Batterman, C. v. Santo, S.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 15, 2025
Docket2720 EDA 2023
StatusUnpublished

This text of Batterman, C. v. Santo, S. (Batterman, C. v. Santo, S.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Batterman, C. v. Santo, S., (Pa. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

J-A21040-24

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

SILVIA SANTO : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : CHAD BATTERMAN : : Appellant : No. 2720 EDA 2023

Appeal from the Order Entered September 29, 2023 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Domestic Relations at No(s): PACSES: 267116855

BEFORE: KUNSELMAN, J., NICHOLS, J., and BECK, J.

MEMORANDUM PER CURIAM: FILED JANUARY 15, 2025

Chad Batterman (“Batterman”) appeals pro se from the order entered

by the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (“trial court”) finding him

in contempt for violating a support order, sentencing him to thirty days’

incarceration, and imposing a purge factor of $5,000. After careful review,

we affirm.

Batterman and Silvia Santo (“Santo”) were married in November 2014,

separated in November 2017, and divorced in August 2023. The parties had

two children during the marriage. In December 2017, Santo filed a complaint

for child support against Batterman. On June 22, 2018, the trial court entered

a final child support order calculating Batterman’s monthly obligation for the

two children to be $686.00 per month. J-A21040-24

On October 1, 2018, Batterman filed a petition to modify the support

order. Following protracted proceedings, the trial court entered an order on

February 20, 2020, directing Batterman to pay $674.48 per month in child

support. This Court affirmed that order. See Santo-Batterman v.

Batterman, 1258 EDA 2020 (Pa. Super. Aug. 23, 2021) (non-precedential

decision).

In the interim, on January 17, 2020, Santo filed a petition for contempt

of the initial child support order.1 As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the

hearing on the petition was delayed until April 1, 2022. At that hearing,

Batterman did not appear and the trial court issued a bench warrant.

Batterman surrendered three days later, but the trial court did not resolve the

contempt petition and instead scheduled a hearing. At the next scheduled

hearing on September 1, 2022, Batterman again failed to appear, and the trial

court issued another bench warrant. Batterman returned to the courthouse

on September 9, 2022, but the trial court did not decide the petition at that

time. The trial court scheduled a hearing on the contempt petition for October

31, 2022. Once again, Batterman failed to appear at that hearing, prompting

the trial court to issue another bench warrant. Batterman came to the

courthouse the following day, but left before there was any resolution to the

____________________________________________

1 Santo argued that Batterman violated a April 19, 2019 support order in her

contempt petition. However, a review of the record indicates that Batterman had filed a modification petition on that date. At the time of the filing of the contempt petition, the June 22, 2018 support order was still in effect.

-2- J-A21040-24

contempt petition. As a result, the trial court issued a bench warrant, which

was subsequently reissued on November 3, 2022.2 On November 15, 2022,

while still a fugitive, Batterman filed three petitions: a petition to assign the

support case as complex, a petition to reinstate his driver’s license, and a

petition to suspend/modify his child support.

Ultimately, Batterman surrendered in September 2023, and the trial

court held hearings on the contempt petition on September 25 and 29, 2023.

Batterman testified that he was unable to make payments because he had

medical problems that inhibited his ability to work. Further, Batterman’s

mother testified that she pays Batterman’s bills and for his vacations, but not

his child support. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court found

Batterman in civil contempt of the child support order. The trial court

sentenced Batterman to thirty days in prison with a purge factor of $5,000.

Batterman immediately paid the purge factor, and was released from prison.

Batterman filed a timely appeal, raising numerous claims for our review.

Finding Batterman in Contempt

First, Batterman contends that the trial court abused its discretion in

finding him in contempt. Batterman’s Brief at 2, 37, 39. Batterman claims

he could not comply with the support order because he was unable to work or

earn an income and has no assets. Id. at 9, 19; see also id. at 9-10 (noting

2 Batterman also did not appear at the November 8, 2022 hearing on his petition to suspend/modify child support and alimony pendente lite.

-3- J-A21040-24

the trial court failed to review the support order). He asserts that he has been

unable to work since January 2019 because of medical issues. Id. at 3-4, 8,

11, 13-14, 15, 23-24; see also id. at 17-18 (stating that Batterman’s mother

corroborated his medical issues). Batterman claims the trial court ignored the

recent undisputed evidence from June 2023 indicating that a doctor ordered

him not to work. Id. at 15; see also id. at 15-16 (noting that the trial court

improperly demanded an order stating Batterman could not work, but could

travel, arguing that the trial court has no legal authority to dictate what a

doctor should order after examining a patient); id. at 23, 25-26 (arguing that

the trial court finding that 98% of Batterman’s medical records were redacted

is not supported by the record, and noting only one doctor’s order has

redactions).

Despite being unable to work, he observes that the trial court assigned

him an earning capacity of $26,000 per year. Id. at 2-3. Batterman asserts

that he needs to pay child and spousal support, the children’s health

insurance, and fund his own needs from his earnings. Id. at 3, 18, 19. He

points out that multiple courts have granted him in forma pauperis status

based on his own inability to pay fees, which he contends establishes his

indigency. Id. at 31, 33-34. Batterman further claims that Santo refuses to

work full-time and does not provide support or pay for extracurricular activities

for the children. Id. at 36.

-4- J-A21040-24

He additionally contends that his parents’ money is not relevant in

determining his ability to pay, and the trial court’s reliance on his parents’

wealth is not supported by the record and prejudices him. See id. at 4-5, 19,

31, 38. Batterman acknowledges that his parents pay his purge factors to

keep him out of prison, but asserts that they will not pay support because

they are financially drained. Id. at 27-30, 32, 33 n.22. Batterman further

argues that although he lives in a home owned by his parents and his parents

loan him the money to pay for rent, utilities, and other costs, his parents do

not pay for all his expenses. Id. at 5, 26-27, 29-30, 31-32, 38-39. Batterman

argues that his parents are free to spend their money how they wish. Id. at

22. According to Batterman, and contrary to what he believes to be the trial

court’s finding, the definition of income under the Domestic Relations Code

does not include his parents paying his reasonable living costs. Id. at 5-6,

20.

We will reverse an order granting a civil contempt petition only if the

trial court misapplied the law or exercised its discretion in a manner that

lacked reason. MacDougall v. MacDougall, 49 A.3d 890, 892 (Pa. Super.

2012). “Each court is the exclusive judge of contempts against its process.

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Batterman, C. v. Santo, S., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/batterman-c-v-santo-s-pasuperct-2025.