Hendricks v. Haydu

CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedSeptember 29, 2015
DocketAC36333
StatusPublished

This text of Hendricks v. Haydu (Hendricks v. Haydu) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hendricks v. Haydu, (Colo. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

****************************************************** The ‘‘officially released’’ date that appears near the beginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the ‘‘officially released’’ date appearing in the opinion. In no event will any such motions be accepted before the ‘‘officially released’’ date. All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecti- cut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the electronic version of an opinion and the print version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Con- necticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest print version is to be considered authoritative. The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears on the Commission on Official Legal Publications Electronic Bulletin Board Service and in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be repro- duced and distributed without the express written per- mission of the Commission on Official Legal Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ****************************************************** KIMBERLY HENDRICKS v. SANDOR ANTHONY HAYDU (AC 36333) DiPentima, C. J., and Keller and Mullins, Js. Argued May 11—officially released September 29, 2015

(Appeal from Superior Court, judicial district of Stamford-Norwalk, S. Richards, J.) Alicia P. Chalumeau, with whom was Melissa A. Brescia, for the appellant (defendant). Jason P. Gladstone, for the appellee (plaintiff). Opinion

DiPENTIMA, C. J. The defendant, Sandor Anthony Haydu, appeals from the judgment of the trial court granting in part the motion for modification of child support filed by the plaintiff, Kimberly Hendricks. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court improperly (1) excluded the plaintiff’s bonus income in calculating her gross income when modifying the child support award; (2) failed to deviate from the child support and arrearage guidelines (guidelines); and (3) ordered the defendant to pay the modified child support amount retroactive to the date of service of the plaintiff’s motion. We agree with the defendant’s first claim, and, accordingly, we reverse in part the judgment of the court.1 The record reveals the following relevant facts and procedural history. The parties, who never married, have four children together.2 On August 17, 2011, the parties entered into a parenting agreement. On Novem- ber 29, 2011, the court, Malone, J., rendered judgment ordering the defendant to pay $95 per week in child support. On August 22, 2012, the plaintiff filed a motion for modification seeking, inter alia, an increase in child support due to the defendant’s change in employment status. The court, S. Richards, J., heard testimony on April 11, May 7, and June 5, 2013, from both parties, as well as the defendant’s witness, James Pierson, vice president for corporate human resources at Hexcel Cor- poration (Hexcel). At trial, the defendant introduced four exhibits rele- vant to the issues on appeal: (1) the plaintiff’s employ- ment offer letter from Hexcel; (2) the plaintiff’s 2012 earnings summary; (3) the plaintiff’s 2013 earnings sum- mary through March 31, 2013; and (4) the plaintiff’s participant statement showing whether stock options had vested or would vest in the future. The offer letter provided that the plaintiff could par- ticipate in Hexcel’s deferred compensation plan, which consisted of a qualified 401(k) component and a non- qualified component. In this plan, the plaintiff could elect to defer receiving part of her base salary and annual bonus. The offer letter also explained that Hex- cel provided the plaintiff with two bonus plans. The management incentive compensation plan (MICP) was a cash bonus plan consisting of a ‘‘target cash incentive equal to 40% of [the plaintiff’s] annual base salary.’’ The long-term incentive plan (LTIP) was an equity bonus compensation plan consisting of stock options. The compensation range for this plan was between 44 per- cent to 66 percent of the plaintiff’s ‘‘then-current base pay . . . .’’ It paid out the LTIP in two forms of stock options, namely, restricted stock units (RSU) and per- formance restricted stock units (PRSU). Hexcel granted the RSU on the basis of how long the plaintiff continued employment with the company. The PRSU was a perfor- mance based stock bonus that would only be awarded if the performance criteria were met. The 2012 earnings summary showed that the plaintiff was compensated with her base salary, that she was awarded her MICP cash bonus, and that she deferred approximately $25,000 into the deferred compensation plan. The 2012 earnings summary revealed that the plaintiff was awarded RSUs but was not awarded PRSUs. The plaintiff’s 2013 earnings summary indicated that she received the annual MICP and LTIP bonuses. It also showed that she deferred approximately $100,000 into the deferred compensation plan. Finally, the plaintiff’s participant statement indicated the poten- tial income of her stock options. It reflected that thou- sands of various stock options would vest through 2015.3 While explaining the RSU, Pierson testified that the plaintiff’s 2012 earnings summary deduction column contained an entry that reflected ‘‘taxes that [were] taken from the [RSU] income that [was] received.’’ (Emphasis added.) Also, when questioned about the ‘‘categories of income that [the plaintiff] receive[d] in addition to the base [salary],’’ Pierson testified that she received the MICP, LTIP, and deferred compensation. Moreover, in describing the RSU and PRSU, Pierson acknowledged that ‘‘[t]hose shares have an obvious eco- nomic value . . . which we calculate and it becomes W-2 income.’’ (Emphasis added.) However, regarding the nonqualified component of the deferred compensa- tion plan, Pierson explained that once the plaintiff deferred money from either her base salary or annual bonus into the nonqualified component of the plan, it became ‘‘an asset of the company.’’4 Although the plaintiff’s bonuses were not guaranteed, she had received her MICP cash bonus every year of her employment and Pierson believed that the MICP and LTIP bonuses were in all ‘‘likelihood . . . [to] con- tinue into the future.’’ Indeed, Pierson testified that there was no ‘‘way to determine . . . the future of those potential payouts.’’ Reinforcing the fact that the bonuses were not guaranteed, the plaintiff testified that in 2012 Hexcel changed its bonus structure making it ‘‘more difficult to receive the higher bonuses.’’5 On November 14, 2013, the court issued its memoran- dum of decision.6 The court found that the plaintiff was employed by Hexcel since September, 2009, with a current annual base salary of $274,735. The court also found that ‘‘the plaintiff ha[d] the potential to receive . . . two types of bonuses,’’ one type in the form of a cash bonus and the other type in the form of stock options that ‘‘vest over several years and are valued as of the date of vesting.’’ As to the defendant, the court found that he was unemployed from September, 2011 to April, 2012, when he was hired as a controller in a New York City bakery. His annual salary was $85,000. Pursuant to § 46b-215a-1 et seq. of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, both parties submitted worksheets calculating their respective support obliga- tions. The court rejected the parties’ worksheets and prepared its own worksheet ‘‘based on the actual income figures of the parties as set forth in their respec- tive financial affidavits . . .

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

Related

Maturo v. Maturo
995 A.2d 1 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2010)
Bartel v. Bartel
911 A.2d 1134 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2006)
Gentile v. Carneiro
946 A.2d 871 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2008)
Misthopoulos v. Misthopoulos
999 A.2d 721 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2010)
Unkelbach v. McNary
710 A.2d 717 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Hendricks v. Haydu, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hendricks-v-haydu-connappct-2015.