Stella v. Garcia

791 N.E.2d 187, 339 Ill. App. 3d 610, 274 Ill. Dec. 391
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 28, 2003
Docket1-02-0440
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 791 N.E.2d 187 (Stella v. Garcia) 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
Stella v. Garcia, 791 N.E.2d 187, 339 Ill. App. 3d 610, 274 Ill. Dec. 391 (Ill. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

JUSTICE WOLFSON

delivered the opinion of the court:

On June 1, 1997, the legislature’s attempt to level the playing field for interim attorney fee awards in marriage dissolution cases went into effect. One new provision of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (Marriage Act) (750 ILCS 5/501(c—1)(3) (West 2000)) empowers trial judges to allocate fees previously paid by a party to his or her lawyer for payment to the other party’s lawyer. In effect, a disgorgement of attorney fees to “achieve[ ] substantial parity between the parties.” 750 ILCS 5/501(c—1)(3) (West 2000).

Here, attorney E. William Bedrava was ordered by a trial judge to disgorge $20,000, part of the fee he received from his client during proceedings brought under the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 (750 ILCS 45/1 et seq. (West 1998)) (Parentage Act). He refused. He was held in indirect civil contempt. He appeals that contempt finding. Among the issues he raises: (1) Does subsection 501(c—1)(3) apply to proceedings brought under the Parentage Act? and (2) Does subsection 501(c—1)(3) violate the federal and/or Illinois Constitution?

Because we answer the first question in the negative, we reverse the trial court’s order requiring Bedrava to disgorge $20,000. We also reverse the order of contempt.

BACKGROUND

Petitioner Patrick Stella filed a petition under the Parentage Act on January 29, 1998, to establish a parent-child relationship with his daughter, Alexis. Stella originally was represented by Kim Grannen, who later was replaced by Bedrava. Respondent Pearl Garcia was not represented by counsel until November 2, 1998, when attorney Sue Roberts-Kurpis filed a motion on her behalf.

On May 22, 2000, Roberts-Kurpis filed a petition for interim attorney fees and costs under section 17 of the Parentage Act and subsection 501(c—1) and section 508 of the Marriage Act, along with an affidavit in support. 1 In addition to listing the amount of time spent on this case, Roberts-Kurpis asserted in her affidavit, among other things, she had incurred $10,000 in attorney fees defending herself against false allegations of criminal misconduct and unethical conduct brought by Stella, his parents, and Bedrava. Bedrava filed a response to the petition.

On July 31, 2000, Bedrava filed his affidavit in support of the response to the petition. In the affidavit, Bedrava said he had been paid $43,870 in connection with the case as of July 31, 2000. 2

On August 2, 2000, Bedrava filed a motion to strike and dismiss the petition and filed a supporting memorandum of law in which he contended subsection 501(c—1) of the Marriage Act did not apply to the Parentage Act. In her memorandum of law in support of the claim for third-party liability for attorney fees, Roberts-Kurpis argued the court should order Bedrava to disgorge a portion of the fees he received and pay the sum to her.

The court denied the motion to strike and scheduled “brief argument” on the petition. No mention of an evidentiary proceeding was made.

Bedrava issued and served a subpoena on Roberts-Kurpis advising her to appear in court on October 11, 2000, and to bring her expense records, among other things. Roberts-Kurpis filed a motion to quash this subpoena.

On October 11, 2000, the trial court found no good cause had been shown for an evidentiary hearing and it quashed the subpoenas Bedrava had served on the internal affairs division of the Chicago police department and on Roberts-Kurpis.

On March 6, 2001, the court ordered Bedrava to “disgorge in the sum of $20,000” and pay it to Roberts-Kurpis. Bedrava filed a motion to reconsider, contending the court’s order was an abuse of discretion, a violation of Bedrava’s due process rights, an order constituting involuntary servitude, and an impairment of contract.

On April 24, 2001, the court denied the motion. In its supporting opinion, the court found “interim attorney’s fees and costs are available in a parentage case through subsection 501(c—1) of the [Marriage Act] or alternatively through section 17 of the Parentage Act using the framework set forth in subsection 501(c—1).” The court also explained it had quashed both subpoenas and, because “good cause for an evidentiary hearing had not been shown, the hearing would be summary in nature.”

Bedrava then requested a technical finding of contempt and a stay, which would allow him to appeal the award of interim fees. On December 4, 2001, the court granted the motion and ordered Bedrava to pay a dollar per day for so long as he does not comply with the disgorgement order. It is from this order and the disgorgement order that Bedrava appeals.

DECISION

Bedrava contends subsection 501(c—1)(3) of the Marriage Act does not apply to the Parentage Act. This means, Bedrava says, the trial court was without authority to order him to pay interim fees to Roberts-Kurpis. Roberts-Kurpis responds that section 17 of the Parentage Act incorporates section 508 of the Marriage Act, which in turn incorporates subsection 501(c—1)(3) of the Marriage Act. RobertsKurpis says the court had jurisdiction to enter an order under subsection 501(c—1)(3) of the Marriage Act in a case brought under the Parentage Act. No Illinois decision directly addresses this question.

We review issues of statutory construction de novo. In re Marriage of Beyer, 324 Ill. App. 3d 305, 309, 753 N.E.2d 1032 (2001). In construing a statute, our goal is to effectuate the legislature’s intent. In re Marriage of Beyer, 324 Ill. App. 3d at 309. If the language of the statute is clear, we must give effect to its plain and ordinary meaning without resorting to other aids of construction. In re Marriage of Beyer, 324 Ill. App. 3d at 310. We may not “supply omissions, remedy defects, annex new provisions, substitute different provisions, add exceptions, limitations, or conditions, or otherwise change the law so as to depart from the plain meaning of language employed in the statute.” In re Marriage of Beyer, 324 Ill. App. 3d at 309-10.

Actions brought under the Parentage Act are “ ‘entirely statutory in origin and *** the court’s authority is limited thereby.’ ” In re Parentage of Melton, 314 Ill. App. 3d 476, 478-79, 732 N.E.2d 11 (2000), quoting In re Marriage of Cohn, 93 Ill. 2d 190, 206, 443 N.E.2d 541 (1982). The court has no inherent power in parentage cases. In re Parentage of Melton, 314 Ill. App. 3d at 479.

In re Parentage of Melton is instructive here. In that case, we considered whether the Parentage Act conferred on the court all powers conferred by the Marriage Act.

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Bluebook (online)
791 N.E.2d 187, 339 Ill. App. 3d 610, 274 Ill. Dec. 391, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stella-v-garcia-illappct-2003.