Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
Can someone appeal a judgment in a family court? Sadly a friend of mine's Ex-husband sued her for non-payment of medical bills over a 9 month period (25 total). 90% of them were not necessary and never had approval from her or agreement to proceed. 12 of them were for a therapist. She had never had therapy and he had never brought the daughter to the doctor in her life prior to my friend leaving him. The ex is trying to bury the mother financially for no reason except she now met someone else. He has done vandalism, made threats, etc and continues to do so. He has a lot of money and spent at least $6000 to get $1400 from her and requested jail time. She hired a cheap attorney ($750) to defend her and he didn't address any of these issues and got lost in the process. I believe she could have done better defending herself. Her attorney served something on the Ex and has yet to provide the details and wants for money for the court date in January. She is in a bad situation. I have helped her pull together pages of information that any attorney could use for this ongoing manipulation to stop. She is broke and borrowed for the first attorney fee which was a waste of time. I don't think the judge would be have put her in jail anyway, but not she looks like a slacker and he is the good guy in the court's eyes. She needs someone that can articulate and communicate the truth. It is a sad case showing the system unjust if you don't have a lot of money like her Ex. I wish she could find someone caring to take the case and help her and her daughter get out of the control of this evil man. :(
1 Answer from Attorneys
Yes, you can appeal a judgment from a family court but you need grounds. Plus, it is expensive.
Second, it sounds like you want to be a really good friend. Unfortunately, you obviously do not know much about Texas law and never attended law school. You are emotionally involved in this case and, of course, are defending your friend.
Let me point out a couple of things that are Texas law.
1. A parent must pay for their child's medical bills. She did not need to approve of them before they were incurred. She is responsible for 50% of all medical bills not paid by insurance. If you read her current court decree, it should clearly state what her legal obligations are in this matter.
2. She would not have done better defending herself since she is held to the same standards as a lawyer. She probably does not understand the TX Rules of Evidence and how to prepare legal documents. Therefore, a cheap lawyer is better than no lawyer.
3. Unfortunately, what you have mentioned goes on all the time in family courts. I've been practicing law over 20 years and I could write a book on the subject. What you have written is what keeps the judges busy and the court dockets overwhelmed.
4. It sounds like you've done a lot of research but unfortunately it is not always possible to get this "research" into evidence. If you want to do so, you might want to pay for an hour of this attorney's time, however, be aware that doing so will violate the attorney-client privilege - something that might actually backfire on your friend. Then you could be called as a witness and you could be forced to testify as to what the attorney discussed with you since there is no attorney-client privilege with you since you are not a client.
It sounds like her ex was a bully in her marriage, divorce does not end his bullying. It also sounds like he controlled the money in their marriage. Divorce does not end that either.
I would encourage your friend to enter counseling to learn ways to get strong and learn to handle her ex. It will be a long, hard road for her but in the end she will be a much better person and a better mother to her children. Unfortunately, that is the best advice I can offer.
I'm sorry that I cannot be more helpful.
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