Watkins v. Watkins

942 So. 2d 224, 2006 WL 1229477
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMay 9, 2006
Docket2005-CA-00257-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 942 So. 2d 224 (Watkins v. Watkins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Watkins v. Watkins, 942 So. 2d 224, 2006 WL 1229477 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

942 So.2d 224 (2006)

Daniel Athion WATKINS, Appellant
v.
Carlene Kim (Nee: Benson) WATKINS, Appellee.

No. 2005-CA-00257-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

May 9, 2006.
Rehearing Denied August 22, 2006.

*226 Tina Marie Dugard Scott, attorney for appellant.

Rex F. Sanderson, Houston, attorney for appellee.

Before KING, C.J., CHANDLER and ISHEE, JJ.

ISHEE, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. On December 10, 2004, Daniel Athion Watkins was cited with a second order of contempt in the Chickasaw County Chancery Court for failure to pay child support to his wife, Carlene Kim Benson Watkins, from whom he was legally separated. The chancery court also found him in contempt for failure to pay attorney's fees and court costs, pursuant to the first order of contempt, which was entered on June 25, 2004. Aggrieved by the judgment against him, Mr. Watkins appealed. He raises the following issues for this Court's review, which we list verbatim:

1. Did the lower court err in refusing to order separate maintenance payments cease when the Wife testified under oath that she was unwilling to resume cohabitation with the Husband?
2. Should it be found that separate maintenance was just and equitable in [the case] sub judice, did the lower court err in not conducting an on the record analysis to determine the amount of separate maintenance?
2(A) Relative thereto, did the lower court err in ordering Husband to pay in excess of 75% of his modest net income as child support and separate maintenance?
3. Did the lower court err in finding Husband in willful contempt without regard to his ability or inability to pay the previously ordered amounts?

FACTS

¶ 2. Mr. Watkins and Mrs. Watkins were married on July 30, 1983. During the course of their marriage, the couple had three children. Mr. Watkins and Mrs. Watkins separated on or about July 31, 2001. At the time of their separation, the couple's oldest child was emancipated; the other children, born on October 30, 1990, and January 6, 1995, were still minors.

¶ 3. On September 23, 2003, Mrs. Watkins filed a petition for custody and other relief in the Chancery Court of Chickasaw County. A hearing was held, and on December 4, 2003, the chancery court entered a judgment for separate maintenance. The court found that Mr. Watkins should be required to provide child support, as well as medical and dental care for the children. Specifically, the court ordered Mr. Watkins to pay child support to Mrs. Watkins in the amount of $106.38 per week, and to pay $365 per month to his (Mr. Watkins's) mother for rental of both the marital home and the family minivan (a 1996 Plymouth Voyager).[1] The judgment *227 further instructed Mr. Watkins to provide and to pay all expenses of a comparable home, should Mrs. Watkins and the children be evicted from the marital home. Likewise, Mr. Watkins was required to provide Mrs. Watkins with comparable transportation, should the minivan be repossessed.

¶ 4. On March 9, 2004, Mrs. Watkins filed a complaint for contempt alleging that Mr. Watkins failed to pay the indebtedness on the marital home and the minivan, which was necessary to prevent eviction and repossession by Mr. Watkins's mother. Mrs. Watkins further alleged that Mr. Watkins repossessed the minivan, that he was using it for his own purposes, and that he substituted the minivan for the parties' older van, which was in very poor repair. Mrs. Watkins also alleged that Mr. Watkins failed to pay the phone bill and $660 in orthodontic expenses for one of the children. Additionally, Mrs. Watkins alleged that Mr. Watkins failed to timely pay the cost of piano and dance lessons for the children, and that he failed to maintain and repair the marital home.

¶ 5. A hearing was held on May 27, 2004. On June 25, 2004, the chancery court entered an order finding Mr. Watkins in contempt for failure to provide Mrs. Watkins with an adequate vehicle, and failure to provide her and the children with housing comparable to the housing that they occupied from December 2003 until May 2004. The court ordered Mr. Watkins to pay car rental in the amount of $100 per month, and housing rental in the amount of $150 per month, until he provided an adequate vehicle or housing. Mr. Watkins was also ordered to pay all utilities, all recurring orthodontic, dance and piano expenses of the minor children, and Mrs. Watkins's attorney's fees in the amount of $400.

¶ 6. On August 27, 2004, Mrs. Watkins filed a second complaint for contempt alleging that Mr. Watkins failed to pay $398.80 in child support and $400 in attorney's fees. Mrs. Watkins further alleged that Mr. Watkins failed to timely pay the water and electricity bills, as well as the telephone bill, which resulted in the disconnection of phone service to her mobile home.

¶ 7. On October 11, 2004, Mr. Watkins filed a petition to modify the previous order of the court. He argued that Mrs. Watkins's employment, acquired subsequently to the judgment for separate maintenance, which brought in a total net income in excess of $1,100 per month, constituted a material change in circumstances sufficient to warrant a modification of the separate maintenance order. Based on the parties' income, Mr. Watkins requested that the court terminate all obligations except for child support.

¶ 8. A hearing was held on November 18, 2004. On December 10, 2004, the chancery court entered an order finding Mr. Watkins in contempt for failure to pay child support, attorney's fees, and court costs. The court ordered Mr. Watkins to pay past due child support in the amount of $496.87, and prior attorney's fees in the amount $400. Mr. Watkins was also ordered to pay Mrs. Watkins's current attorney's fees in the amount of $500. The court further determined that Mr. Watkins was not entitled to a modification of the orders of the court, and that the judgment for separate maintenance would remain in full effect.

¶ 9. On December 17, 2004, Mr. Watkins filed a motion to amend and/or alter judgment; and/or for relief from previous judgment and orders. The chancery court entered an order denying the motion on January 7, 2005. The court held that Mr. Watkins's challenges to judgments filed *228 prior to December 10, 2004 were untimely, and therefore, without merit. Regarding the judgment filed on December 10, 2004, the court further determined that Mr. Watkins's motion was without merit. Aggrieved by the chancery court's decision, Mr. Watkins appealed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 10. Our review of domestic relations matters is limited. Carrow v. Carrow, 741 So.2d 200, 202 (¶ 9) (Miss.1999). The chancellor's findings of fact will not be disturbed on appeal if they are supported by substantial credible evidence. Pacheco v. Pacheco, 770 So.2d 1007, 1009(¶ 8) (Miss. Ct.App.2000) (citing Dunaway v. Busbin, 498 So.2d 1218, 1221 (Miss.1986)). We will not reverse the decision of a chancery court unless the chancellor abused his or her discretion, was manifestly in error, or applied an erroneous legal standard. Carrow, 741 So.2d at 202(¶ 9) (citing Turpin v. Turpin, 699 So.2d 560, 564(¶ 15) (Miss. 1997)).

ISSUES AND ANALYSIS

1. Did the lower court err in refusing to order separate maintenance payments cease when the Wife testified under oath that she was unwilling to resume cohabitation with the Husband?

¶ 11. Mr. Watkins argues that the chancery court erred in finding that he did not make a good faith offer to reconcile.

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Bluebook (online)
942 So. 2d 224, 2006 WL 1229477, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/watkins-v-watkins-missctapp-2006.