## Facts

- Husband and wife filed for divorce and were ordered to mediate under Texas ADR procedures.
- In mediation, the parties and their attorneys signed a written community-property settlement agreement disposing of the dispute.
- The agreement required the husband to execute a $320,000 promissory note payable to the wife.
- The agreement did not address responsibility for unpaid federal income tax liabilities.
- Before entry of judgment, the husband attempted to withdraw consent to the settlement by letter through counsel.
- The wife moved for entry of a divorce decree based on the settlement agreement.
- The trial court entered a final divorce decree that departed from the settlement agreement by, among other things, (a) ordering both a $320,000 money judgment and a $320,000 promissory note and (b) assigning the husband responsibility for income tax liabilities through 1990.

## Issues

1. Whether a party who signs a written mediated settlement agreement disposing of the dispute may unilaterally repudiate it before judgment under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 154.071(a).
2. Whether the trial court may enter a divorce decree that materially differs from the parties’ written mediated settlement agreement without evidentiary support.

## Decision

- The court held the husband could not unilaterally repudiate the executed mediated settlement agreement.
- The court held the trial court erred by entering a decree that materially modified the mediated settlement agreement.
- The judgment was reversed and the case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the mediated agreement and applicable law.

## Legal Principles

- Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 154.071(a), a written mediated settlement agreement disposing of the dispute is enforceable in the same manner as any other written contract.
- A party who executes such a mediated settlement agreement may not unilaterally repudiate it.
- A trial court may not render a decree that materially alters the terms of an enforceable mediated settlement agreement (including reallocating liabilities or changing payment obligations) without a legally sufficient basis supported by evidence.

## Conclusion

A signed mediated settlement agreement disposing of a divorce property dispute is binding and not subject to unilateral withdrawal, and a trial court commits reversible error by entering a decree that materially departs from the agreement without evidentiary and legal justification.


In re Marriage of Ames, 860 S.W.2d 590 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 1993)