McDaniel v. McDaniel
McDaniel v. McDaniel
Opinion
This is an appeal from the trial court's order setting aside its dismissal of the case for lack of jurisdiction.
The parties were divorced in Jackson, Mississippi, on August 9, 1978. The divorce judgment adopted an agreement of the parties that obligated the ex-husband to pay child support for the parties' children until they reached the age of 21. On September 22, 1995, the ex-wife filed a complaint in the circuit court of Baldwin County, alleging that the ex-husband was a resident of Alabama and requesting the trial court to assume *Page 36
jurisdiction of the case. She sought an order modifying the divorce judgment to require the ex-husband to pay child support for one of the parties' children, who suffers from Down's Syndrome, beyond the age of 21. The ex-husband filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, pursuant to
The record indicates that the trial court had returned the case to active status after receiving several documents from an unidentified woman, presumably the ex-wife. The ex-husband filed a motion to quash the trial setting and a motion requesting the trial judge's recusal based on the ex parte receipt of documents. These motions were not granted. The ex-wife then filed a motion pursuant to Rule 60(b), Ala. R. Civ. P., requesting the trial court to set aside the judgment dismissing the case. Following a hearing, the trial court granted the Rule 60(b) motion. Thereafter, the case was tried and the trial court ordered the exhusband to pay $1374.61 per month in post-minority support. The trial court denied the ex-husband's motion to alter, amend, or vacate the judgment; he appeals.
The ex-husband argues that the trial court committed reversible error by reinstating the case pursuant to the ex-wife's request for relief under Rule 60(b). Relief from judgment is available under Rule 60(b) when a party alleges and proves one of the following grounds for relief:
"(1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; (2) newly discovered evidence which by due diligence could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Rule 59(b); (3) fraud . . . misrepresentation, or other misconduct of an adverse party; (4) the judgment is void; (5) the judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged . . .; or (6) any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment."
The ex-wife's motion stated grounds for relief pursuant to Rule 60(b)(1), (2), (3), and (6).
Our standard of review in regard to the grant or denial of a Rule 60(b) motion affords the trial court broad discretion and looks to the grounds asserted and the matter presented in support of the motion to determine if the trial court abused its discretion. McLeod v. McLeod,
The ex-wife claims mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect based on her attorney's failure to oppose the ex-husband's motion to dismiss. Her motion stated that her attorney had relied on the ex-husband's affidavit in which he claimed that he was not a resident of Alabama. This court has held that Rule 60(b) is an extraordinary remedy that cannot be used to relieve a party from free, deliberate, and calculated choices. Murphy v. Golden Poultry Co.,
The ex-wife asserted that she was entitled to relief based on her attorney's discovery, after the case was dismissed, that the ex-husband had filed a 1994 tax return that listed a Baldwin County address as his residence; she claimed that this was newly discovered evidence that could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial. The record indicates that, at the time she filed her complaint, the ex-wife filed a request for production asking for tax returns and other documents that were contained in *Page 37 the materials anonymously delivered to the trial court. There is some indication in the record that the tax return in question may have been produced before the case was dismissed.
Our Supreme Court has held that a party cannot obtain relief based on "newly discovered evidence" when that party had knowledge that requested documents had not been produced.Pacifico v. Jackson,
The ex-wife asserted that the ex-husband committed fraud by denying that he resided in Alabama. To obtain relief pursuant to Rule 60(b)(3), a party must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the adverse party engaged in fraud or other misconduct and that the misconduct prevented the moving party from fully and fairly presenting her case. Pacifico, supra, at 179. The ex-wife presented no evidence that the ex-husband's affidavit was fraudulent; the affidavit stated that he had lived in a rented home in Baldwin County since January 1995 but that he continued to own a home in Mississippi and that he considered Mississippi his permanent residence. The evidence also fails to establish that the ex-husband's representation prevented the ex-wife from fully and fairly presenting her case. Therefore, she was not entitled to relief from the order of dismissal based on this ground.
Relief from judgment under Rule 60(b)(6) is reserved for extraordinary cases and cases of extreme hardship, injustice, or aggravated circumstances, Ex parte American Resources Ins.Co.,
The judgment of the trial court setting aside the previous judgment dismissing the case is reversed. Therefore, it is unnecessary to address the other issues raised by the ex-husband.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
YATES, CRAWLEY, and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.
ROBERTSON, P.J., concurs in the result. *Page 1256
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Charles Harold McDaniel v. Elaine Purviance McDaniel.
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published