Thursday, March 23, 2006

Don't Slip On the Temporary Order A"peel"

Chiquita is mad because at her temporary order hearing, her husband received temporary possession of the bowl of bananas she likes to wear on her head. Can she "appeel" the banana decision because she doesn't like how they were split? Well, if she had the temporary order hearing in front of an associate judge, (the "second banana" judge, if you will..)then she would be able to appeal the associate judge's ruling if she files the proper motion withing three days of the judge's rendering. However, if she have the temporary order hearing in front of the sitting, elected judge, then she cannot appeal because the judgement is "interlocutory" (not a final judgement). There is one exception- if the judge appointed a receiver to manage, protect, or dispose of the bowl of bananas, then she could appeal that to a higher court. (TRC 6.507).

Appealing temporary orders however, should not to be confused with a temporary order on appeal.

Hun?!

Temporary orders generally end when the final order is entered (unless the final order specifically says otherwise). However, if you are appealing a final order, the lower court retains jurisdictional power to render temporary orders while the appeal is pending to protect the parties and the property. These interim orders can even contain things that were not in the final order being appealed. These interim temporary orders are fully enforceable, even by contempt. (TFC 6.709(b) and 109/001(b)). That means even though a party is appealing the order, spousal support and child support must still be paid if they are in the interim temporary order.

One trick though. The interim temporary order must be rendered within 30 days after the appeal is perfected, or the court loses it's jurisdictional power over the case. (In re: Boyd, 34 S.W.3d 708 (Tex.App. --Fort Worth 2000).