Denley v. Denley

661 A.2d 628, 38 Conn. App. 349, 1995 Conn. App. LEXIS 322
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedJuly 4, 1995
Docket13297
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 661 A.2d 628 (Denley v. Denley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Denley v. Denley, 661 A.2d 628, 38 Conn. App. 349, 1995 Conn. App. LEXIS 322 (Colo. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

Dupont, C. J.

The plaintiff appeals from the judgment of the trial court denying his motion for modification of alimony and child support payments that had been awarded to the defendant upon the dissolution of the marriage of the parties. The plaintiff claims that the trial court improperly (1) allowed to be introduced [350]*350and considered evidence of the plaintiffs income in 1991 and 1992, (2) characterized the plaintiffs automobile allowance as income, (3) included in the calculation of income money that the plaintiff had received from the exercise of stock options, awarded to him as part of the dissolution, and (4) rendered a decision that was contrary to the evidence presented at the hearing on the motion for modification. We affirm.

The marriage of the plaintiff and the defendant was dissolved on March 10, 1992. The dissolution decree required the plaintiff to pay to the defendant $300 a week in alimony and $375 a week in child support for the parties’ two children. The dissolution decree further provided that the plaintiff would retain certain stock options, not then exercisable, which the plaintiff had acquired as part of his employment compensation as a field salesman with Anthem Electronics.

On April 21, 1993, the plaintiff filed a motion for modification of alimony and support payments. In the motion and at the hearing on the motion, the plaintiff argued that there had been a substantial change in his financial circumstances since the entry of the decree. The plaintiff claimed that because he had lost an important client, his income had decreased substantially. In support of his argument, the plaintiff submitted an affidavit that reflected his average weekly income for part of 1993.

The trial court held a hearing on the motion for modification and allowed evidence to be introduced of the plaintiff’s income in 1991, 1992 and part of 1993, including the profit that the plaintiff had generated by exercising his stock options. The trial court found that the plaintiff had failed to satisfy his burden of proving a substantial change in his circumstances.

“General Statutes § 46b-86 governs the modification or termination of an alimony or support order after the [351]*351date of a dissolution judgment.” Borkowski v. Bor-kowski, 228 Conn. 729, 734, 638 A.2d 1060 (1994). The disputed order may be modified “upon a showing of a substantial change in the circumstances of either party . . . .” General Statutes § 46b-86 (a).1

“ ‘A trial court is endowed with broad discretion in domestic relations cases. Our review of such decisions is confined to two questions: (1) whether the court correctly applied the law, and (2) whether it could reasonably have concluded as it did.’ ” Glinski v. Glinski, 26 Conn. App. 617, 620, 602 A.2d 1070 (1992).

The plaintiff claims that the trial court should not have allowed evidence of the plaintiff’s income from 1991 and 1992 to be introduced and considered. The plaintiff asserts that the trial court should have considered only the plaintiff’s most recent financial information that was contained in his latest financial affidavit. The plaintiff contends that any other financial information, such as his income in 1991 and 1992, was not current information and, thus, was irrelevant to the trial court’s decision. We disagree.

“Section 46b-86 reflects the legislative judgment that continuing . . . payments should be based on current conditions. . . . Thus, [t]o avoid re-litigation of matters already settled, courts in modification proceedings allow the parties only to present evidence going back to the latest petition for modification. . . . [D]ecrees may only be modified upon proof that relevant circumstances have changed since the original decree was granted.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Borkowski v. Borkowski, supra, 228 Conn. [352]*352735-36. This limitation, however, does not prevent a trial court from considering relevant evidence of a party’s circumstances prior to and subsequent to the last applicable court order if needed for purposes of a reasonable comparison. It is within the trial court’s discretion to ascertain what financial information is relevant.

“The rules for determining the admissibility of evidence are well settled. The trial court has broad discretion to determine both the relevancy and remoteness of evidence. . . . Only upon a showing of a clear abuse of discretion will this court set aside on appeal rulings on evidentiary matters. ... In considering the relevancy of evidence, we ask whether it tends to establish the existence of a material fact or to corroborate other direct evidence in the case. . . . Because there is no precise and universal test of relevancy, however, the question must ultimately be addressed on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the teachings of reason and judicial experience.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Dunham v. Dunham, 204 Conn. 303, 324, 528 A.2d 1123 (1987).

Here, the original alimony and support payments were based on the plaintiff’s financial condition in 1991 and up to March 10,1992, the date of dissolution. The trial court compared that financial condition with the plaintiff’s “current” circumstances to determine if there had been a substantial change in circumstances. The trial court indicated that it contrasted the plaintiff’s financial information from the last full calendar year prior to the dissolution judgment with the first full calendar year postjudgment.

The plaintiff is a commissioned salesman whose income varies from month to month. Therefore, it was not an abuse of discretion for the trial court to have reviewed a block of time exceeding that included in the [353]*353plaintiffs latest financial affidavit to obtain an accurate picture of the plaintiffs financial circumstances. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by comparing the plaintiff’s financial condition as it did.

The plaintiff also claims that the trial court mis-characterized the plaintiff’s automobile allowance as income, and considered the allowance in its determination of whether there had been a substantial change in circumstances. Neither the trial court’s memorandum of decision nor its subsequent articulation contain any discussion about the plaintiff’s automobile allowance, and we cannot know to what extent, if any, the court did consider it. The plaintiff’s W-2 statement for 1992, however, includes an automobile allowance as income, as did his financial affidavit at the time of the dissolution. The amount of the car allowance did not vary from the date of the plaintiff’s affidavit at the time of the dissolution to the date of the plaintiff’s latest affidavit. We cannot, therefore, conclude that the car allowance affected the trial court’s determination.

The plaintiff next contends that the trial court improperly considered as income the profit that he had received through the redemption of stock options that had been awarded to him at the time of the dissolution.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Halperin v. Halperin
196 Conn. App. 603 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2020)
Shirey v. Shirey
Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2019
Ayres v. Ayres
193 Conn. App. 224 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2019)
McKeon v. Lennon
Connecticut Appellate Court, 2015
Rosier v. Rosier
928 A.2d 1228 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2007)
McKyer v. McKyer
632 S.E.2d 828 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2006)
Gay v. Gay
835 A.2d 1 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2003)
Lefebvre v. Lefebvre
817 A.2d 750 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2003)
Hillis v. Hillis, No. Fa00 0179465s (Feb. 19, 2003)
2003 Conn. Super. Ct. 2303 (Connecticut Superior Court, 2003)
Rimpf v. Campbell
853 So. 2d 957 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 2002)
Spencer v. Spencer
802 A.2d 215 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2002)
Gay v. Gay
800 A.2d 1231 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2002)
Spencer v. Spencer, No. Fa-96-0711578s (Oct. 31, 2000)
2000 Conn. Super. Ct. 13156 (Connecticut Superior Court, 2000)
McNeff v. Vinco, Inc.
757 A.2d 685 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2000)
Odin v. Odin, No. Fa95 032 08 34 S (Jul. 28, 1999)
1999 Conn. Super. Ct. 9460 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1999)
Schorsch v. Schorsch
731 A.2d 330 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 1999)
Stock v. Stock, No. 0509847 (Apr. 8, 1999)
1999 Conn. Super. Ct. 4588 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1999)
Shearn v. Shearn
717 A.2d 793 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 1998)
Brockmann v. Brockmann, No. Fa87 24 43 86 S (Jul. 1, 1998)
1998 Conn. Super. Ct. 8227 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1998)
Rivais v. Rivais, No. Fa 95 0051956 S (Apr. 16, 1998)
1998 Conn. Super. Ct. 4439 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
661 A.2d 628, 38 Conn. App. 349, 1995 Conn. App. LEXIS 322, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/denley-v-denley-connappct-1995.