Weber v. Devanney

2020 Ohio 4450
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 16, 2020
Docket29374
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2020 Ohio 4450 (Weber v. Devanney) 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
Weber v. Devanney, 2020 Ohio 4450 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

[Cite as Weber v. Devanney, 2020-Ohio-4450.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF SUMMIT )

NELSON WEBER C.A. No. 29374

Appellee

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE KATHARINA DEVANNEY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO Appellant CASE No. 2010-05-1534

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: September 16, 2020

CARR, Judge.

{¶1} Defendant-Appellant Katharina Devanney (“Wife”) appeals from the judgment of

the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division. This Court affirms in

part, reverses in part, and remands the matter for proceedings consistent with this decision.

I.

{¶2} This Court set out a portion of the history of this case in the prior appeal:

Wife and Plaintiff-Appellee Nelson Weber (“Husband”) were married May 3, 2003. One daughter was born of the marriage on December 28, 2009.

In 2008, Husband relocated to Maryland for work. It was planned that Wife would ultimately join him in Maryland; however, that did not occur. Nonetheless, Husband regularly returned to Ohio.

On May 25, 2010, Husband filed a complaint for divorce. In the complaint, Husband alleged that he had been a resident of Ohio for at least 6 months immediately preceding the filing of the complaint and a resident of Summit County for at least 90 days. Wife answered and filed a counterclaim seeking a divorce. In her answer, Wife admitted the allegations concerning Husband’s residency, and, in her counterclaim, she alleged that she was a resident of Ohio for at least 6 months and of Summit County for at least 90 days prior to the filing of her counterclaim. During the course of the proceedings, Husband moved back to Ohio. 2

The matter proceeded to a final hearing before a magistrate. That hearing was continued over several days. It began March 29, 2012, and ended June 25, 2014. Thereafter, a magistrate’s decision was issued, which the trial court adopted the same day. Both parties subsequently filed objections to the decision. After the transcript was filed, both parties filed supplemental briefs in support of their objections.

In 2017, the trial court opted to rehear parenting issues due to the passage of time. Towards the end of the hearing, the parties agreed to a shared parenting plan. On October 30, 2017, the trial court issued an entry ruling on the objections. That same day, the trial court also issued a decree of divorce that incorporated a shared parenting plan. Thereafter, Wife appealed the final judgment.

In December 2017, the trial court ordered that the Summit County Child Support Enforcement Agency should reduce Husband’s overpayment of child support by $4,483.32. The entry indicated that that sum represented the amount Husband owed Wife from his Firestone Credit Union account. In addition, the order provided that Husband’s obligation, in that regard, was satisfied, but Wife remained obligated to Husband for the overpayment of child support. Wife also appealed from that entry.

This Court ultimately consolidated the appeals.

Weber v. Devanney, 9th Dist. Summit Nos. 28876, 28938, 2018-Ohio-4012, ¶ 2-8.

{¶3} This Court concluded that the trial court did not err in concluding that it had

jurisdiction to determine the matter, id. at ¶ 15, and that Wife’s assignment of error that the trial

court abused its discretion in deciding the “divorce case at hand” was without merit. Id. at ¶ 24.

However, this Court did sustain Wife’s second assignment of error, agreeing that the trial court

failed to conduct an independent review of the magistrate’s decision as required by Civ.R. 53. Id.

at ¶ 21-22. In addition, we determined that, in conducting the independent review on remand, the

trial court should specify whether it considered the merits of Wife’s additional objections in her

supplemental brief that Husband challenged below. Id. at ¶ 22.

{¶4} Upon remand, the trial court issued a judgment entry in which it considered all of

Wife’s objections and declined to strike any of them. Wife has appealed, raising eight assignments

of error for our review.

II. 3

General Standard of Review

{¶5} Generally, this Court reviews a trial court’s action with respect to a magistrate’s

decision for an abuse of discretion.” Pflaum v. Summit Cty. Animal Control, 9th Dist. Summit No.

28335, 2017-Ohio-4166, ¶ 11, citing Tabatabai v. Tabatabai, 9th Dist. Medina No. 08CA0049-

M, 2009-Ohio-3139, ¶ 17. An abuse of discretion implies that the trial court’s attitude was

unreasonable, arbitrary, or unconscionable. Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217, 219

(1983). “‘In so doing, we consider the trial court’s action with reference to the nature of the

underlying matter.’” Pflaum at ¶ 11, quoting Tabatabai at ¶ 18.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR I

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW BY UPHOLDING THE MAGISTRATE’S DECISION WHERE HE INCORRECTLY FOUND WIFE IN CONTEMPT FOR FAILING TO PAY THE MORTGAGE ON THE THORNHILL PROPERTY AND ERRED BY REQUIRING WIFE TO REIMBURSE HUSBAND FOR THE MORTGAGE PAYMENTS FROM JANUARY 2012 THROUGH DECEMBER 2013.

{¶6} Wife argues in her first assignment of error that the trial court erred in finding her

in contempt for failing to pay the mortgage on the marital home and ordering her to reimburse

Husband for the mortgage payments. While Wife additionally argues that the trial court’s finding

that the lack of equity in the marital home was the result of Wife’s non-payment of the mortgage

was not supported by the record, this argument is outside the scope of Wife’s stated assignment of

error and will not be addressed. See U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. v. Antoine, 9th Dist. Summit No. 28990,

2019-Ohio-3868, ¶ 15. This argument, however, will be addressed below where it has been

appropriately raised.

{¶7} We review a trial court’s contempt finding for an abuse of discretion. See Morrow

v. Becker, 9th Dist. Medina No. 11CA0066-M, 2012-Ohio-3875, ¶ 47. “Contempt of court is

defined as disobedience of an order of a court. It is conduct which brings the administration of 4

justice into disrespect, or which tends to embarrass, impede or obstruct a court in the performance

of its functions.” (Internal quotations and citations omitted.) Id. at ¶ 48.

{¶8} The marital home was purchased prior to the marriage, on January 9, 2003. Only

Husband signed the note, but both Husband and Wife signed the mortgage.

{¶9} On September 16, 2010, the magistrate issued temporary orders. The magistrate

ordered temporary spousal support in the amount of $600.00 per month and child support in the

amount of $772.72 per month from May 25, 2010 through September 30, 2010. Effective October

1, 2010, spousal support was set at $2,833.33 per month and child support was set at $503.08 per

month. Effective August 23, 2010, Wife was granted exclusive use of the marital residence. The

magistrate also ordered Husband and Wife to pay specified expenses:

Husband shall pay the following expenses: His living expenses; any debt in his name; and his expenses as set forth for various time periods in paragraph 8 of the Findings of Fact.

[] Wife shall pay the following expenses: her and the child’s living expenses; any debt incurred in her name; and her expenses as set forth in various time periods in paragraph 8 of Findings of Fact.

{¶10} Paragraph 8 of the magistrate’s findings of fact provided as follows:

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2020 Ohio 4450, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weber-v-devanney-ohioctapp-2020.