appear that this affidavit was admitted at the hearings.
In her petition, Carranza did not allege what specific circumstances had changed since the 2005 divorce decree. Carranza, however, testified her material changes of circumstances were her stability and her family. She further testified she had been married for three years and had been together with her husband for five years. She and her husband had two children together, and she was also raising her husband's child from a former relationship. They had a four-bedroom, two-bath house, and the house payment was current. Carranza also described herself as being in perfect health in contrast to her condition in 2005.
In light of the original decree and the policies underlying Chapter 156, we conclude this testimony does not constitute evidence of material and substantial changes dictating a change in conservatorship. See P.M.B., 2 S.W.3d at 622; Files v. Thomasson, 578 S.W.2d 883, 884-85 (Tex. Civ. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1979, no writ); see also Ramos v. Ramos, 683 S.W.2d 84, 86 (Tex. App.-San Antonio 1984, no writ) (holding facts father had remarried, his new wife was pregnant, and they had moved into a new house were neither material nor substantial changes); Belford v. Belford, 682 S.W.2d 675, 676 (Tex. App.-Austin 1984, no writ) (stating that remarriage of both parties and mother's living in another state did not constitute material and substantial change); Heiskell v. Heiskell, 412 S.W.2d 774, 776 (Tex. Civ. App.-Amarillo 1967, no writ) (holding facts plaintiff had remarried and had a home for the child were not sufficient to establish material and substantial change).
These cases were decided under predecessors to the present section 156.101. Nevertheless, insofar as the predecessor statutes required findings of material and substantial change, they inform our analysis under the current statute.
Carranza also referred to Anderson's having moved in with his girlfriend as a change in circumstances. Without more, we do not see how this circumstance constitutes evidence of material and substantial changes dictating a change in conservatorship. See Short v. Short, 354 S.W.2d 933, 936 (Tex. 1962) ("A showing of only slight change of conditions is not sufficient grounds to change custody of children.").
Finally, when asked why she thought increasing her access was appropriate at this time, Carranza testified, "I'm an excellent mother." This conclusory statement is not competent evidence of changed circumstances or best interests. See Knowles v. Grimes, 437 S.W.2d 816, 818 (Tex. 1969) (holding stipulation by child's paternal aunt and uncle, who had been granted custody by divorce decree, that mother and stepfather of child were good parents and child was happy and adjusted child in their home and that mother and stepfather had best interest and welfare of child at heart did not show materially changed circumstances and conditions such as would warrant award of custody of child to mother); Vazquez v. Vazquez, 292 S.W.3d 8, 85 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, no pet.) (holding, in review of divorce decree, wife's statements she had signed decree and thought conservatorship was in best interests of children were conclusory and did not rise to level of competent evidence trial court could use to determine best interest of children); In re T.W.E., 217 S.W.3d at 560 (holding, in review of modification order, father's "mere agreement" he saw no problem with his serving as joint managing conservator was "too conclusory to amount to any evidence").
For the preceding reasons, we conclude Carranza presented no evidence to support a finding that "the circumstances of the child, a conservator, or other party affected by the order [had] materially and substantially changed" since the date of the rendition of the 2005 divorce decree. See Tex. Fam. Code § 156.101(a)(1)(A). Accordingly, we sustain Anderson's first issue.
Conclusion
Having sustained Anderson's first issue, we reverse the order of the trial court and render judgment that Carranza's motion to modify the parent-child relationship be denied. Having sustained Anderson's first issue, we need not address his second issue. See Tex. R. App. P. 47.1.