Hudgins v. Hudgins

610 N.E.2d 582, 80 Ohio App. 3d 707, 1992 Ohio App. LEXIS 3753
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 21, 1992
DocketNo. 7-91-21.
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 610 N.E.2d 582 (Hudgins v. Hudgins) 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
Hudgins v. Hudgins, 610 N.E.2d 582, 80 Ohio App. 3d 707, 1992 Ohio App. LEXIS 3753 (Ohio Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

Evans, Judge.

This is an appeal by Gerald V. Hudgins, a.k.a. Gerald D. Hudgins (“appellant”) from a judgment entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Henry County ordering him to pay an increased amount of child support following the registration of an Indiana child support order, pursuant to the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, R.C. 3115.32 (“URESA”).

On November 3, 1982, appellant and his former wife, Lee Eicher Kruse (“appellee”), were divorced in Indiana. Appellee was awarded custody of the parties’ minor child, Trevor, and appellant was ordered to pay child support in the amount of $50 per week. Both parties to this action have since left Indiana. Appellant now resides in Virginia, and appellee now resides in Henry County, with the parties’ minor son.

On February 13, 1990, appellee filed an application to register the Indiana support order in the Henry County Court of Common Pleas, pursuant to R.C. 3115.32. Appellant was properly served with notice of the registration. When appellant did not object to the registration within the prescribed twenty-day period, see R.C. 3115.32(H), the order was confirmed by the court.

On June 6, 1990, following registration of the foreign order, appellee filed a motion for an increase in child support and for a lump sum judgment on arrears, based on appellant’s increased earning capacity and the needs of the child. Appellant filed a motion to dismiss, contesting the trial court’s exercise of jurisdiction over him. At the court’s request, the parties entered into a stipulation of facts and submitted briefs before a ruling was made on the motion to dismiss. The stipulation set forth the following with respect to the parties’ whereabouts during their marriage:

“# 8 In 1979, Hudgins lived in an apartment in Dayton, Ohio at the instance and request of his employer for approximately 3 months and during said three month period Hudgins performed work for his employer at his *710 employer’s request. During this period Hudgins would travel back to Indiana on weekends to his marital residence in Indiana.
“# 9 On May 21st and 22nd, 1978, the parties stayed at a Holiday Inn in Dayton, Ohio.
“# 10 From May 22nd through May 29th, 1978, the parties visited Kruse’s parents in Napoleon, Ohio.
“# 11 On September 1st and 2nd, 1978, the parties attended a wedding in Steubenville, Ohio.
“# 12 On October 7th, 1978, the parties attended a football game in Columbus, Ohio.
“# 13 On December 2nd and 3rd, 1978 the parties visited Kruse’s parents in Napoleon, Ohio.
“# 14 In 1979 and 1980, the parties visited Kruse’s parents in Napoleon, Ohio, approximately two to three times.
“# 15 The parties never resided permanently in Ohio during their marriage.”

Appellant’s motion to dismiss was overruled in the trial court on April 3, 1991. On October 23, 1991, the court entered final judgment against appellant for an agreed-upon support arrearage. The court further ordered an increased amount in child support, retroactive to June 6, 1990. Appellant was also ordered to pay an allocation of the child’s medical expenses. Appellant appealed the court’s order, asserting three assignments of error:

“I. The trial court erred in finding that the Petitioner/Respondent-Appellant waived jurisdictional defenses.
“II. The trial court erred when it denied the Petitioner/Respondent-Appellant’s motion to dismiss based upon the finding that sufficient minimum contacts exist in Ohio to obtain personal jurisdiction when the beneficiaries of child support reside in Ohio.
“HI. The trial court erred when it found it had jurisdiction under the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (R.C. 3115.01 et seq.) to increase the amount of child support.”

I

Appellant complains that the trial court erred in finding that he waived his jurisdictional defenses by not responding to the notice of registration of the foreign support order. Essentially, the court, in its entry overruling appellant’s motion to dismiss, impliedly made such finding by asserting that *711 appellant, by statute, had only twenty days in which to assert any defenses regarding the registered support order.

The relevant language of R.C. 3115.32(H) and (I) provides as follows:

“(H) The obligor has twenty days after the mailing of notice of the registration in which to petition the court to vacate the registration or for other relief. If he does not so petition the registered support order is confirmed.
“(I) At the hearing to enforce the registered support order the obligor may present only matters that would be available to him as defenses in an action to enforce a foreign money judgment. * * * ”

It is clear that the registration section of the Act provides a twenty-day period in which an obligor may contest registration of a foreign support order. However, contrary to the trial court’s finding that appellant has waived all defenses, even in actions subsequent to and unrelated to the registration itself, we find that the defenses which may be asserted in a registration action are limited to those which relate directly to the validity of the original, foreign decree. See Oregon ex rel. Worden v. Drinkwalter (1985), 216 Mont. 9, 12, 700 P.2d 150, 152; Ackerman v. Yanoscik (Tex.Civ. App.1980), 601 S.W.2d 72. Thus, the only defenses appellant has waived by his failure to resist the registration of the order in this case would be, for instance, lack of jurisdiction in the Indiana (rendering) court, or existence of some procedural defect in the rendering court which would nullify the judgment. Therefore, appellant was free to assert any relevant defenses in subsequent actions concerning enforcement or modification of the (now) Ohio support order, including, and especially, the registering court’s lack of personal jurisdiction over him. To rule otherwise would violate the obligor’s due process rights. 1 Stephens v. Stephens (1985), 229 Va. 610, 618, 331 S.E.2d 484, 489 (Act can not properly be read to so completely break down the boundaries of the states and to so thoroughly do away with the minimum contacts required by due process before a state can assert personal jurisdiction over a nonresident). See, also, Bjugan v. Bjugan (Wyo.1985), 710 P.2d 213; Davanis v. Davanis (App.1986), 132 Wis.2d 318, 392 N.W.2d 108; Ackerman v. Yanoscik

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

Related

In re G.V.W.
2025 Ohio 5639 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
Beegle v. Beegle, 07ap-24 (8-23-2007)
2007 Ohio 4314 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2007)
Walker v. Amos
746 N.E.2d 642 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2000)
Depaulitte v. Depaulitte
742 N.E.2d 659 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2000)
McClure v. McClure
694 N.E.2d 515 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1997)
Cordie v. Tank
538 N.W.2d 214 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
610 N.E.2d 582, 80 Ohio App. 3d 707, 1992 Ohio App. LEXIS 3753, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hudgins-v-hudgins-ohioctapp-1992.