Smoske v. Sicher, 2006-G-2720 (10-19-2007)

2007 Ohio 5617
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 19, 2007
DocketNos. 2006-G-2720 and 2006-G-2731.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 2007 Ohio 5617 (Smoske v. Sicher, 2006-G-2720 (10-19-2007)) 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
Smoske v. Sicher, 2006-G-2720 (10-19-2007), 2007 Ohio 5617 (Ohio Ct. App. 2007).

Opinions

OPINION
{¶ 1} In the instant appeal, appellant, Edward F. Sicher, Jr., appeals the judgment of the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas, modifying his child support obligation. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the judgment of the lower court, and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

{¶ 2} Sicher and appellee, Pamela Smoske, were divorced in Texas on December 4, 1998. The agreed upon judgment entry and decree of divorce entered by *Page 2 the Texas court, setting forth the respective rights and obligations of the parties, ordered Sicher to pay child support in the total amount of $700 per month for the children of the marriage, Cody (d.o.b. 2/4/92) and Seanna (d.o.b. 11/20/93) Sicher.

{¶ 3} In the summer of 1999, Smoske and the children relocated from Texas to Geauga County, Ohio, where they currently reside with Smoske's new husband, Robert. Sicher currently resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and has never resided in Ohio. It is undisputed that Smoske did not register the Texas child support order in Ohio, as required by R.C.3115.46.

{¶ 4} On April 21, 2005, Smoske commenced the instant action with a Motion for an Order Assuming Jurisdiction of a Child Custody Proceeding, pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act ("UCCJEA"), as codified in 3127.01 et seq.1 Sicher received summons from the Ohio court, sent to his Florida address, via certified mail, on April 27, 2005.

{¶ 5} On May 23, 2005, Sicher filed his answer, admitting the allegations and statements contained in Smoske's motion, including admissions that Smoske and the children were bona fide residents of Ohio, and that the court "has jurisdiction of this matter pursuant to R.C. Sections 3127.15 and 3127.17 because the children and the children's parents do not presently reside in Texas." The answer further requested that *Page 3 the court "issue an order assuming jurisdiction of the child custody proceeding filed in this matter."

{¶ 6} On August 23, 2005, Smoske filed a motion for orders "Modifying Terms of Orders for Possession of [the] Minor Children," and a Motion for an Order to Modify Child Support.

{¶ 7} On November 15, 2005, Sicher filed two motions: The first was a Motion to Modify Transportation Arrangements and Parenting Time Schedule. The second was a Motion to Dismiss Smoske's Motion to Modify Child Support on the grounds that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to modify the foreign child support order. Smoske filed a memorandum in response to Sicher's motion.

{¶ 8} On December 16, 2005, the magistrate issued an order denying Sicher's motion to dismiss. Sicher followed with a Motion to Set Aside the Magistrate's Order. After obtaining leave from the court, Smoske filed her response brief on January 13, 2006. The trial court denied Sicher's motion on January 16, 2006.2

{¶ 9} On March 3, 2006, the trial court held a hearing on the parties' respective motions for modification of the terms of possession and for the modification of transportation arrangements and parenting time schedule. The hearing also addressed Smoske's Motion to Modify Child Support.

{¶ 10} On March 17, 2006, the court entered an agreed judgment entry on its docket adopting modifications of custody, transportation arrangements and parenting time. *Page 4

{¶ 11} On April 10, 2006, the magistrate issued a decision granting Smoske's request to modify child support, which increased Sicher's monthly child support obligation from $700.00 per month to $1,106.80 per month for both children.

{¶ 12} On April 21, 2006, Sicher filed objections to the magistrate's decision, again arguing that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to modify the Texas child support order "since that order was never registered in Ohio, as required by Section 3115.46 of the * * * Revised Code." Smoske filed a brief in response to Sicher's objections on April 28, 2006. Sicher then filed a reply brief.

{¶ 13} On June 16, 2006, the trial court entered a judgment overruling Sicher's objections to the magistrate's decision, and adopting it in full.

{¶ 14} Sicher timely filed a notice of appeal, assigning the following as error for our review:

{¶ 15} "[1.] The trial court erred, as a matter of law, in determining that it had subject matter jurisdiction to modify the Texas child support order.

{¶ 16} "[2.] The trial court erred, as a matter of law, in determining that is was proper to modify the Texas child support order that plaintiff-appellee failed to register in this state.

{¶ 17} "[3.] The trial court erred, in the alternative, as a matter of law, in determining that section 3127.08 of the Ohio Revised Code does not entitle defendant-appellant to immunity to personal jurisdiction."

{¶ 18} Since Sicher's first and second assignments of error make essentially identical arguments, they will be addressed together. In these assignments of error, Sicher challenges neither the court's judgment modifying the terms of the Texas custody agreement, nor its authority to modify the agreement under the UCCJEA. *Page 5

Rather, he argues that the trial court did not possess subject matter jurisdiction to subsequently grant Smoske's Motion to Modify the Texas support order under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act ("UIFSA"). Sicher argues that since Smoske failed to properly register the order under the terms of the UIFSA, pursuant to the requirements of R.C.3115.46, the court failed to acquire subject matter jurisdiction under R.C. 3115.48.

{¶ 19} In the case sub judice, neither party disputes that Smoske satisfied all of the statutory requirements of the UCCJEA, and thus conferred subject-matter jurisdiction upon the trial court to hear that particular matter. Sicher also does not dispute the fact that, though not an Ohio resident, he voluntarily consented to the personal jurisdiction of the Ohio court to make the custody determination.

{¶ 20} Where the parties disagree, however, presents an issue of first impression for this court, i.e., whether the failure to register the child support order under R.C. 3115.46 precludes the court from modifying a child support order issued in another state under R.C.3115.48, where neither party, nor the child in question, currently resides in that state. In other words, must an individual petitioning the trial court for a modification of a foreign support order register that order pursuant R.C. 3115.46, for the court to have subject matter jurisdiction to modify that order? We answer this question in the affirmative.

{¶ 21}

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Friedah v. Friedah
2019 Ohio 1842 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
Dinan v. Dinan
2014 Ohio 3882 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
Hays v. Kaelin
2014 Ohio 3357 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
Patton v. Patton
2012 Ohio 5798 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2012)
Arndt v. P M Ltd., 2007-P-0038 (5-9-2008)
2008 Ohio 2316 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2007 Ohio 5617, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smoske-v-sicher-2006-g-2720-10-19-2007-ohioctapp-2007.