In Re Cunningham, 2008-T-0006 (7-25-2008)

2008 Ohio 3737
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 25, 2008
DocketNo. 2008-T-0006.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2008 Ohio 3737 (In Re Cunningham, 2008-T-0006 (7-25-2008)) 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
In Re Cunningham, 2008-T-0006 (7-25-2008), 2008 Ohio 3737 (Ohio Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION
{¶ 1} Appellant, Robert R. Cunningham, III, appeals from the December 17, 2007 judgment entry of the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations, Juvenile Division, which overruled appellant's objections and adopted the magistrate's order denying his motion to decrease child support. For the following reasons, we affirm.

{¶ 2} Substantive and Procedural History

{¶ 3} On September 24, 2007, appellant ("Mr. Cunningham") filed a motion to decrease child support for his minor child based on his current income, which he *Page 2 claimed was substantially less than the last determination of his income by the trial court. Thus, Mr. Cunningham argued that he was entitled to a new and lower child support order.

{¶ 4} Mr. Cunningham and appellee, Ms. Mary Beth Cunningham ("Ms. Cunningham"), were never married and separated in 1995. Their relationship brought one child, "R.C.", who was born on June 9, 1993. The couple decided to part ways, and Mr. Cunningham filed for custody of R.C. on October 6, 1995. The court ordered that Ms. Cunningham be the residential parent and legal custodian of R.C. and granted visitation rights to Mr. Cunningham on October 16, 1997. On May 19, 1999, the court set Mr. Cunningham's monthly child support payments at $780.

{¶ 5} The case was referred to the magistrate for a hearing on Ms. Cunningham's objections on June 17, 1999. On August 5, 1999, the court retroactively applied the child support payments to August 19, 1997. The case was again referred for a hearing on Mr. Cunningham's objections and Ms. Cunningham's motion for establishment of arrearages on September 23, 1999.

{¶ 6} On September 24, 1999, the Child Support Enforcement Agency ("CSEA") filed a motion and notice of contempt against Mr. Cunningham for failure to pay child support. On November 1, 1999, Ms. Cunningham filed a motion ex parte for a restraining order to prevent Mr. Cunningham from selling and disposing of his assets, which consisted of various businesses and properties.

{¶ 7} The court ultimately issued a child support order on August 30, 2000, upholding the magistrate's decision. The magistrate determined that the primary reason for the tortured history of this case was Mr. Cunningham's repeated delays in providing *Page 3 appropriate income records. The magistrate further determined that the proper date for applying the payments retroactively was October 15, 1997, not August 19, 1997, as in the prior order. Mr. Cunningham was found to be voluntarily underemployed. He had either sold or dissipated all of his businesses and rental properties, and claimed to be essentially destitute, all the while testifying that he was capable of being a consultant in the construction business and had in fact done consulting work.

{¶ 8} Ultimately, the court found that the prior income that was initially imputed to Mr. Cunningham was not supported by credible evidence, and that there was no evidence that Mr. Cunningham could not work, or that employment opportunities were not available to him. Thus, the court found that Mr. Cunningham was voluntarily underemployed pursuant to R.C. 3113.25(A)(5)(a), and imputed to him a gross yearly income of $36,000. The court further found that pursuant to the attached child support computation worksheet, his monthly child support payments were $425.75, and pursuant to law and equity, the child support payments were to be applied retroactively to October 15, 1997. Thus, Mr. Cunningham was ordered to pay an additional $50 per month to apply to the arrearages.

{¶ 9} CSEA filed a second motion and notice to hold Mr. Cunningham in contempt for failure to pay child support on March 1, 2001. On July 23, 2001, Mr. Cunningham was found in contempt for failing to pay his child support because he was only paying $50 per month. Accordingly, after failing to purge himself of the contempt, Mr. Cunningham was sentenced to serve ten days in the Trumbull County jail.

{¶ 10} CSEA filed a third motion and notice of contempt for Mr. Cunningham's failure to pay child support on December 11, 2001. Following a hearing before the *Page 4 magistrate, on February 22, 2002, the court ordered Mr. Cunningham to report to CSEA once a week, and to bring an updated report of his doctor. Following the compliance hearing on June 12, 2002, the court sentenced Mr. Cunningham to serve twenty days in the Trumbull County jail for failure to comply with contempt order. While Mr. Cunningham had been reporting to CSEA once a week, he did not seek employment or verify his medical status.

{¶ 11} CSEA filed a fourth motion in contempt on June 22, 2004. On September 7, 2004, the court found Mr. Cunningham guilty of contempt and sentenced him to thirty days in the Trumbull County jail. Mr. Cunningham had the option to purge by reporting daily to CSEA until he became employed and earned sufficient income to pay his monthly child support payments and arrearages.

{¶ 12} At the compliance hearing on September 29, 2004, the magistrate found Mr. Cunningham was not in contempt in that he complied with the September 7, 2004 order by reporting to CSEA on a daily basis. He was ordered to continue his reporting to CSEA, and his driver's license was returned. A second compliance hearing was held before the magistrate on October 13, 2004, and on October 21, 2004, the court approved the magistrate's decision that found Mr. Cunningham was still complying with the order and he was ordered to continue doing so.

{¶ 13} On December 28, 2005, however, CSEA filed another motion in contempt against Mr. Cunningham for his continuing failure to pay child support. The court found Mr. Cunningham in contempt on April 7, 2006, and sentenced him to thirty days in the Trumbull County jail, while giving him the option to purge by paying $5,000 to CSEA *Page 5 within sixty days. Mr. Cunningham failed to purge himself and was sentenced to serve thirty days in the Trumbull County jail on June 14, 2006.

{¶ 14} Mr. Cunningham filed a motion to decrease child support on September 24, 2007. Following a hearing on November 7, 2007, the magistrate determined that Mr. Cunningham was in arrears in excess of $40,000 on his child support payments and that Ms. Cunningham had not received "one dime since 2001." The magistrate noted that Mr. Cunningham has been in jail three times in contempt for failure to pay child support.

{¶ 15} At the hearing, per the magistrate's decision, Mr. Cunningham testified that he remains unemployed, has no resources, no real estate, no car, no bank account, no driver's license, and that he runs an apartment complex for his mother for which he receives room and board in return. He also testified that he has significant debt in that he owes his mother $200,000 and his aunt $86,000. Court records offered demonstrated that a number of liens have been filed. Mr. Cunningham failed to file an income tax return since 1997 or 1998. He then testified that he would verify within seven days of the hearing that he did not inherit any of his father's business. As of the date of the magistrate's decision, however, Mr. Cunningham failed to provide such evidence to the court. Thus, the magistrate concluded that Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
2008 Ohio 3737, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-cunningham-2008-t-0006-7-25-2008-ohioctapp-2008.