Graham v. Graham

2020 Ohio 1435, 153 N.E.3d 843
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 13, 2020
Docket14-19-18
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 2020 Ohio 1435 (Graham v. Graham) 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
Graham v. Graham, 2020 Ohio 1435, 153 N.E.3d 843 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

[Cite as Graham v. Graham, 2020-Ohio-1435.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT UNION COUNTY

TIMOTHY P. GRAHAM, CASE NO. 14-19-18 PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE,

v.

PATRICIA L. GRAHAM, OPINION

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

Appeal from Union County Common Pleas Court Domestic Relations Division Trial Court No. 14-DR-0012

Judgment Affirmed

Date of Decision: April 13, 2020

APPEARANCES:

John H. Cousins IV for Appellant

Bruce A. Hyslop for Appellee Case No. 14-19-18

WILLAMOWSKI, J.

{¶1} Defendant-appellant Patricia L. Graham (“Patricia”) brings this appeal

from the judgment of the Union County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic

Relations Division, modifying the child support paid by plaintiff-appellee Timothy

P. Graham (“Timothy”). On appeal, Patricia alleges that the trial court erred in

calculating the child support and by denying her motion for attorney fees. For the

reasons set forth below, the judgment is affirmed.

{¶2} On November 17, 2014, the trial court entered a decree of divorce and

found that the shared parenting plan of the parties children was in their best interest.

Doc. 52. The trial court ordered Timothy to pay child support in the amount of

$1,250 per month. Id. At the time of this order, the parties combined income was

approximately $228,800.70, which exceeded the $150,000 maximum scheduled

income of the worksheet. Id.

{¶3} On May 2, 2018, the Union County Child Support Enforcement Agency

filed an administrative adjustment recommendation that Timothy now pay child

support in the amount of $3,221.71. Doc. 54. The recommendation determined that

Timothy had an adjusted gross income of approximately $267,724 and Patricia had

an adjusted gross income of approximately $85,593 for a combined income of

approximately $353,318. Id. The amount of child support was extrapolated because

the amount exceeded the $150,000 schedule set by statute. Id. Timothy objected to

the recommendation and requested a court hearing. Id. A hearing was set for July

-2- Case No. 14-19-18

17, 2018. Doc. 59. On July 10, 2018, Patricia requested a continuance of the

hearing to allow for additional discovery. Doc. 67. The motion for the continuance

was granted. Doc. 68.

{¶4} On August 1, 2018, Patricia filed a motion to reallocate parental rights

and responsibilities which included a request to increase Timothy’s child support to

$3,194.26 per month. Doc. 76. Timothy filed his memorandum contra Patricia’s

motion on August 17, 2018. Doc. 80. On September 20, 2018, Patricia filed a

motion for attorney fees and litigation expenses. Doc. 81. Timothy also filed a

motion for attorney fees and litigation expenses on October 4, 2018. Doc. 83. A

hearing was held on all motions on November 29, 2018. Doc. 88. On January 23,

2019, the magistrate issued his decision. Doc. 88. The magistrate determined that

Timothy’s income for child support purposes was $246, 897 and Patricia’s income

for child support purposes was $87,318. Id. at 7. The magistrate then determined

that using the extrapolation method from the support worksheet, the guideline

support from Timothy would be $2,954.47. Id. The magistrate then adjusted the

amount to account for the in-kind support received and reduced the amount of child

support to $2,600 per month. Id. at 10. The magistrate denied both motions for

attorney fees finding that the facts did not support the requests. Id. at 11-12.

{¶5} On January 29, 2019, Timothy filed objections to the magistrate’s

decision claiming 1) the effective date of the modification was prejudicial and 2)

the magistrate improperly calculated the support when considering the in-kind

-3- Case No. 14-19-18

contributions. Doc. 91. Patricia filed cross-objections to the magistrate’s decision

claiming the magistrate erred by 1) excluding Timothy’s “additional” income, 2)

denying her motion for attorney fees, and 3) failing to modify the shared parenting

decree. Doc. 92. On April 19, 2019, the trial court entered judgment on the

objections. Doc. 94. The trial court overruled all of the objections, but modified

the magistrate’s decision as to the amount of child support owed. Id. The trial court

ordered that from May 1, 2018 until March 28, 2019, Timothy would owe monthly

child support of $2,600. Id. However, the trial court noted that on March 28, 2019,

a new child support statute became effective that set forth a worksheet for combined

incomes of up to $336,467.04 rather than the previous $150,000. Id. at 17. Since

the combined income of Patricia and Timothy was less than that amount, the trial

court found the statute to be applicable to all support after the effective date. Id. As

of the effective date of the statute, the monthly child support was reduced to

$1,921.91 as determined by the appropriate worksheet. Id. at 19 and Ex. C.

Timothy did not appeal the judgment of the trial court. Patricia filed a timely notice

of appeal from this judgment. Doc. 96. On appeal, Patricia raises the following

assignments of error.

First Assignment of Error

The trial court abused its discretion and erred as a matter of law by calculating child support under the statutory amendments in H.B. 366.

-4- Case No. 14-19-18

Second Assignment of Error

The trial court abused its discretion and erred as a matter of law by excluding $39,861 from [Timothy’s] gross income under R.C. 3119.05(K). Third Assignment of Error

The trial court abused its discretion and erred as a matter of law by denying [Patricia’s] motion for attorney fees and litigation expenses.

For the purpose of clarity, we will address the assignments out of order.

Calculation of Income

{¶6} In the second assignment of error, Patricia claims that the trial court

erred by excluding $39,861 from Timothy’s gross income. This alleged income was

additional income that Timothy earned by performing chart reviews that he had

done from his residency. Timothy’s tax returns showed that in the three years prior

to the hearing, he had earned an average of $39,861 in addition to his annual salary

of $246,897. Patricia argues that the trial court erred by not including this income

in the child support calculation.

{¶7} At the hearing, Timothy testified that he was employed as the Program

Director for the Family Medicine Residency Program at Mount Carmel/St. Ann’s.

Vol. 1 Tr. 42-43. Timothy testified that at the time of the hearing, his salary was

$246,897, which included a recent increase of $6,000 for being the director of the

department. Id. at 44. Timothy also indicated that he received a stipend of $6,000

for being the elected department chair, but that his position would end at the end of

-5- Case No. 14-19-18

the year and there was no guarantee he would receive it again. Id. at 46. From the

time of the divorce forward, Timothy also had been working reviewing charts as an

independent contractor for CareWorks. Id. at 47. Timothy testified that he had

stopped working for CareWorks in April of 2018. Id. at 50-51. When asked why

he stopped working for CareWorks, Timothy testified as follows.

Q. Why don’t you explain to the Court why you stopped working for CareWorks?

A. Several reasons, actually. Um, at around – around that time, um, our – my level of responsibility in my job at St. Ann’s actually increased.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2020 Ohio 1435, 153 N.E.3d 843, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/graham-v-graham-ohioctapp-2020.