Treitler v. Brownlow

872 So. 2d 1200, 2003 La.App. 4 Cir. 1931, 2004 La. App. LEXIS 1114, 2004 WL 943745
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 7, 2004
DocketNo. 2003-CA-1931
StatusPublished

This text of 872 So. 2d 1200 (Treitler v. Brownlow) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Treitler v. Brownlow, 872 So. 2d 1200, 2003 La.App. 4 Cir. 1931, 2004 La. App. LEXIS 1114, 2004 WL 943745 (La. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinions

J^MICHAEL E. KIRBY, Judge.

This appeal arises out of a domestic action wherein a judgment was rendered by the trial court denying a Rule for Contempt for her ex-husband’s alleged failure to pay extraordinary medical expenses for their minor child filed on behalf of the appellant/ex-wife. For the reasons assigned, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

STATEMENT OF FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY:

Margaret I. Brownlow Stretzinger (appellant) filed a Rule for Contempt against her ex-husband, John Treitler (appellee), for his alleged failure to pay extraordinary medical expenses for the minor child, John Treitler, Jr. (BJ). Appellant’s rule asserted that appellee’s obligation to pay the medical expenses stems from a Consent Judgment entered into by the parties on February 16, 2001. The Consent Judgment states:

IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that effective October 1, 2000, John Treitler shall pay to Margaret B. Treitler the sum of $458.00 in basic child support, which includes his pro-rata portion of health, dental and vision insurance premiums. The first payment shall be due on February 28, 2001. Each subsequent payment shall be due on the last day of each month. He shall also pay fifty-seven (57%) percent of all school ^tuition, registration fees, books activity fees and any other [1202]*1202mandatory school-related expenses, which are to be paid within thirty (30) days of written demand and supporting documentation being furnished to him. These school related expenses are to be provided to John Treitler as they occur and the required payments from John Treitler are to be paid on a monthly basis but only for one (1) month’s ex-penséis) at a time. In the event these expense(s) are submitted to John Treit-ler for a period of more than one (1) month he is only required to pay or reimburse said expense(s) for one (1) month at a time, and not the accumulated total.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that John Treitler shall also pay fifty-seven (57%) percent of all extraordinary medical expenses, which are defined by La. R.S. 9:315(3) as being uninsured expenses over one hundred dollars for a single illness or condition. It includes but is not limited to reasonable and necessary costs for orthodontia, dental treatment, asthma treatment, physical therapy, uninsured chronic health problems and professional counseling or psychiatric therapy for diagnosed mental disorders.” Payment shall be made within thirty (30) days of receipt of written demand and supporting documentation. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the increased amount of child support, attributable to this judgment which has accrued since the filing of the pending Rule is stipulated to be the total sum of $872.00, and is to be liquidated by the payment of an additional $25.00 per month, starting February 1, 2001, until paid in full, without interest.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that each party will bear their own attorneys fees and costs associated with the filing and resolution of this Rule and this Judgment.

Specifically, appellant sought reimbursement of 57% of all office visit co-pay amounts, prescriptions co-pay amounts and for the cost of an “ionic air purifier” which appellant claimed was necessary for BJ’s allergies. Appellee opposed the Rule for Contempt, contending that the claimed medical expenses did |3not constitute “extraordinary medical expenses” for which he was obligated under the Consent Judgment and as defined by La. R.S. 9:315 C(3).

On September 5, 2003, the trial court conducted a hearing and took the matter under advisement. On September 10, 2003, judgment was rendered with written Reasons, denying the Rule for Contempt, and finding that the expenses at issue were not extraordinary medical expenses and that the medical treatment rendered was not the result of a single illness or an ongoing condition, as required by the Consent Judgment and La. R.S. 9:315. This timely devolutive appeal followed.

ARGUMENT:

Appellant argues that the trial court erred in finding that the expenses in question were not extraordinary medical expenses. The medical expenses claimed by appellant in her Rule for Contempt were incurred between May 2001 and December 2002, as follows:

1). Sunrise Pediatric Associates (primary care physicians):
Five office visit co-pay amounts, totaling $105.00
Eight prescription co-pay amounts, totaling $200.00
2). Dr Schneider (allergy specialist):
Four office visit co-pay amounts, totaling $120.00
[1203]*1203Eight prescription co-pay amounts, totaling $182.84
Ionic air purifier $543.70
3). Dr. Pool (mental health professional):
Six office visit co-pay amounts, totaling $165.00
Eleven prescription co-pay amounts, totaling $235.94
4). Dr. Osberg and Dr. Applewhite (dermatology):
Six office visit co-pay amounts, totaling $160.00
Eleven prescription co-pay amounts, totaling $195.00

Appellant maintains that BJ has three unusual and ongoing medical conditions: respiratory difficulties (asthma, allergy and sinusitis), dermatological |4problems, and mental health problems. Appellant further argues that these are not conditions that are usually expected for the average child, and they should therefore be considered extraordinary. Moreover, appellant contends that if the out-of-pocket medical expenses exceed the aggregate sum of $100.00 per condition (as they are in this case), the expenses are extraordinary medical expenses and should be treated as such. Finally, appellant maintains that there is no logic or law to justify forcing the custodial parent to bear all out-of-pocket expenses caused by a child’s unusual medical conditions.

In response to this appeal, appellee submits that there is no jurisprudential authority to support the position that insurance co-payments, each less than $100.00, and related to the sporadic treatment of sinusitis, acne, allergies and psychiatric counseling, constitute extraordinary medical expenses under La. R.S. 9:315. Accordingly, appellee maintains that the trial court correctly determined that the expenses at issue were not extraordinary medical expenses and that the medical treatment rendered was not the result of a single illness or an ongoing condition as required by the Consent Judgment of February 16, 2001 and La. R.S. 9:315.

LAW AND ANALYSIS: STANDARD OF REVIEW

A court of appeal may not set aside a trial court’s finding of fact in the absence of “manifest error” or unless it is “clearly wrong.” Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (La.1989); Stobart v. State, Through Department of Development and Transportation, 617 So.2d 880 (La.1993). In Mart v. Hill, 505 So.2d 1120, 1127 (La.1987), the Louisiana Supreme Court announced a two-part test for the reversal of a fact finder’s determinations: 1). The appellate court must find from the record |Rthat a reasonable factual basis does not exist for the finding of the trial court, and 2).

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Related

Stobart v. State Through DOTD
617 So. 2d 880 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1993)
Dickinson v. Dickinson
461 So. 2d 1184 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1984)
Smith v. Smith
597 So. 2d 1216 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1992)
Rosell v. Esco
549 So. 2d 840 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1989)
Mart v. Hill
505 So. 2d 1120 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1987)

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Bluebook (online)
872 So. 2d 1200, 2003 La.App. 4 Cir. 1931, 2004 La. App. LEXIS 1114, 2004 WL 943745, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/treitler-v-brownlow-lactapp-2004.