Harding v. Harding

2016 Ohio 7028
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided September 28, 2016·No. 27464·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF SUMMIT )

CATHERINE IRENE HARDING C.A. No. 27464 Appellant

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE

DOUGLAS PAUL HARDING, et al. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO

Appellee CASE No. 2012-03-0823

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY Dated: September 28, 2016

CARR, Presiding Judge.

{¶1} Plaintiff-Appellant, Catherine Harding (“Wife”), appeals from the judgment of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division. This Court affirms.

I.

{¶2} Wife and Defendant-Appellee, Douglas Harding (“Husband”), were married in May 1987 and had three children during the course of their marriage. Throughout the marriage, Husband and Wife both developed their own careers. Wife ultimately became the owner and manager of a hair salon in Hudson. Meanwhile, Husband ultimately became the second largest shareholder of The Robbins Company (“TRC”) while also acquiring interests in several affiliated organizations. With his earnings, the parties were able to purchase the hair salon business for Wife, as well as a one-third portion of the real estate holding company that owned the building in which the salon was located. They also were able to enjoy a very comfortable standard of living with their three children, all of whom are now adults.

{¶3} In March 2012, Wife filed a complaint for divorce against Husband and also named as defendants numerous business entities in which either she, Husband, or both she and Husband possessed an interest. Of particular concern to the instant appeal, Wife named as defendants TRC, Robbins International, Inc. (“Robbins International”), Boretec Properties, Inc. (“Boretec”), LDDJ, LLC (“LDDJ”), and Robbins Holdings, LLC (“Robbins Holdings”) (collectively, “the Defendant Companies”). TRC is a privately owned, international corporation that manufactures tunnel boring machinery. Robbins International is a separate corporation, but one that TRC established for the purpose of conducting its sales so as to reap certain tax advantages for itself and its shareholders. Meanwhile, Boretec, LDDJ, and Robbins Holdings are all real estate investing companies from which TRC leases various buildings for its operations. There is no dispute that Husband owns shares or units of interest in all five of the foregoing companies.

{¶4} Husband answered Wife’s complaint for divorce and also filed a counterclaim for divorce. Meanwhile, the Defendant Companies jointly filed an answer. Following a lengthy period of discovery and motion practice, the matter went to trial. Husband and Wife largely agreed on how to split their assets and Husband’s interests in Boretec, LDDJ, and Robbins Holdings, but disagreed as to how to divide his shares and stock options in TRC, as well as certain promissory notes that he received from TRC. The trial court heard significant valuation testimony and evidence, but ultimately declined to value Husband’s interests in TRC. Instead, it ordered an equal division of Husband’s interests, with Wife receiving one half of his shares, stock options, and promissory notes. The court also divided the remainder of the parties’ assets and liabilities and entered a judgment of divorce.

{¶5} Wife now appeals from the trial court’s judgment and raises five assignments of error for our review. For ease of analysis, we combine several of the assignments of error.

II.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR I

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT DENIED WIFE’S MOTIONS TO COMPEL DISCOVERY FROM HUSBAND AND FROM HUSBAND’S COMPANIES.

{¶6} In her first assignment of error, Wife argues that the trial court erred by denying her motions to compel the discovery of certain financial records from Husband and the Defendant Companies. She argues that the court’s refusal to order Husband and the Defendant Companies to provide her with the financial information she sought made her “unable to put forth a strong claim at trial.”

{¶7} “[C]ourts have broad discretion over discovery matters.” State ex rel. Citizens for Open, Responsive & Accountable Govt. v. Register, 116 Ohio St.3d 88, 2007-Ohio-5542, ¶ 18. As such, this Court “reviews a trial court’s disposition of discovery matters for an abuse of discretion.” Lampe v. Ford Motor Co., 9th Dist. Summit No. 19388, 2000 WL 59907, *3 (Jan. 19, 2000). An abuse of discretion implies that a trial court was unreasonable, arbitrary or unconscionable in its judgment. Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217, 219 (1983). As a reviewing court applying the abuse of discretion standard, we may not substitute our judgment for that of the trial court. Pons v. Ohio State Med. Bd., 66 Ohio St.3d 619, 621 (1993).

{¶8} Wife filed several motions to compel in this matter. On February 15, 2013, she filed a motion to compel Husband to “fully respond” to her interrogatories, requests for admissions, and requests for the production of certain documents. She indicated that she found Husband’s previous responses inadequate and alleged that he had failed to produce financial

records that would allow her to value his interests in the Defendant Companies. Similarly, on August 30, 2013, she filed a motion to compel the Defendant Companies to provide more complete responses to her discovery requests. That same day, Wife filed a motion asking the court to rule on her February 15th motion to compel Husband to respond to her requests. She also later filed amendments to her memorandums in support of her motions to compel.

{¶9} According to Wife, the parties came before the court for a pretrial in September 2013 and, at that time, the court declined to rule on her outstanding motions to compel. She avers that the court told her to limit her discovery request to ten items that Husband and/or the Defendant Companies could readily produce so that the matter could proceed to trial as scheduled. Yet, the record does not contain a transcript of the September 2013 pretrial or any ruling from the court, limiting Wife’s discovery requests in the aforementioned manner. Even assuming, as Wife suggests, that no court reporter was present at the September pretrial, Wife had the ability to provide this Court with a statement of the evidence or proceedings if no transcript was available. See App.R. 9(C). This Court’s review on appeal “is restricted to the record provided by the appellant * * *.” Bank of Am., N.A. v. Wiggins, 9th Dist. Wayne No. 14AP0033, 2015-Ohio-4012, ¶ 13, quoting State v. Browne, 9th Dist. Wayne No. 01CA0056, 2002-Ohio-2434, ¶ 6. Wife cannot demonstrate error by referring to matters that do not appear in the record. See, e.g., Swedlow v. Riegler, 9th Dist. Summit No. 26710, 2013-Ohio-5562, ¶ 14- 16. Rather, this Court must presume regularity in those matters. See No-Burn, Inc. v. Murati, 9th Dist. Summit No. 25495, 2011-Ohio-5635, ¶ 22, quoting State v. Jones, 9th Dist. Summit No. 22701, 2006-Ohio-2278, ¶ 39.

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

Harding v. Harding, 2016 Ohio 7028 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).

2016 Ohio 7028 (Harding v. Harding) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Lashaway v. Lashaway
2026 Ohio 1168 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2026)
Downey v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
2025 Ohio 3256 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
Falah v. Falah
2021 Ohio 4348 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)