Myles v. HSD

CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 13, 2011
Docket30,529
StatusUnpublished

This text of Myles v. HSD (Myles v. HSD) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Myles v. HSD, (N.M. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

1 This memorandum opinion was not selected for publication in the New Mexico Reports. Please 2 see Rule 12-405 NMRA for restrictions on the citation of unpublished memorandum opinions. 3 Please also note that this electronic memorandum opinion may contain computer-generated 4 errors or other deviations from the official paper version filed by the Court of Appeals and does 5 not include the filing date. 6 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

7 GEORGE M. MYLES,

8 Respondent-Appellant,

9 v. NO. 30,529

10 STATE OF NEW MEXICO, ex rel. 11 HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT, 12 and REBECCA M. GALAZ,

13 Petitioners-Appellees.

14 APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF DOÑA ANA COUNTY 15 Douglas R. Driggers, District Judge

16 Anna L. Juarez 17 Las Cruces, NM

18 for Appellant

19 Gary K. King, Attorney General 20 Santa Fe, NM 21 Torri Jacobus, Special Assistant Attorney General 22 Albuquerque, NM 23 M. Elizabeth Price, Special Assistant Attorney General 24 Las Cruces, NM

25 for Appellees

26 MEMORANDUM OPINION 1 CASTILLO, Chief Judge.

2 Appellant George Myles (Myles) contends that the district court erred in

3 denying his Rule 1-060 NMRA motion and in concluding that it lacked jurisdiction

4 to decide whether his driver’s license should be reinstated. We affirm.

5 BACKGROUND

6 This case began almost seventeen years ago when, on September 6, 1994, the

7 State of New Mexico Human Services Department, Child Support Enforcement

8 Division (the Department) filed a petition against Myles to establish paternity as to

9 Myles’ child Marquisha and to establish Myles’ child support obligations. In a pro

10 se response, Myles admitted that he was the biological father of Marquisha. At a

11 hearing on the Department’s petition in November 1994, Myles also admitted that he

12 had another child with Marquisha’s mother, a boy named Ryan. In light of this

13 admission, the Department inquired whether Myles wished to include Ryan in the

14 proceedings, and Myles responded affirmatively. At the close of the hearing, Myles

15 was informed that he was being adjudicated the parent of both Marquisha and Ryan,

16 that child support would be determined based on both children, and he was fully

17 informed what his child support obligations would be. An order memorializing these

18 decisions was entered on December 2, 1994.

19 Nine years later, in December 2003, the Department filed a motion for order to

2 1 show cause that alleged that Myles had failed to comply with the terms of the

2 December 1994 order. Myles was ordered to appear before a hearing officer, but he

3 failed to do so. On March 12, 2004, the hearing officer entered a report and decision

4 and certification for contempt with the district court. The order asked the court to find

5 Myles in contempt for refusing to comply with the December 1994 child support order

6 and indicated that Myles owed approximately $8,400 in child support and unpaid

7 judgment interest.

8 Myles filed timely pro se objections and claimed that his nonappearance at

9 court was the result of his attorney’s failure to alert him to the existence of the

10 hearing. As to child support, Myles stated that his financial situation had recently

11 changed and further stated that he had recently come to believe that Ryan was not his

12 biological child.

13 Finally, he pointed out that his license had been revoked due to his failure to

14 pay child support, and he asserted that this was a significant impediment to his ability

15 to secure employment. We observe that there is no mention of the license revocation

16 in the March 12, 2004 order. Further, we observe that there is no order revoking

17 Myles’ driver’s license included with the record in this case.

18 The district court, having received and considered the hearing officer’s report

19 and decision and Myles’ objections, remanded the matter to the hearing officer with

3 1 instructions to treat Myles’ objections as a motion for reconsideration. When Myles

2 appeared before the hearing officer on remand, he withdrew his objections. As such,

3 the officer filed an order on June 25, 2004, affirming the March 12, 2004 order and

4 again certified the matter to the district court for a finding of contempt.

5 Myles again filed timely pro se objections in which he expressed general

6 concerns about the fairness of the “system,” complained that he was being lied to by

7 his attorney and others, insisted that he be allowed to test whether Ryan is actually his

8 son, and again asserted that he needed to have his license reinstated. The district court

9 was unpersuaded by Myles’ renewed objections and entered an order concluding that

10 the June 25, 2004 report and decision affirming the March 12, 2004 report and

11 decision was not arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion, was supported by

12 substantial evidence, and was in accordance with the law.

13 As the district court had not addressed the issue of contempt, a hearing in

14 district court on that specific issue was set. At that hearing on February 21, 2005, the

15 court not only addressed the contempt issue, but also addressed the driver’s license

16 issue and the issue of Myles’ paternity as to Ryan. The court’s decisions were

17 memorialized in two separate orders. The contempt and driver’s license issue were

18 addressed in an order filed on March 30, 2005. The paternity issue was addressed in

19 a subsequent order filed on April 25, 2005.

4 1 With regard to contempt, the court found that Myles now owed approximately

2 $11,000 in child support and interest and found that Myles had willfully failed to

3 comply with his child support responsibilities. As such, the court determined that

4 Myles was indeed in contempt of court and sentenced him to a period of incarceration.

5 However, the court ordered the sentence suspended provided that Myles “purge” the

6 contempt order. To purge the order, Myles had to submit a lump sum payment of

7 approximately $4,400 to the Department on or before March 23, 2005. As to the

8 driver’s license issue, the court ordered the Department to initiate restoration of

9 Myles’ driving privileges if Myles submitted the lump sum payment in a timely

10 fashion. As to the paternity issue, the court granted Myles’ request for paternity

11 testing and specifically noted that Ryan’s mother did not object to the request. The

12 order clearly states, however, that Myles would be responsible for the costs associated

13 with the testing and that “[s]uch testing [would] not relieve [Myles] of his obligation

14 to pay child support and to comply with the terms and conditions” of the December

15 1994 child support order.

16 In November 2005, well after the lump sum payment due date, the Department

17 requested another hearing before the district court on the issue of contempt. At that

18 hearing in December 2005, Myles sought relief from both the December 1994 child

19 support order and from the contempt order on the ground that Ryan was not his son.

5 1 To more fully examine the issues, the district court ordered the Department and Myles

2 to brief the issue. In the interim, Myles was ordered to continue making support

3 payments.

4 The Department filed its brief in a timely fashion; Myles failed to submit a

5 brief. At a hearing on February 24, 2006, the district court determined that Myles was

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