Bass v. Bass

2022 Ohio 2970
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 26, 2022
Docket29303
StatusPublished

This text of 2022 Ohio 2970 (Bass v. Bass) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bass v. Bass, 2022 Ohio 2970 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

[Cite as Bass v. Bass, 2022-Ohio-2970.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT MONTGOMERY COUNTY

RHONDA SMITH BASS : : Petitioner-Appellee : Appellate Case No. 29303 : v. : Trial Court Case No. 2010-DR-793 : MICHAEL C. BASS : (Appeal from Common Pleas : Court – Domestic Relations Division) Respondent-Appellant : :

...........

OPINION

Rendered on the 26th day of August, 2022.

MATTHEW J. BARBATO, Atty. Reg. No. 0076058, 2625 Commons Boulevard, Suite A, Beavercreek, Ohio 45431 Attorney for Petitioner-Appellee

JAY B. CARTER, Atty. Reg. No. 0041295, 111 West First Street, Suite 1150, Dayton, Ohio 45402 Attorney for Respondent-Appellant

.............

LEWIS, J. -2-

{¶ 1} Appellant Michael C. Bass appeals from a judgment of the Common Pleas

Court of Montgomery County, Domestic Relations Division. He contends that the trial

court erred in finding that he had received all property to which he was entitled pursuant

to a divorce decree. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

I. Facts and Course of Proceedings

{¶ 2} This case is the fifth appeal concerning the divorce of Michael Bass and

Rhonda Smith (also known as Rhonda Smith Bass).1 The parties were married in 1998

in Las Vegas, Nevada, and no children were born as a result of the marriage. Rhonda

filed a complaint for divorce in July 2010. In our most recent opinion resolving the fourth

appeal, Bass v. Bass, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 28217, 2019-Ohio-2746 (“Bass IV”), we

set out the history of the case from the filing of the complaint through July 2019. In order

to provide some needed context for the current appeal, we will repeat some of the facts

set forth in Bass IV.

a. The First Four Appeals

{¶ 3} On September 13, 2013, the trial court entered judgment granting a divorce

and dividing the parties’ assets. The court noted the parties’ disagreement about

personal property and ordered that an inventory be conducted by both parties with a third

person present. After the inventory was completed, the parties were to divide the

personal property items within 30 days pursuant to Mont. D.R. Rule 4.40(C). Also, the

1 To avoid confusion, we will refer to the parties by their first names. -3-

trial court divided the marital property, including allowing Rhonda to retain the house at

1101 Larona Road in exchange for her paying Michael $38,202.50 for his interest in the

real estate. Michael appealed from the final judgment and decree of divorce, challenging

the trial court’s division and distribution of marital assets. He did not challenge the

personal property division, which had not been completed at the time of the final

judgment. Ultimately, we found no error and affirmed the trial court’s judgment in June

2014. Bass v. Bass, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 25922, 2014-Ohio-2667 (“Bass I”).

{¶ 4} The second appeal, filed in 2015, concerned Michael’s disagreement with

two post-decree judgments. Relevant to us here is Michael’s challenge of a July 2015

trial court judgment that had ordered, among other things, the return of Michael's

unspecified jewelry and the sale of the party’s time share. As to the personal property,

the court added some items to the inventory list for the parties to divide under Mont. D.R.

Rule 4.40(C) and found that the rest of the items were not “missing,” as had been claimed

by Michael. According to Michael, the trial court’s judgment was against the manifest

weight of the evidence. After reviewing the evidence, we disagreed, stating, in part:

It seems that the parties have been squabbling over substantially the

same set of items for years. * * * Regardless, Michael's testimony – that

Exhibit M represents all the missing items as of the inventory – is the limiting

aspect of our review. Each of those items either has been accounted for

or, as the trial court found, went missing during Michael's occupation of the

home. It is apparent that the trial court believed Rhonda's testimony that the

appliances had to be replaced, that she gave [Michael] the four chairs, that -4-

her bar stools were not their bar stools, that the red couch was the “rust”

couch, and that the one or two remaining items went missing during

Michael's occupancy. The court also believed Rhonda that she did not

take the one or two remaining items. On this issue there is evidence to

support the trial court's decision.

Bass v. Bass, 2016-Ohio-596, 47 N.E.3d 224, ¶ 27 (2d Dist.) (“Bass II”).

{¶ 5} In May 2016, Michael filed a motion with the trial court involving several

matters, including sale of the time-share, return of personal property, division of marital

property, and payment of equity in real estate. He then filed a motion to show cause in

August 2016 concerning Rhonda’s alleged failure to pay him for his equity in the real

estate and marital vehicles. In December 2016, the parties’ counsel agreed that Rhonda

and Michael would meet at Rhonda’s residence, and a third party would divide the

property pursuant to the local rules. However, in January 2017, Michael filed another

motion to show cause, because Rhonda failed to be present on the agreed-upon date.

{¶ 6} In February 2017, the magistrate found Rhonda in contempt and imposed a

30-day sentence and a $1,000 fine, which were suspended pending Rhonda’s

cooperation with the property division procedure. On May 22, 2017, the trial court

overruled Rhonda’s objections to the magistrate’s decision. Rhonda did not appeal from

that judgment. Michael then filed a motion on June 28, 2017, asking the court to impose

sentence because Rhonda had failed to pay fees that were imposed. He did not mention

the property division.

{¶ 7} Subsequently, the magistrate found Rhonda in contempt on Michael’s motion -5-

relating to Rhonda’s alleged failure to pay the money the divorce decree ordered for the

division of marital property, her alleged failure to list the time-share for sale, and her

alleged failure to return a set of diamond cuff links to Michael. The magistrate found

Rhonda in contempt because she had made partial payment but had failed to pay Michael

for his share of the value of the motor vehicles. However, the magistrate found

insufficient evidence to establish that Rhonda had failed to comply with the order to list

the time-share for sale or that Rhonda possessed diamond cuff links that Michael claimed

to be entitled to possess. Both parties filed objections to the magistrate’s decision.

Ultimately, the trial court issued a judgment finding that Rhonda’s objections to the July

2017 magistrate’s decision were well-taken. The court found Rhonda credible

concerning the fact that she had paid the full amount of the property division award to the

bankruptcy trustee for Michael’s bankruptcy. The court therefore concluded that Rhonda

was not in contempt for failing to pay the total amount of the property division to Michael.

In addition, the court overruled Michael’s objections. The comments the court made

about the testimony indicated that it found Rhonda more credible about the time-share

and cuff links.

{¶ 8} Michael appealed from the trial court’s decision finding that Rhonda was not

in contempt for allegedly failing to return the cuff links to him. In Bass v. Bass, 2d Dist.

Montgomery No.

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