Opinion
04-24-00161-CV
04-22-2024
Stephen D. AGUILAR, Appellant v. Gianinna J. AGUILAR, Appellee
From the 288th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas Trial Court No. 2014CI07010 Honorable Antonia Arteaga, Judge Presiding
ORDER
Beth Watkins, Justice
On March 5, 2024, appellant filed a notice of appeal from the trial court's December 6, 2023 Order of Enforcement by Contempt and Suspension of Commitment. The clerk's record, which was filed on April 19, 2024, shows that in the challenged order, the trial court: (1) found appellant in contempt of court for failure to pay previously ordered spousal support; and (2) awarded appellee a money judgment for the spousal support arrearages. Appellant's notice of appeal states that he "desires to appeal all portions of the judgment not favorable to him."
"Decisions in contempt proceedings cannot be reviewed on direct appeal." See, e.g., In re C.C.E., No. 04-20-00416-CV, 2021 WL 3173913, at *2 (Tex. App.-San Antonio July 28, 2021, no pet.) (mem. op.). The proper mechanism to review a contempt judgment is through an original proceeding-either a petition for writ of habeas corpus if the contemnor is confined, or a petition for writ of mandamus if he is not. Id. In cases where a contemnor challenged both a contempt finding and an arrearage judgment in a single appellate proceeding, both this court and other Texas courts of appeals have dismissed the appeal of the contempt order, but exercised jurisdiction over and resolved the non-contempt issues. See id.; see also Heads v. McDade, No. 03-18-00753-CV, 2019 WL 3680144, at *1 (Tex. App.-Austin Aug. 7, 2019, no pet.) (mem. op.); Cline v. Cline, 557 S.W.3d 810, 812-13 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2018, no pet.).
For these reasons, we ORDER appellant to show cause in writing by May 7, 2024 why his appeal of the trial court's contempt order should not be dismissed for want of jurisdiction. This order does not apply to appellant's appeal from the trial court's award of spousal support arrearages.