Robbins v. Robbins

353 N.E.2d 110, 40 Ill. App. 3d 653, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 2817
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 5, 1976
Docket75-14
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 353 N.E.2d 110 (Robbins v. Robbins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robbins v. Robbins, 353 N.E.2d 110, 40 Ill. App. 3d 653, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 2817 (Ill. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinion

Mr PRESIDING JUSTICE GUILD

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant filed a petition under section 72 of the Civil Practice Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 110, par. 72) to vacate portions of a divorce decree relative to child support. Plaintiff then filed a petition for increased child support and for attorney’s fees under section 41 of the Civil Practice Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 110, par. 41). The two petitions were consolidated for hearing. Immediately prior to the hearing defendant withdrew his section 72 petition. The trial court granted an increase in child support and denied the petition for attorney’s fees. Both the plaintiff and the defendant have appealed. The plaintiff contends that the increase in support money was not sufficiently adequate in view of the evidence of defendant’s earnings and that she should have been awarded attorney’s fees for the defense of defendant’s section 72 petition withdrawn by him prior to hearing. Defendant’s cross-appeal alleges that no change in circumstance was proven that justified the trial court in increasing the support payments.

. The defendant has filed a motion to strike plaintiff*s appeal which we have taken with the case. The defendant alleges, first, that the plaintiff*s brief violates Supreme Court Rule 341(e) (6) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 110A, par. 341(e)(6)), because it contains untrue statements, misstatements, argumentative statements in the statement of facts and material not contained in the record. A careful examination of the plaintiff*s brief and the record reveals that most of the defendant’s complaints are unfounded. We recognize that some facts, i.e., that defendant’s net income for 1971 was over *20,000 and that the plaintiff’s oldest child from a previous marriage, for which she does not receive child support from the defendant, no longer lives with her, are dehors the record. However, we do not feel this is a proper ground for striking plaintiff*s appeal. As we stated in In re Annexation to the City of Darien (1973), 16 Ill. App. 3d 140, 145, 304 N.E.2d 769, 773:

“Furthermore, counsel for petitioners cannot supplement the record before us by unsupported statements in either his brief or argument.”

We shall not consider these facts in reaching our decision.

Defendant’s second allegation is that the document labeled “Excerpts from the Record,” hereinafter “Excerpts,” should be stricken for failure to conform with the requirements of Supreme Court Rule 342 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 110A, par. 342(a), (d)). Defendant claims that the document fails to comply with the requirements of the rule, either in form or manner and time of filing excerpts from the record. We do not agree with the defendant’s contention that the “Excerpts” are improper in form or in manner. Furthermore, the dates stamped on the cover of the “Excerpts” and the plaintiffs brief clearly show that the document was filed within the proper time limits. Therefore, the motion of the defendant is denied.

On June 8, 1972, plaintiff was granted a decree of divorce and plaintiff was awarded sole custody of the two children of the marriage, subject to the defendant’s visitation rights. Based upon the defendant’s representation to the court that his net income per week was *210, the court ordered the defendant to pay to the plaintiff child support payments of *80 per week, to be allocated evenly between the children; and that “[t]o the extent that defendant’s net income shall be materially higher than said amount [*210 per week], the plaintiff shall be given leave to petition this court for an appropriate adjustment in child support payments.” Subsequent to the entry of the decree of divorce the plaintiff was required to petition the court on numerous occasions to enforce the child support payments as well as other provisions of the decree.

On May 22,1973, the defendant filed the first of two section 72 petitions (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 110, par. 72), challenging various parts of the divorce decree. This petition was neither verified nor supported by affidavit. On June 15, 1973, upon plaintiffs motion, the court struck defendant’s petition because of its improper form. On February 13,1974, the defendant filed his second section 72 petition, this time alleging fraudulent concealment of the plaintiff’s assets as grounds for vacating the defendant’s financial obligations and property rights as enumerated in the divorce decree. This time the petition was verified and supported by affidavit. Plaintiff filed her answer and counteraffidavit on March 11,1974, along with a petition for attorney’s fees and costs, pursuant to section 41 of the Civil Practice Act, supra. On March 22, 1974, plaintiff also petitioned the court to modify the child support payments, alleging she discovered that the defendant’s net income was materially higher than *210 per week, and for a rule to show cause against the defendant for failure to pay existing child support payments. On plaintiff s motion all of the above petitions and motions were consolidated for a hearing. At the hearing the court allowed the defendant to withdraw his second section 72 petition with prejudice; entered an order denying plaintiffs request for attorney’s fees and costs; discharged the rule to show cause because the back child support payments had been paid; and modified the divorce decree as follows:

“The defendant shall pay to the plaintiff the sum of *80 each week for the support of the two minor children of the parties and, in addition, shall pay to the plaintiff at the end of each year forthwith an amount equal to 15% of the defendant’s total net income for that year less *13,000 * * • .”

Two issues are presented for review, viz., was the order increasing the support payments proper within the discretion of the trial court and was the order denying attorney’s fees to the plaintiff for defense to defendant’s section 72 petition, withdrawn before hearing, in error.

It is well settled that upon application of a party the court has the power to modify child support orders of the divorce decree if changes in the conditions and circumstances of the parties render such modification necessary. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 40, par. 19.) It is also well established that the alteration of an order respecting child support payments rests in the sound judicial discretion of the trial court, and unless the record shows an abuse of that discretion, such an order will generally not be disturbed on review. It is not the function of the reviewing court to substitute its judgment for that of the trial court unless such finding is clearly erroneous and against the manifest weight of the evidence. Lewis v. Lewis (1970), 120 Ill. App. 2d 263, 256 N.E.2d 660.

Based upon defendant’s representation that his net earnings at the time of the divorce were about *10,900, the judge at that time ordered the defendant to pay *80 per week for the support of the two minors. The undisputed evidence at the hearing on the consolidated motions and petitions was that the defendant’s yearly net income was materially higher than what he had represented, i.e., several thousand dollars for both 1972 and 1973.

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Bluebook (online)
353 N.E.2d 110, 40 Ill. App. 3d 653, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 2817, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robbins-v-robbins-illappct-1976.