Suwareh v. Nwankwo

2018 Ohio 3737, 119 N.E.3d 808
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 17, 2018
DocketNO. CA2017-12-174
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2018 Ohio 3737 (Suwareh v. Nwankwo) 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
Suwareh v. Nwankwo, 2018 Ohio 3737, 119 N.E.3d 808 (Ohio Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

HENDRICKSON, J.

{¶ 1} Plaintiff-appellant, Lamin Suwareh ("Father"), appeals from a decision of the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division, that modified the terms of the shared parenting plan he and defendant-appellee, Chinelo Nwankwo ("Mother"), entered into at the time of their April 2015 divorce. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand the matter for further proceedings.

{¶ 2} At the time of their divorce, Mother and Father had two minor sons, A.A.S, born July 5, 2013, and K.O.S., born July 28, 2014. The final decree of divorce incorporated and adopted an agreed upon shared parenting plan, which provided that while both parties were the residential parent and legal custodian of the children, Mother's residence was the children's primary residence. Father lived within 15 minutes of Mother's residence and was given substantial parenting time with the children, with his parenting time varying weekly. 1 Under the terms of the shared parenting plan, Father was responsible for *810 almost all transportation for his parenting time until K.O.S. turned four years old.

{¶ 3} The shared parenting plan further provided that the parties would alternate holidays, with Mother being given preference on all Christian holidays and Father being given preference on all Muslim holidays. If a parent intended to relocate outside of Butler County, the shared parenting plan required the parent to provide at least 60-days advance notice to the other parent and to the court, and further provided that "[i]f either parent believes the relocation requires a change in the allocation of parenting time, it is the responsibility of that parent to file a motion to review the allocation of parenting time."

{¶ 4} The shared parenting plan also provided that "[b]oth parents recognize that the children legally may attend school in either parent's school system." The parties agreed to consult with one another as to the appropriate school placement for the children, and if unable to agree by March 30th of the year preceding the academic year in question, agreed to seek mediation to resolve the issue before any motions were filed with the domestic relations court.

{¶ 5} Father was ordered to pay child support to Mother in an amount exceeding $800 per child per month and to provide health insurance for the children. Uncovered health care expenses were to be split between the parties, with Father paying 60 percent of the costs and Mother paying 40 percent. Finally, the shared parenting plan provided that "Mother shall be responsible for personal grooming decisions for the children and shall be responsible for the children's hair care (e.g., haircuts, styling, etc.)."

{¶ 6} Following the parties' divorce, multiple motions were filed. As pertinent to the present appeal, in July 2016 the trial court adopted a magistrate's June 29, 2016 Decision and Judgment which modified Father's monthly child support obligation to $586.65 per child and clarified the parties' parenting time during the holidays. The parties were ordered to follow the court's standard parenting schedule with respect to holidays, "with modifications for religious holidays." Mother was given parenting time with the children on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Father was given "parenting time with the children on major Muslim holidays and feasts he celebrates." Father was instructed to "notify Mother as far in advance as he is able the dates upon which the holidays are to be celebrated each year." The June 29, 2016 decision further ordered Mother to reimburse Father $580.32 for medical expenses associated with the birth of their youngest son.

{¶ 7} On November 18, 2016, Father filed a number of motions, including a (1) Motion to Show Cause-Decree, (2) Motion for Contempt of Decree/Order, (3) Motion to Reallocate Parental Rights and Responsibilities, (4) Motion to Modify Parenting Provision - Communication, (5) Motion to Modify Parenting Provision - Transportation, (6) Motion to Modify Parenting Time, (7) Motion to Establish Spousal Support Overpayment, and a (8) Motion to Modify Child Support. 2 Within these motions, Father sought to have Mother held in contempt for failing to pay her share of an outstanding IRS debt ordered by the decree of divorce and for failing to pay her share of medical expenses related to the birth of K.O.S. Father also sought to have *811 child support recalculated as Mother had recently completed her master's degree and "is able or is actually earning considerably more than when the original order issued, creating more than a 10% difference as compared to the current support order."

{¶ 8} With respect to his motion to reallocate parental rights and responsibilities, Father sought "an order allocating the responsibility for the children's haircuts to Father." Rather than seeking to terminate shared parenting, Father sought to modify certain terms of the shared parenting plan so that he would have additional parenting time with the children, would not be responsible for transportation at the commencement of Mother's parenting time, and would have the ability to communicate with his sons via telephone or through other media sources while they were in Mother's physical custody.

{¶ 9} On February 6, 2017, while Father's motions were pending, Mother filed a Notice of Intent to Relocate Outside of Butler County, indicating her intent to move with the children to Columbus, Ohio for a new job opportunity. Father opposed Mother's move.

{¶ 10} A hearing on Mother's anticipated move to Columbus and the November 18, 2016 motions filed by Father was held before a magistrate on April 7, 2017. At this time, Mother and Father were the only individuals to testify. The parties introduced, and the magistrate accepted into evidence, exhibits pertaining to the parties' communications with one another, their respective tax documents and bank statements, Father's paystubs, a letter of employment for Mother, and receipts of daycare expenses.

{¶ 11} On June 15, 2017, the magistrate issued a Decision and Judgment in which it denied Father's motion to hold Mother in contempt with respect to the IRS debt, but granted the motion and found Mother in contempt for failing to reimburse Father for medical expenses related to the birth of K.O.S. The magistrate granted Father's request to modify child support, reducing Father's monthly support obligation to $443.52 per child, but denied Father's request to establish overpayment of spousal support, given that "spousal support * * * terminated effective September 13, 2015 * * * [and] [t]here was not evidence or testimony presented regarding any overpayment of spousal support."

{¶ 12} The magistrate granted Father's request that he be allocated the responsibility of the children's haircare and granted Father's request to modify the parenting plan to establish a set time for the parent without physical custody to telephone and have media contact with the children during the other parent's parenting time. The magistrate also granted Father's request to modify the shared parenting plan with respect to transportation of the children. The magistrate ordered that the parties "meet at a mid-way point to exchange the children for parenting time.

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

Related

In re S.B.
2026 Ohio 947 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2026)
Via v. Boyle
2025 Ohio 5363 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
Suwareh v. Nwankwo
2020 Ohio 6899 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
Whitaker v. Whitaker
2020 Ohio 2774 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
In re Q.R.
2018 Ohio 4785 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2018 Ohio 3737, 119 N.E.3d 808, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/suwareh-v-nwankwo-ohioctapp-2018.