Lees v. Lees

2012 Ohio 770
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 24, 2012
Docket11CAF050039
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2012 Ohio 770 (Lees v. Lees) 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
Lees v. Lees, 2012 Ohio 770 (Ohio Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

[Cite as Lees v. Lees, 2012-Ohio-770.]

COURT OF APPEALS DELAWARE COUNTY, OHIO FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

: JUDGES: TERESA G. LEES : William B. Hoffman, P.J. : John W. Wise, J. Plaintiff-Appellee : Julie A. Edwards, J. : -vs- : Case No. 11CAF050039 : : ROBERT WILLIAM LEES, JR. : OPINION

Defendant-Appellant

CHARACTER OF PROCEEDING: Civil Appeal from Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division, Case No. 99 DRA 10 0379

JUDGMENT: Affirmed In Part and Reversed and Remanded In Part

DATE OF JUDGMENT ENTRY: February 24, 2012

APPEARANCES:

For Plaintiff-Appellee For Defendant-Appellant

GARY PAUL PRICE CRAIG P. TRENEFF 555 City Park Avenue Craig P. Treneff Law Office Columbus, Ohio 43215 155 Commerce Park Drive, Suite 5 Westerville, Ohio 43082 [Cite as Lees v. Lees, 2012-Ohio-770.]

Edwards, J.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Robert William Lees. Jr., appeals from the March 31,

2011, Judgment Entry of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic

Relations Division.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND CASE

{¶ 2} Appellee Teresa Lees and appellant Robert William Lees, Jr. were

married on January 30, 1981. On October 4, 1999, appellee filed a complaint for divorce

against appellant. A Judgment Entry Decree of Divorce was filed on September 15,

2000. The Judgment Entry Decree of Divorce, which indicated that appellant had

entered into full military service on November 10, 1999, stated, in relevant part, as

follows:

{¶ 3} “12. The Wife shall have a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) in

all the retirement benefits of the Husband whether designated as pension, profit-

sharing, or otherwise. The Order shall not interfere with the timing or optional modes of

settlement that the Husband may have under such plan. However, at the time that any

benefits would be received under the retirement plan, the entire retirement benefit shall

be divided into two shares. The Wife’s share shall equal the following fractional share

of the total value of the benefit:

{¶ 4}

“The number of the Husband’s years of service under the Plan during which the Parties were 1 married 2 times The total number of the Husband’s years of service under the Plan at the time the payment of benefits commences” Delaware County App. Case No. 11CAF050039 3

{¶ 5} “The Husband’s share shall consist of all the remaining benefits. The Wife

shall have all the optional modes of settlement as to her share, as determined above,

that the Husband has with respect to his share of such benefits. The Court retains

jurisdiction to effectuate this award.

{¶ 6} “The Husband shall prepare this QDRO within 120 days of the date

hereof.”

{¶ 7} The Judgment Entry Decree of Divorce further stated in paragraph 13 that

appellant was awarded his Navy Reserves pension “subject to Paragraph 12.”

{¶ 8} On August 27, 2008, appellee filed a Motion for an Order to Show Cause,

asking that appellant be found in contempt for failing to prepare a QDRO regarding his

military retirement benefits. A pretrial hearing before a Magistrate was held on May 4,

2009. The Magistrate, in an Order filed on May 7, 2009, stated, in relevant part, as

{¶ 9} “Counsel reported that the issue with setting the apportionment of the

Defendant’s Naval Reserve Pension is that the computation of duty ‘points’ because the

defendant has been in active service.

{¶ 10} “Defendant resides in Florida and was here for the hearing and for a

deposition immediately preceding the hearing. The parties attempted to obtain this

information, and could not get the information from DFAS.

{¶ 11} “The defendant is ordered to forthwith obtain the documented ‘points

history’ from DFAS or sign any and all necessary release for Plaintiff to obtain the same

information for the computation of the calculation of the Plaintiff’s entitlement to a

portion of the naval reserve pension as stated in the decree.” Delaware County App. Case No. 11CAF050039 4

{¶ 12} After appellant was unable to obtain the above information, the trial court,

on August 12, 2009, issued an Order to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service

directing it to produce documents reflecting, in part, the retirement benefits that

appellant was or would be entitled to, appellant’s date of retirement from the United

States Navy Reserve, and documentation evidencing the number of reserve points,

active pay points commission duty points and inactive duty points that appellant had

earned.

{¶ 13} On September 2, 2009, appellee filed a Second Motion for an Order to

Show Cause or in the Alternative Motion to Enforce, asking for an order requiring

appellant to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for failing to prepare a

QDRO. Appellee, in the same date, filed a motion asking for attorney fees and

expenses accrued in connection with such motion and Motion to Impound appellant’s

U.S. military retirement pay.

{¶ 14} Pursuant to an Agreed Judgment Entry filed on September 10, 2009,

appellee’s August 27, 2008, Motion for an Order to Show Cause was dismissed without

prejudice.

{¶ 15} A hearing on appellee’s September 2, 2009, Second Motion for an Order

to Show Cause or in the Alternative Motion to Enforce was held before a Magistrate on

December 15, 2009. At the hearing, appellant testified that he was not present at the

Spring 2000 divorce trial because he was in Japan at the time with the United States

Navy. Appellant testified that he was in the Army National Guard from November 17,

1976, until September 15, 1977, and that he enlisted in the United States Navy on

September 16, 1977. Appellant testified that he served in the Navy until November of Delaware County App. Case No. 11CAF050039 5

1987, and then enlisted in the Navy Reserves. Appellant was in the Navy Reserves

from November 8, 1987 until November 7, 1989. Appellant then reenlisted in the

Reserves on February 23, 1990, until January 19, 1996. He then reenlisted in the Navy

Reserves from January 20, 1996, through November 9, 1999. After such time, appellant

went back on active duty until he retired on March 31, 2009.

{¶ 16} Appellant testified that he had a total of 32 years between his National

Guard, Navy Reserve and active duty service. When asked about the relationship

between the 32 years to his pension calculation, appellant testified that if he were

receiving 32 years of pension, his retirement check would be approximately $2,800.00.

He testified that he was not receiving a retirement from the Navy Reserve and that the

only impact that his Navy Reserve Service had was that it reduced by 5 months the

amount of time that he had to serve to get his 20 years of service to qualify for

retirement. Appellant further testified that if he had stayed in the Reserves, he would

have been eligible for a pension based on Reserve service when he was 59 ½ year old.

{¶ 17} At the hearing, appellant testified that when he received the Decree of

Divorce, he did not believe that he had to provide a QDRO within 120 days because he

was on active duty at the time and “what I read in the divorce decree was the naval

reserve pension. I wasn’t going to get a naval reserve retirement….So there’s nothing to

send.” Transcript at 61-62.

{¶ 18} At the time of the hearing, appellant’s gross monthly retirement pay was

$1,839.00 a month. Of this amount, $192.47 was withheld for federal income taxes.

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