Eichenlaub v. Eichenlaub

120 N.E.3d 380, 2018 Ohio 4060
CourtCourt of Appeals of Ohio, Fourth District, Scioto County
DecidedSeptember 24, 2018
DocketNo. 18CA3825
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 120 N.E.3d 380 (Eichenlaub v. Eichenlaub) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Ohio, Fourth District, Scioto County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Eichenlaub v. Eichenlaub, 120 N.E.3d 380, 2018 Ohio 4060 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2018).

Opinion

ABELE, J.

{¶ 1} This is an appeal from a Scioto County Common Pleas Court, Domestic Relations Division, judgment that granted a divorce to D. Dianna Eichenlaub, plaintiff below and appellee herein, and Randy R. Eichenlaub, defendant below and appellant herein. Appellant raises the following assignments of error for review:

FIRST ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR:
"THE LOWER COURT IN ITS JUDGMENT ENTRY FINAL DECREE ERRED AND ABUSED ITS DISCRETION WHEN IT CONSIDERED THE PARTIES' FIRST MARRIAGE IN ITS ANALYSIS OF R.C. 3105.18(C)(1)(e)."
SECOND ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR:
"THE LOWER COURT IN ITS JUDGMENT ENTRY FINAL DECREE ERRED AND ABUSED ITS DISCRETION BY AWARDING PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE SPOUSAL SUPPORT FOR AN INDEFINITE TERM."

{¶ 2} The parties initially married in October 1990, and remained married until November 1998 when they dissolved their marriage. Following the dissolution, appellant and appellee continued to live together, until appellee left the home and stayed with a friend for a short period of time. During this time, appellee became pregnant. Shortly thereafter, appellee and appellant rekindled their relationship and remarried in October 2001.

{¶ 3} During the parties' marriage, appellee gave birth to the child conceived during the parties' period of separation. Also, two other children were born as issue of the marriage.

{¶ 4} In 2015, the parties' relationship deteriorated and they sought a divorce. On September 8, 2017, the trial court held a final divorce hearing. Appellee testified that she and appellant first married in October 1990, and remained married for eight years. Appellee stated that after the parties dissolved their marriage, appellant "lived with [her] continuously." She further explained, however, that at some point, she asked appellant to leave the home. He would not do so, however. Appellee related that she decided to stay with a friend, and that the parties reunited a short time later.2

{¶ 5} Appellee stated that for the past three years, she has worked as a full-time kindergarten aide and earns approximately $21,000 annually. Before that, she had no other meaningful employment.

{¶ 6} Appellant testified that appellee did not work outside the home during the marriage, but instead stayed home to care for the children. Appellant stated that appellee started working within the past few years as a school aide. Appellant claimed that appellee "has the education to do more if she chooses to."

{¶ 7} On December 4, 2017, the trial court granted the parties a divorce, divided the parties' property, and designated appellee the children's residential parent. The court also awarded appellee spousal support in the amount of $800 per month for an indefinite time period. Additionally, the court retained jurisdiction to modify the spousal support order. This appeal followed.

I

{¶ 8} Appellant's two assignments of error challenge the propriety of the trial court's spousal support award. For ease of discussion, we consider them together.

{¶ 9} In his first assignment of error, appellant asserts that the trial court erred and abused its discretion by considering the parties' first marriage when determining to award appellee spousal support. Appellant claims that nothing in the spousal support statute allows a trial court to consider a prior marriage, or a period of unmarried cohabitation, when it evaluates the propriety of a spousal support award. Appellant further maintains that once the trial court defined the term of the parties' marriage as October 27, 2001 through September 8, 2017, it could consider only that period of time when awarding spousal support. Appellant additionally asserts that when the parties dissolved their first marriage, the parties agreed to waive spousal support. Appellant thus contends that the trial court could not consider the duration of their first marriage when determining the propriety of a spousal support award following the termination of their second marriage.

{¶ 10} In his second assignment of error, appellant argues that the trial court abused its discretion by awarding appellee spousal support for an indefinite term.

A

STANDARD OF REVIEW

{¶ 11} Trial courts generally have broad discretion and "wide latitude" when evaluating the appropriateness, reasonableness, and amount of a spousal support award. E.g. , Kunkle v. Kunkle , 51 Ohio St.3d 64, 67, 554 N.E.2d 83 (1990) ; Bolinger v. Bolinger , 49 Ohio St.3d 120, 122, 551 N.E.2d 157 (1990) ; Cherry v. Cherry, 66 Ohio St.2d 348, 421 N.E.2d 1293 (1981) ; Clifford v. Skaggs , 4th Dist. Gallia No. 17CA6, 2017-Ohio-8597, 2017 WL 5513569, ¶ 9. Consequently, a reviewing court will not reverse a trial court's spousal support decision absent an abuse of discretion. Clifford at ¶ 9 ; e.g. , Bechtol v. Bechtol , 49 Ohio St.3d 21, 24, 550 N.E.2d 178 (1990) ; Holcomb v. Holcomb , 44 Ohio St.3d 128, 131, 541 N.E.2d 597 (1989). " '[A]buse of discretion' [means] an 'unreasonable, arbitrary, or unconscionable use of discretion, or * * * a view or action that no conscientious judge could honestly have taken.' " State v. Kirkland , 140 Ohio St.3d 73, 2014-Ohio-1966, 15 N.E.3d 818, ¶ 67, quoting State v. Brady , 119 Ohio St.3d 375, 2008-Ohio-4493, 894 N.E.2d 671, ¶ 23. "An abuse of discretion includes a situation in which a trial court did not engage in a ' "sound reasoning process." ' " State v. Darmond

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Bluebook (online)
120 N.E.3d 380, 2018 Ohio 4060, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eichenlaub-v-eichenlaub-ohctapp4scioto-2018.