Haren v. Haren

922 N.E.2d 284, 184 Ohio App. 3d 722
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 19, 2009
DocketNo. 2008 CA 00201
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 922 N.E.2d 284 (Haren v. Haren) 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
Haren v. Haren, 922 N.E.2d 284, 184 Ohio App. 3d 722 (Ohio Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

Edwards, Judge.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Gary Harén, appeals from the August 19, 2008 judgment entry of the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND CASE

{¶ 2} Appellant, Gary Harén, and appellee, Nancy Jo Harén, were married on September 25, 1981. Two children were born as issue of that marriage: Jeanette Harén (born April 18, 1990) and Katelyn Harén (born November 29, 1991).

{¶ 3} On October 23, 2007, appellee filed a complaint for divorce against appellant. Appellant filed an answer and counterclaim on November 1, 2007.

{¶ 4} A trial was held on June 2, 2008. At the time of the trial, the parties’ oldest child was emancipated. The parties stipulated that the only disputed issues were spousal support and the allocation of the marital residence, which the parties agreed was worth $104,500 and was unencumbered by a mortgage.1

{¶ 5} At the trial, appellee testified that she was an X-ray technologist and earned $49,086.72 in 2007. She testified that she believed that she would earn approximately the same in 2008 as in 2007. Appellee testified that appellant had received $14,508.00 in Social Security disability benefits in 2007 and that Katelyn receives approximately $300 a month in derivative Social Security benefits. Appellee testified that appellant, who had total hip surgery in 2000, started receiving Social Security Disability in 2003.

{¶ 6} When asked what type of activities appellant had been involved in over the “past couple of years,” appellee testified that appellant had remodeled the kitchen and had torn out the old cabinets, built new ones and installed them, remodeled the bathroom and totally gutted it, and built a tool shed. She further testified that appellant had put in a new cement driveway and sidewalk and that he had had to break up the old cement with a sledge hammer to do so. Appellant’s brother helped him with the driveway. When asked when this occurred, appellee testified that “[tjhat was probably last August * * * probably last Fall 2007.”

{¶ 7} Appellee also testified that appellant went deer hunting every year with a bow and arrow and gun hunting and that in February 2008, he had shoveled their driveway and sidewalk and had snowplowed the driveway. She also testified that he rode a bicycle around town. While appellant appeared in court with a cane, [725]*725appellee testified that appellant did not always walk with a cane and that she had seen him a couple of days before carrying jugs of water in both hands with no cane.

{¶ 8} Testimony was adduced at trial that appellee had a pension valued at $47,000 while appellant’s pension was valued at $12,049. Appellee testified that she wanted the trial court to divide the balance of those, which was $35,141, via use of a qualified domestic relations order (“QDRO”). Appellee also testified that she charged $3,000 in attorney fees on a Citi Master Card and that the card had a balance of $10,500.

{¶ 9} On cross-examination, appellee was questioned about the Citi Master Card, which was marked as Plaintiffs Exhibit 22. The following is an excerpt from her testimony on cross-examination:

{¶ 10} “Q. Um Mrs. Harén let’s start with the financial statement that you filed at the time that you filed your divorce in October of 2007. Now you showed on that three credit cards. Citi Master Card $1,100.00 * * *

{¶ 11} “But the Citi Master Card you indicated at the time of the filing of the divorce was $1,100.00 with $125.00 payment?

{¶ 12} “A. Yes.

{¶ 13} “Q. That’s what on your balance * * * that’s what is on your financial statement that you filed?

{¶ 14} “A. That was back in October * * * is that what you’re saying of 2007?

{¶ 15} “Q. Pm asking you is that what it was?

{¶ 16} “A. Yes * * * yes * * * that’s when I filed it.

{¶ 17} “Q. Because that is when you filed this financial statement that we are assuming is accurate?

{¶ 18} “A. Right. Right.

{¶ 19} “Q. Okay now I am going to hand you back and I think that you already have a copy of it Mr. Ake’s Exhibit Plaintiffs Exhibit 22 is that the same credit card?

{¶ 20} “A. Yes.

{¶ 21} “Q. And I don’t know whether Mr. Ake was going really fast or I just wasn’t paying attention but I think that he said $10,000.00. What’s the new balance that is shown at the top right hand corner?

{¶ 22} “A. $7,567.00.

{¶ 23} “Q. Um * * * so it’s not ten.

[726]*726{¶ 24} “That’s the new balance here. Since I don’t have it updated I just paid him for the rest of the attorney fees which isn’t showing up there right now.”

{¶ 25} Appellee further testified that she charged airline tickets on the same for herself and her two daughters while the case was pending because appellee’s father was sick in Florida, and she wanted to see her parents. The cost of the tickets was $848.40.

{¶ 26} Appellee also testified on cross-examination that starting in April 2008, Katelyn would receive $617.70 in derivative Social Security benefits. Jeanette’s derivative benefits were stopped because of her emancipation.

{¶ 27} Jeanette Harén, the parties’ oldest daughter, testified that over the last couple of years, appellant had remodeled the kitchen and bathroom, had built a shed, and had broken up the concrete on the driveway. She also testified that appellant rides a motorcycle and that appellant does not use a cane around the house or around town. Jeanette Harén further testified that she took the photographs of appellant shoveling snow and on his motorcycle that were admitted as exhibits at trial. When asked about the photograph of appellant shoveling snow, she testified that that photograph was taken right after a court hearing at which appellant had appeared with a cane. Jeanette Harén testified that in the summer of 2007, appellant had added a pitch to a flat roof.

{¶ 28} At trial, appellant testified that he has had seven surgeries on his hip since his marriage to appellee and that he had three total hip replacements. He testified that he had had surgery in 2000 and that he also had had hip surgery in December 2007 to replace his other hip because of pain and arthritis. Appellant testified that the photograph of him deer hunting that was admitted at trial was taken before his most recent surgery, and that at the time of the photograph, he was living on pain pills.

{¶ 29} Testimony was adduced that appellant has not worked since his hip replacement in 2000 and that he was declared disabled. Appellant testified that he did not receive any Social Security disability benefits until 2003, when he received a lump sum of approximately $36,000. Appellant used the money to pay off the house.

{¶ 30} Appellant testified that he did not use a cane around the house, but that he used it when doing a lot of walking. He testified that he did not shovel snow, but rather pushed it off the driveway and that, after doing so, he would get sore and take more pain medication. Appellant also testified that he rode a bicycle for therapy and that his doctor had told him to ride as much as he could even though it caused him pain.

[727]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
922 N.E.2d 284, 184 Ohio App. 3d 722, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haren-v-haren-ohioctapp-2009.