Summary
The Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, affirmed the denial of Keith Travis’s motion to modify an agreed protective order that was effective for the parties’ lifetimes. The court held that the trial court was required to enter the protective order presented by the parties under a statutorily compliant mediated settlement agreement, despite the absence of family-violence or Article 7B findings. The court also discussed whether Travis waived his right to challenge a judgment to which he consented.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Travis could challenge the lifetime-duration provision of an agreed protective order to which he consented.
- Whether the trial court was required under Texas Family Code section 6.602 to enter the agreed protective order provided for in the parties' statutorily compliant mediated settlement agreement despite the absence of family-violence or article 7B.003 findings.
Holdings
- A trial court is required by Texas Family Code section 6.602 to enter an agreed protective order presented by the parties when it is provided for in a statutorily compliant mediated settlement agreement.
- The court did not need to decide waiver because, assuming Travis had not waived his right to appeal, the trial court nonetheless did not err in entering the agreed protective order.
Key quotations
“On this record, and in the face of an identical unambiguous statutory mandate, we hold that the trial court was required by section 6.602 to enter the Agreed Protective Order presented by the parties.” (8)
“Having determined that the trial court did not err in rendering the Agreed Protective Order, we affirm.” (8)
Factual background
April Vanderbilt and Keith Travis were married in 2014, and Vanderbilt filed for divorce in 2025. While a protective-order application was pending, the parties, each represented by counsel, signed a nonrevocable mediated settlement agreement under which they agreed to an agreed protective order based on an Office of Court Administration form. The agreed order contained no family-violence finding, invoked article 7B.003 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, and provided that it would remain effective for the parties' lifetimes. After the trial court entered the order, Travis sought to reduce its duration to two years.
Procedural history
During a pending divorce action and protective-order proceeding, the parties entered a statutorily compliant mediated settlement agreement providing for an agreed protective order lasting for their lifetimes. The trial court signed the protective order. Travis later moved to change its duration to two years, arguing that the absence of family-violence or article 7B findings made the lifetime provision voidable. The trial court denied the motion, and the court of appeals affirmed.