Ferry v. Ferry

271 N.W.2d 450, 201 Neb. 595, 1978 Neb. LEXIS 830
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 1, 1978
Docket41656
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 271 N.W.2d 450 (Ferry v. Ferry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ferry v. Ferry, 271 N.W.2d 450, 201 Neb. 595, 1978 Neb. LEXIS 830 (Neb. 1978).

Opinion

Clinton, J.

This appeal arises from a garnishment proceeding to collect past-due child support payments under an order rendered on February 14, 1968, which directed the plaintiff father to pay “the sum of thirty-five dollars per week to the Clerk of the District Court and continuing until further order of this Court, for the support and maintenance of the minor children of the parties hereto.” The plaintiff moved to quash the garnishment. The court, on July 29, 1977, denied the motion to quash, but modified the 1968 order to reduce the amount of child support pro rata as of the time each child reached majority or was married.

The defendant mother has appealed and makes the following assignments of error: (1) The court erred in modifying retroactively child support payments which had vested. (2) The order of July 29, 1977, was beyond the power of the court because an earlier order entered on April 29, 1977, denying modi *597 fication and reduction, was res judicata of the matter of retroactive modification. (3) The court erred in not allowing interest prior to August 24, 1975, on delinquent payments. (4) The order reducing payments is not supported by the evidence.

The plaintiff has cross-appealed and makes the claim that section 25-1558, R. R. S. 1943, is unconstitutional.

We reverse that part of the order of July 29, 1977, which interprets the order of February 14, 1968, so as to have the effect of modifying the child support payments already accrued. We reverse that part of the order refusing to quash the garnishment, noting that the amount garnished exceeded applicable statutory limitations. We also find that interest should have been allowed on delinquent payments. We remand with directions for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.

The decree of divorce in this case was entered on December 22, 1964, and awarded “sole and absolute custody of the three younger children” to the plaintiff. It awarded “sole and absolute custody of the oldest child” to the defendant and directed the plaintiff to make semimonthly payments of $22 for that child’s support. On February 14, 1968, the court entered a modifying order awarding custody of the three younger children to the defendant and directing plaintiff to pay “thirty-five dollars per week . . . until further order of this Court” for the support of the “minor children of the parties.” At that time all four children were still minors and unmarried.

The oldest child, Marta, was married on March 31, 1969. The third child, Kimberly, was married on July 18, 1970. The second child, Charles, was married on November 13, 1970. The youngest child, Jane, was married on May 8, 1976.

The record shows that the plaintiff was aware of Marta’s marriage when it occurred but took no action to secure a modification of the support order. *598 After he became aware of Kimberly’s marriage, he began making monthly payments of $80 but again took no action to have the order modified. In June 1976, upon motion of plaintiff, the support order of February 14, 1968, was terminated for the reason that the children were emancipated.

In August 1976, the defendant began proceedings to collect delinquent payments by filing a motion and affidavit asking that the plaintiff be found guilty of contempt. In October 1976, the plaintiff filed a petition to modify the child support order. Among other things, the application alleged that plaintiff had entered into an agreement in February of 1969 with the defendant’s attorney for reduction of the payments to $40 per month; but, in violation of the agreement, the defendant made no application for a reduction. Plaintiff further alleged that the defendant fraudulently concealed the marriages and emancipation of the minor children. The application asked that, in accordance with the alleged agreement of the parties, there be pro rata reduction, nunc pro tunc, in the amount of the child support payments as of the dates of the marriage of each of the four children. The contempt and modification hearings were consolidated for trial, and after hearing the court found the plaintiff innocent of contempt but denied the application for modification of the order for child support.

Thereafter, the defendant commenced a garnishment proceeding. It is inferable from the record that, pursuant to an order of the court entered on June 10, 1977, the plaintiff’s employer withheld and paid into the office of the clerk of the District Court $429.50, which was plaintiff’s entire disposable earnings for one biweekly pay period.

The plaintiff then filed his motion to quash the garnishment, alleging the amount claimed to be due — $10,464.82 — was not correct and that section 25-1558, R. R. S. 1943, was unconstitutional in permit *599 ting garnishment of wages without limit. The motion made no other allegations.

Trial of the motion to quash was had before a different judge than the one who had earlier denied the modification petition. The only evidence introduced at the latter hearing was the records of the clerk of the District Court showing the amounts of the payments made by the plaintiff and the plaintiff’s testimony that he began monthly payments of only $80 when he learned of the marriage of Kimberly.

On July 29, 1977, the court entered the order here appealed from. It included the following findings: “On April 29, 1977, this Court denied Petitioner’s Application for Modification. It is apparent from a review of those proceedings that the question of the amount still due and unpaid for past child support was not determined therein, as the issue was not properly before the Court at that time. A review of the Court’s Order of April 29, 1977, discloses that the Court at that time determined only that the procedure employed by the Petitioner was improper, and that the Court would not modify its previous decrees.” The court then went on to interpret the order of February 14, 1968, finding: “This Court is of the opinion that the most appropriate and reasonable interpretation of the Order of February 14, 1968, is that as each child becomes ineligible to receive further support, the Petitioner should be entitled to a pro rata reduction in the total amount awarded.” It went on to find that, under this interpretation, a total of $8,462.75 had accrued from September 3, 1964, through June 7, 1976; that the plaintiff had paid $6,224.18 and the balance due was $2,238.57. It then ordered that the motion to quash be denied because the amount owing was more than the amount presently held by the clerk.

We now proceed to a discussion of the question of whether the court had the authority to either modify or interpret the order of February 14, 1968. This *600 court has often held: Where a divorce decree provides for the payment of stipulated sums monthly for the support of a minor child or children, contingent only upon a subsequent order of the court, such payments become vested in the payee as they accrue. The courts are without authority to reduce the amounts of such accrued payments. Smith v. Smith, ante p. 21, 265 N. W. 2d 855; Schrader v. Schrader, 148 Neb. 162, 26 N. W. 2d 617; Sullivan v. Sullivan, 141 Neb. 779, 4 N. W. 2d 919; Wassung v. Wassung, 136 Neb. 440, 286 N. W. 340. In Schrader v. Schrader, supra,

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Bluebook (online)
271 N.W.2d 450, 201 Neb. 595, 1978 Neb. LEXIS 830, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ferry-v-ferry-neb-1978.