Perzanowski v. Perzanowski, No. Fa-97-0717352-S (May 24, 1999)

1999 Conn. Super. Ct. 5826
Connecticut Superior Court·Decided May 24, 1999·No. No. FA-97-0717352-S·Unpublished

Opinion

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This case is unpublished as indicated by the issuing court.]

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
By complaint dated December 3, 1997 the plaintiff wife, Kathleen M. Perzanowski commenced this action seeking a dissolution of marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown, custody, child support, alimony, property distribution and other relief. The defendant husband, Kevin P. Perzanowski appeared through counsel. Both parties appeared with counsel on May 6 and May 7 and presented oral testimony and exhibits. The court, after hearing and reviewing the evidence finds the following facts.

The wife, whose maiden name was Kathleen M. Sullivan, married the defendant in Manchester, Connecticut on February 14, 1981. She has resided continuously in the state of Connecticut for one year next preceding the date of the filing of this complaint. All statutory stays have expired and this court has jurisdiction. The parties have four minor children born to the plaintiff wife since the date of the marriage, all of whom are issue of the marriage: Dana J. Perzanowski, date of birth 5/19/87; Kyle D. Perzanowski, date of birth 6/13/89; Colton P. Perzanowski, date of birth CT Page 5827 8/21/90 and Sloan M. Perzanowski, date of birth 8/4/92. The court further finds that no minor child or children have been born to the wife since the date of the marriage who are not issue of the marriage. The court further finds that no state or municipal agency is contributing to the support of the parties and/or their children.

The wife is 41 years old and has received a high school diploma. The wife suffers from Lupus, (a skin disease resulting in body sores, bald spots on the head), a congenital condition in her left ear resulting in a loss of hearing. She further complained of backaches at the time of trial with no medical evidence documenting any physical or functional impairment. The wife further claims was the subject of repeated emotional trauma from her husband and alleged physical assaults by her husband in many different incidents that has left her emotionally drained and in fear of her husband. As of the date of the trial however, the wife was not treating for physical or emotional conditions.

The court finds that the wife worked from the time of her graduation of high school until 1986, the birth of the first child, Dana Perzanowski. During the marriage the wife worked at Hartford National Bank as a clerk and further worked as a temporary with Kelly Girls. Her last effort in employment was work as a receptionist at a real estate office. She intended to further her employment prospects by obtaining a real estate agents license which she did not obtain. She indicated that her husband did not want her to obtain a real estate license in that it required her to work hours during the day and to use a motor vehicle her husband used. Upon the birth of the first child the wife did not return to work.

The court further finds that both parties agreed that the wife should not go back to work at the husband's insistence during the births and formative years of the children. Based on her limited education, lack of employment since 1987, and lack of transferrable skills, the court finds that the wife's prospects of employment in the near further are dim. This is further compounded by the fact that she is a primary caretaker of four children, one of whom suffers from psychological problems, the minor child Colton and the oldest child Dana who suffers from dwarfism and its attendant daily psychological challenges.

The husband is 42 years old and is in good health. He dropped out of high school in his junior year and began to work. His job CT Page 5828 history begins at Hartford Dispatch where he worked as a truck driver until approximately 1987. He left Hartford Dispatch to take on a better job at Barrieau Moving Company. While the wife claims that he was terminated from Barrieau for stealing, the court finds that the wife has failed to prove said claim with parenthetically little import to the overall findings of the court. The defendant has consistently worked at Barrieau from August 1987 to the present date as a truck driver. There has been a recent change in status of his employment from an independent contractor/employee to employee which will be discussed further. By the testimony of the parties the court finds that his gross income for 1995 is $70,000.00, 1996 is $65,000.00, 1997 is $62,756.00, and 1998 is $55,000.00. The court finds that the husband's income has decreased due to no fault of his own. The industry in which the husband is employed has undergone substantial changes in the 1990s. According to testimony of the witness subpoenaed by the wife, Norman Castner of Newington, Connecticut, a vice president in the operations department of Barrieau, the company had to substantially increase discounts to corporate customers who make up a bulk of their business, namely Aetna, Cigna and Hartford Insurance. He further testified that the union contracts negotiated by Barrieau and the Truck Driver's Union (the husband being a steward of said union) provide for a cut in pay in wages for its members. In accordance with the agreement worked out with the union, the drivers (including the husband) must hire out workers and pay for the fuel and labor costs in moving furniture and other items of personal property. He further testified that all expenses to move the loads (ie. fuel and labor) have also gone up. He also testified that in the past Barrieau drivers were treated as independent contractors and employees for tax purposes. Said dual status was found to be illegal by the IRS. This procedure has been terminated and the drivers are now treated as employees for labor and tax law purposes. The husband has filed a financial affidavit dated May 5, 1995 showing a weekly income of $1,065.00 per week based upon 1998 income. The 1999 year to date income reflects a weekly gross of $847.00 per week as indicated in the margin of the financial affidavit and as stated by counsel for the husband at trial.

The court finds, based upon the above testimony and his financial affidavit, that the defendant's weekly income for purposes of calculation of child support and/or alimony is $1.065.00 per week. The court further finds as stated above that the wife's income and earning capacity as of the date of the trial is zero dollars per week. The court also finds the husband CT Page 5829 is working to his earning capacity, based upon credible the testimony of Norman Castner and the defendant as to the defendant's attention to his employment and attempt to find work.Miller v. Miller, 181 Conn. 610 (1980).

The testimony of Norman Castner and the defendant also reflects the defendant has increased the area in which he would accept work (ie. area that would require overnight trips), which was different from his work area prior to the union contract negotiations. The court also finds that the husband is working to his earning capacity as of the date of the trial and further finds that the wife cannot work in a meaningful way to obtain income based upon the multiplicy of problems she deals with daily, the majority of which stem from the raising of the four children and attention required by Dana and Sloan. The court further finds based upon the testimony that the wife is and has been the primary caretaker of all of the children who attended to most of the childrens' daily needs. Seymour v. Seymour,180 Conn. 705 (1980).

The parties further stipulated that the plaintiff wife reserved the right to claim an arrearage in child support back to January 8, 1999.

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Perzanowski v. Perzanowski, No. Fa-97-0717352-S (May 24, 1999), 1999 Conn. Super. Ct. 5826 (Colo. Ct. App. 1999).

1999 Conn. Super. Ct. 5826 (Perzanowski v. Perzanowski, No. Fa-97-0717352-S (May 24, 1999)) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Miller v. Miller
436 A.2d 279 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1980)
Christie v. Eager
26 A.2d 352 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1942)
Seymour v. Seymour
433 A.2d 1005 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1980)