Dep't of Health & Human Servs. v. Fagone
Dep't of Health & Human Servs. v. Fagone
Opinion of the Court
SAUFLEY, C.J.
[¶ 1] James F. Fagone appeals from a judgment of the Superior Court (Cumberland County, Warren, J. ) vacating the decision of a Department of Health and Human Services hearing officer. The hearing officer had concluded that a child support order entered in James's 2008 divorce from Kristin L. Fagone authorized the Department's Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery to adjust the amount of child support owed, without a modification of the court order, upon the oldest of the parties' three children reaching age eighteen. We affirm the court's judgment.
I. BACKGROUND
[¶ 2] The undisputed historical facts are drawn from the hearing officer's findings, *867which are supported by substantial evidence in the administrative record. See MacDougall v. Dep't of Human Servs. ,
Basic weekly support for all children up to 18 years (or up to 19 years if still in high school) ....
a. Total number of children 3
b. Number of children ages 0-11 2 multiplied by amount from table 113= $226
c. Number of children ages 12-17 1 multiplied by amount from table 140= $140
The court calculated the total basic weekly support as $366; added the $99.81 that James paid for the children's health insurance; apportioned the resulting total weekly support obligation of $465.81 between the spouses, with 74.51 percent attributed to James; and subtracted the $99.81 health insurance cost from James's resulting $347 obligation to reach $247.19.
[¶ 3] The child support order further provided that the child support obligation would "continue for each child until that child reaches the age of 18; provided, however, that if the child has not graduated, withdrawn, or been expelled from secondary school as defined in Title 20-A, the child support shall continue until the child graduates or reaches the age of 19, whichever occurs first." The order states, "Any party to this action may ask the court to review the amount of child support and if appropriate, to modify it in accordance with the state's child support guidelines. To start this process, a party must file with the court a Motion to Modify."
[¶ 4] James made all payments in the amount of $247.19 per week until the oldest child reached age eighteen in 2012. After that date, James reduced payments by one-third without either party filing a motion to modify in the District Court so that the court could determine the amount that James owed for the two younger children.
[¶ 5] Nearly four years later, in April 2016, Kristin sought the assistance of the Department of Health and Human Services Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery to obtain amounts she claimed were owed. See 19-A M.R.S. § 2103(2) (2017). The Division calculated a $17,938.45 arrearage based on James's reduction of support without obtaining any modification in court following their oldest child's eighteenth birthday. On July 7, 2016, the Division sent James a notice of a $17,938.45 debt and informed him of the right to request an administrative hearing within thirty days after receiving the notice. See 19-A M.R.S. §§ 2352, 2451 (2017).
[¶ 6] James timely requested a hearing and submitted his completed "affirmation" form alleging that Kristin had agreed to the reduction in child support to $164.50 per week when the oldest child reached age eighteen.
[¶ 7] The hearing officer reached a decision in September 2016 concluding that the child support order, unlike the order at issue in Bartlett v. Anderson ,
[¶ 8] On October 26, 2016, the Division filed a petition for judicial review of the hearing officer's decision in the Superior Court. See 19-A M.R.S. § 2453 (2017) ; M.R. Civ. P. 80C. Although the court entered an order welcoming briefs from all interested parties, only the Department filed a brief.
[¶ 9] The court (Warren, J. ) considered the matter on the papers and entered a judgment for the Department on April 14, 2017. The court reasoned that because the child support order entered upon the Fagones' divorce did not specify the adjustments in support for each of the younger children upon reaching the age of twelve, the order was not self-adjusting. Thus, the court held, James "was not entitled to reduce child support when his oldest child turned 18 without seeking a modification of his child support obligations from the court."
[¶ 10] James timely appealed from the judgment. See 5 M.R.S. § 11008 (2017) ; M.R. Civ. P. 80C(m) ; M.R. App. P. 2 (Tower 2016).
II. DISCUSSION
[¶ 11] We today issued Higgins v. Wood ,
[¶ 12] Here, the child support order in the parties' divorce judgment did not specify the amount owed for support of the two younger children upon the termination of James's obligation for the oldest child. The judgment also did not specify any changes in the amount of child support upon the younger children each reaching the age of twelve, including with respect to any change in the cost of health insurance for the remaining children. The Superior Court correctly concluded that the Department could not enforce the judgment for *869any amount other than the $247.19 obligation stated in the divorce judgment's child support order unless and until an amended judgment was entered on a motion to modify the amount of child support. See id. ¶ 39.
[¶ 13] Accordingly, the Superior Court correctly concluded that the order required the payment of support in the amount specified unless and until ordered otherwise, and that the hearing officer erred in calculating a reduced amount based on the terms of the existing child support order.
The entry is:
Judgment affirmed.
James also offered testimony at the administrative hearing that he and Kristin had agreed to the reduction in child support. The hearing officer did not reach any findings about any agreement between the parents because it did not consider any such agreement material in determining whether the Division's actions were consistent with enforcing the existing judgment. See Berry v. Bd. of Trs., Me. State Ret. Sys. ,
We cite to the rules in effect when James filed his notice of appeal. See M.R. App. P. 1 (providing that the restyled Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure apply to appeals filed on or after September 1, 2017).
No issue of equitable estoppel was raised in the Superior Court or briefed to us on appeal, and therefore the issue is not before us. See M.R. Civ. P. 80C(i) ; Teele v. West-Harper ,
Dissenting Opinion
[¶ 14] In addition to this case, the Court today issued an opinion in Higgins v. Wood ,
A. Standard of Review
[¶ 15] In this 80C appeal, where the Department of Health and Human Services Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery petitioned the Superior Court for review of its own hearing officer's decision, see 19-A M.R.S. § 2453 (2017) ; M.R. Civ. P. 80C, our review is necessarily constrained: with respect to "our constitutional separation of powers and statutes governing administrative appeals, our review of state agency decision-making is deferential and limited." Friends of Lincoln Lakes v. Bd. of Envtl. Prot. ,
B. The Hearing Officer's Factual Findings
[¶ 16] After a hearing held in September 2016, a hearing officer for the Division issued a decision, finding, after considering the applicable law as set forth in Bartlett ,
The applicable child support order in this case reads in pertinent part as follows: "The child support obligation shall continue for each child until that child reaches the age of 18 ...." The order addresses weekly child support for a total of three children, one of whom ... turned 18 years of age on August 2, 2012. The attached child support worksheets indicate that the Non-Custodial Parent was ordered to pay 74.51% of the total weekly support obligation of $465.81, of which amount $140.00 represented the basic support entitlement for [the eighteen-year-old], less a health insurance adjustment of $99.81....
Per the terms of the applicable order, the Non-Custodial Parent's weekly child support obligation for [the eighteen-year-old] terminated as of August 2, 2012. Consequently, ... his weekly support obligation in this case automatically reduced from $247.19 to $142.95 (i.e., 74.51% of the remaining total weekly support obligation of $325.81, or $242.76, less $99.81) at that time.
Orders-like the order in this case-distinguishing between the amount owed for different children based on the ages of the children are "differentiated" orders. The use of the word "differentiate" in this context comports with the plain dictionary meaning of that word: "To make different by alteration or modification." Differentiate , The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed. 2016). Differentiated orders are distinguished from undifferentiated orders, which set forth a single payment obligation without allocating specific amounts for each child. See Bartlett ,
[¶ 17] Based on our limited and deferential review of factual findings contained in agency decisions, see Friends of Lincoln Lakes ,
C. Conclusion
[¶ 18] I would conclude that the plain language of 19-A M.R.S. § 1653(12)(A) and the plain language of the court order control here, and, alternatively, that we should defer to the agency's supported factual findings. As a result, I would hold that when the oldest child turned eighteen, the child support obligation as to him should have terminated without the need for the obligor to return to court.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.