Schultz v. Butterball, LLC

2012 Ark. 163, 402 S.W.3d 61, 2012 Ark. LEXIS 189
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedApril 19, 2012
DocketNo. 11-1212
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2012 Ark. 163 (Schultz v. Butterball, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schultz v. Butterball, LLC, 2012 Ark. 163, 402 S.W.3d 61, 2012 Ark. LEXIS 189 (Ark. 2012).

Opinion

DONALD L. CORBIN, Justice.

|rThe instant appeal involves a challenge to a wage-withholding order stemming from child-support arrearages. Appellant Thomas Schultz appeals the order of the Franklin County Circuit Court dismissing his complaint against Appellee Butterball, LLC, his employer, wherein Appellant sought to restrain Appellee from any further wage withholdings, as well as damages to compensate him for the wages already withheld. On appeal, Appellant argues that the circuit court erred in dismissing his complaint pursuant to Ark. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) where (1) he stated a viable claim against Appellee for the wrongful withholding of his wages, as the withholding order did not satisfy the statutory requirements found in the subchapter of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), codified at Ark.Code Ann. §§ 9-17-501 to -507; (2) the statutory scheme is unconstitutional as it authorizes the taking of his wages without the due process of law and also violates article 2, section 13 of the Arkansas Constitution; (3) the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel bar the collection of any child support where a previous attempt to register a support order was dismissed. | Additionally, Appellant takes issue with the circuit court’s dismissal with prejudice, arguing that the conversion of the dismissal to one for summary judgment deprived him of an opportunity to be heard and that a dismissal with prejudice was erroneous. We find no error and affirm.

The record reveals the following pertinent facts. On or about April 30, 2010, Appellee began withholding a portion of wages from Appellant’s paycheck as the result of an income-withholding order received from the Stanislaus County Department of Child Support Services in Modesto, California. The income-withholding order directed Appellee to withhold $700 per month from Appellant’s wages for payment of past-due child support for his son, Thomas Schultz, born on April 20, 1980. Appellant objected to the withholding and submitted a written objection to Butterball by letter dated August 9, 2010. He also sent a written objection to the Stanislaus County Department of Child Support Services. Stanislaus County responded by letter notifying Appellant that the income withholding “was issued by law per the California Child Support Order.”

Appellant initially filed a complaint against Appellee in Franklin County District Court that was dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Appellant then filed the instant complaint against Appellee on May 11, 2011, asking the circuit court to enjoin Appellee from withholding further amounts and that he be awarded damages for all amounts wrongfully withheld. Attached to the complaint was an order dismissing, without prejudice, a previous attempt by Stanislaus County to register a child-support order in Arkansas.

[ 3AppeIlee filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). Specifically, Appellee argued that Appellant’s suit seeking damages and injunctive relief was barred by law as Arkansas law explicitly immunizes employers from civil liability for complying with an out-of-state withholding order. Appellant responded, and for the first time, argued that this subchapter of UIFSA was unconstitutional.

A hearing was held on August 19, 2011. Therein, Appellee argued that it was statutorily required to comply with the income-withholding order because had it faded to comply, it would have been subject to penalties as set forth in section 9-17-505. Further, Appellee argued that Appellant had not taken the necessary steps under the statutory scheme to contest the order and, thus, under the law Appellee was required to withhold the sum from Appellant’s wages.

Appellant countered by first asserting that the motion should be decided by looking solely to the complaint to determine whether it stated a cause of action. According to Appellant, the cause of action stated was one for the wrongful withholding of wages, and such a claim was enough to satisfy the requirement of Rule 12(b)(6). Appellant further asserted that the complaint was more detailed than required under the rule because Appellant was seeking injunctive relief. Appellant alternatively argued that the statutory scheme was unconstitutional because it violated his right of due process, as well as his right to redress found in article 2, section 18 of the Arkansas Constitution.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the circuit court ruled from the bench that after looking at the complaint, the motions, and the statutory scheme, Appellant could not assert |4the cause of action against Appellee, as it was required to comply with the wage-withholding order. The circuit court also denied Appellant’s request to declare the statutory scheme unconstitutional. Finally, the circuit court ruled that neither res judicata nor collateral estoppel precluded or affected any of the parties to the instant action, and that the motion to dismiss would be granted.

A written order reflecting this ruling was entered on August 22, 2011, dismissing Appellant’s complaint for failure to state facts upon which relief could be granted, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). Therein, the circuit court found that Appellant’s cause of action was essentially an action for monetary damages against Ap-pellee for a wrongful withholding of his wages. The circuit court found that the income-withholding order was regular on its face and that Appellee had complied with the income-withholding order. Further, the circuit court found that Stanis-laus County was not required to first register the withholding order in this state, nor was Appellee relieved or excused of its duty to comply with the withholding order because of Appellant’s written and verbal objections contesting the validity or enforcement of the order. More specifically, the circuit court found that Appellant had the burden to contest the validity or enforcement of the order as set forth in section 9-17-506. Next, the court found that Appellee was not subject to civil liability for complying with the withholding order. Finally, the circuit court denied Appellant’s request to hold section 9-17-504 unconstitutional. From that order, comes the instant appeal.

As an initial matter, we must determine the appropriate standard of review to employ in this case. While the circuit court granted the Appellee’s motions to dismiss for failure to Instate a claim, the circuit court’s order reflected that the circuit court dismissed the action upon consideration of “the pleadings filed in this cause, arguments of counsel and other matters and things considered.” Moreover, at the hearing on the motion to dismiss, both parties argued matters outside the complaint, including the constitutionality of section 9-17-504. It is well settled that when a circuit court considers matters outside the pleadings, the appellate court will treat a motion to dismiss as one for summary judgment. See Comcast of Little Rock, Inc. v. Bradshaw, 2011 Ark. 431, 385 S.W.3d 137. Ordinarily, upon reviewing a court’s decision on a summary-judgment motion, we would examine the record to determine if genuine issues of material fact exist. See Travis Lumber Co. v. Deichman, 2009 Ark. 299, 319 S.W.3d 239. However, in a case such as this one, which does not involve the question of whether factual issues exist but rather the application of legal rules, we simply determine whether the Appellees were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See id.

I. Statutory Framework

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Bluebook (online)
2012 Ark. 163, 402 S.W.3d 61, 2012 Ark. LEXIS 189, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schultz-v-butterball-llc-ark-2012.