NO RECORD; NO FEES

In the Interest of: A.K.S., J.L.S., and R.G.S.
Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-14-00233-CV (March 16, 2015)
Justices Stoddart (Opinion), Lang, and Schenck
If no record is made, there will not be legally sufficient evidence to support an award of attorney’s fees. In a family law dispute, the court held an in-chambers, off-the-record conference with the parties’ attorneys. After the conference, the court awarded one party $25,000 in attorney’s fees. On appeal, the Dallas Court of Appeals held that without a transcript of the in-chambers conference, and without any record evidence that the fees were actually incurred or that they were reasonable and necessary, there was insufficient evidence to support the court’s judgment. The fact that appellant did not object to having an in-chambers, off-the-record- conference did not trigger the “invited error” doctrine and was irrelevant to whether there was sufficient evidence to support the attorney’s fees determination.
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