In Re the Marriage of: Kristina Sigman v. Jeremy D. Sigman (mem. dec.)

CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 24, 2019
Docket19A-DR-56
StatusPublished

This text of In Re the Marriage of: Kristina Sigman v. Jeremy D. Sigman (mem. dec.) (In Re the Marriage of: Kristina Sigman v. Jeremy D. Sigman (mem. dec.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana 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 the Marriage of: Kristina Sigman v. Jeremy D. Sigman (mem. dec.), (Ind. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED this Memorandum Decision shall not be Jul 24 2019, 5:51 am regarded as precedent or cited before any CLERK court except for the purpose of establishing Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals the defense of res judicata, collateral and Tax Court

estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT Sophia J. Arshad Vasilia M. Pangere Merrillville, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

In Re the Marriage of: Kristina July 24, 2019 Sigman, Court of Appeals Case No. Appellant-Petitioner-Mother, 19A-DR-56 Appeal from the Lake Circuit v. Court The Honorable Marissa Jeremy D. Sigman, McDermott, Judge Appellee-Respondent-Father. The Honorable Lisa A. Berdine, Magistrate Trial Court Cause No. 45C01-0611-DR-819

Tavitas, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-DR-56 | July 24, 2019 Page 1 of 19 Case Summary [1] Kristina Sigman (“Mother”) appeals the denial of her motion to set aside an

agreed order, wherein the trial court amended Jeremy D. Sigman’s (“Father”)

child support obligation and arrearage. We reverse and remand.

Issue [2] Mother raises two issues on appeal, which we consolidate and restate as

whether the trial court erred in denying Mother’s motion to set aside an agreed

order as void, where Mother did not receive notice of the petition for

modification of child support, the underlying hearing, or the resulting agreed

order.

Facts [3] This case involves an Indiana child support order that was registered for

enforcement in Ohio, pursuant to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act

(“UIFSA”). On November 2, 2006, Mother filed a petition in Lake County,

Indiana, to dissolve her marriage to Father. During the pendency of the

dissolution action, Mother moved to Ohio. On December 13, 2012, the

Indiana trial court granted Mother’s petition for dissolution; awarded custody

of the parties’ three children to Mother; and ordered Father to pay $163.00 in

weekly child support. 1 In March 2013, the State—by Lake County deputy

1 The parties’ three children moved to Ohio to join Mother after the entry of the dissolution decree.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-DR-56 | July 24, 2019 Page 2 of 19 prosecutor Kristen Bruss of the child support division—filed an order to

intervene and redirect payments, which was granted by the trial court on March

8, 2013. The trial court, thereby, ordered the Lake County clerk to forward

Father’s child support payments to Mother in Ohio.

[4] On August 18, 2014, the State filed a petition to modify child support and

determine arrears (“Petition”), wherein the State alleged a “significant change

in [Father’s] circumstances t[hat] warrant[ed] a change in current child

support”; asked for determination of Father’s arrearage; and requested a

hearing. App. Vol. II p. 46. The associated CCS entry includes a certificate of

service that bears Bruss’ initials and provides:

I hereby certify that on the 15[th] day of August, 2014, service of a true and complete copy of the above and foregoing pleading or paper was made upon each party or attorney of record herein by depositing the same in the United States Mail in envelopes properly addressed to each of them . . . .

Id. at 45 (emphasis added). The distribution list on the Petition includes only

Father and Bruss, with no mention of Mother. Also, the summons provides

that “SERVICE BY SHERIFF” was made upon Father, with no reference to

service upon Mother. Id. at 47.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-DR-56 | July 24, 2019 Page 3 of 19 [5] The trial court ultimately 2 conducted the initial status hearing on the Petition

on November 18, 2014. Father and the State appeared at the status hearing.

Mother was not present. That day, Father and the State tendered to the trial

court an agreed order on modification of support and a determination of the

arrearage (“Agreed Order”), which was granted on November 19, 2014. 3 The

Agreed Order does not bear a distribution list and does not reflect that the

Agreed Order was sent to Mother.

[6] Pursuant to the Agreed Order: (1) Father’s arrearage was determined to be

“$7,407.88 as of 11/18/2014”; (2) the parties’ oldest child was found to have

resided with Father for two years; (3) Father was ordered to continue to pay to

Mother child support in the amount of $72.00 per week for the parties’ two

younger children; and (4) Mother was ordered to pay support of $175.00 per

week to Father for the parties’ oldest child. Id. at 22.

[7] In June 2016, Mother retained counsel to initiate enforcement proceedings

against Father, who was behind on his child support payments. In reviewing

the clerk’s record and Father’s child support payment history, counsel for

Mother uncovered court records regarding the Petition, the hearing, and the

Agreed Order modifying support. Counsel notified Mother and, on June 24,

2 The initial status hearing, first set for September 16, 2014, was reset to November 18, 2014. The record includes a second “Certificate of Service” initialed by Bruss, which provides that service was made upon each party. 3 We note that a different magistrate and judge entered the Agreed Order than entered the order on the motion to set aside the Agreed Order.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-DR-56 | July 24, 2019 Page 4 of 19 2016, Mother moved to set aside the Agreed Order pursuant to Indiana Trial

Rule 60(B). Mother argued that she had not received notice of the Petition, the

November 18, 2014 hearing, or the Agreed Order from either Indiana or Ohio

officials. Mother’s motion to set aside the Agreed Order further provided:

11. That in addition to Mother never having received Notice nor being a part of the “Agreed Order” the child support calculation is flawed in that the $120 per week for child care that Mother was spending which was found and, entered less than one year previous, as part of the Court’s previous child support calculation, was not used in the Prosecutor’s calculation.

*****

13. That although the Prosecutor does not contact the opposing parties in a UIFSA matters, Mother was never notified of the proceedings and certainly was not aware that SHE could have been obligated to pay support.

15. That Mother was never given an opportunity to participate in a hearing or be part of the Agreed Order that was entered.

Id. at 60-61.

[8] On September 24, 2018, the trial court conducted a hearing on Mother’s motion

to set aside the Agreed Order. Under direct examination, counsel for Mother

asked Mother, “Did you ever receive anything concerning th[e] petition that

was filed? That agreement that was entered? Anything?” Tr. Vol. II p. 17.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-DR-56 | July 24, 2019 Page 5 of 19 Mother replied, “Never. Nothing.” Id. Asked whether she was a party to the

Agreed Order, Mother replied, “Absolutely not.” Id. Counsel for Mother also

asked, “[Y]our testimony today is you never received anything from either the

State of Indiana or the State of Ohio regarding any petition, any court date, did

you ever receive a copy of the court Order?” Mother responded, “No, if I

would have, I would have object[ed]. [] I would’ve been at the court hearing to

object. [ ] I would never have let that go through like that.” Id. at 24.

[9] Bruss testified that she is the deputy “in charge of UIFSA petitions,” and that,

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In Re the Marriage of: Kristina Sigman v. Jeremy D. Sigman (mem. dec.), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-marriage-of-kristina-sigman-v-jeremy-d-sigman-mem-dec-indctapp-2019.