Rampi v. Rampi, Unpublished Decision (11-2-1999)
Rampi v. Rampi, Unpublished Decision (11-2-1999)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Plaintiff-appellant Jeffrey Rampi (hereinafter "husband") appeals the December 15, 1998 Judgment Entry of the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division, which overruled his objections to a magistrate's decision. Defendant-appellee is Therese Rampi (hereinafter "wife"). Also a party in this case is the Child Support Enforcement Agency (hereinafter "CSEA").(Decree of Divorce at 1). In a June 22, 1994 Judgment Entry, the trial court increased the amount of child support to $328.00 per month, and ordered husband's employer, the Hoover Company, to withhold that amount from husband's wages pursuant to O.R.C.
The child turned eighteen on November 9, 1996. The day before, November 8, 1998, husband took copies of the child's birth certificate, the divorce decree and the wage assignment to CSEA and asked CSEA to terminate the wage withholding order. After an investigation, CSEA determined the child was emancipated and terminated the wage withholding order, effectively terminating child support. Apparently, wife later took issue with CSEA's decision. On January 16, 1997, CSEA filed a "Motion for Declaratory Judgment" requesting the court to "clarify the date of emancipation" of the minor child. On January 30, 1997, husband filed a Motion for Contempt against wife for failing to properly notify the court or CSEA of the date of emancipation in violation of the June 22, 1994 order. In a February 20, 1997 Magistrate's Order, a hearing was set for April 22, 1997, on the issue of emancipation. On March 6, 1997, wife answered husband's contempt motion and filed her own contempt motion against husband. On March 14, 1997, the trial court heard arguments on the motions for contempt. In a March 14, 1997 Judgment Entry, the trial court dismissed husband's motion for contempt, finding it was premature, in light of the hearing scheduled for April 22, 1997 on the issue of emancipation. On April 14, 1997, husband appealed the March 14, 1997 Judgment Entry to this Court. On April 16, 1997, CSEA filed another "Motion for Declaratory Judgment." This motion again sought clarification of the date of the emancipation of the minor child. The issue of emancipation was continued indefinitely in a May 16, 1997 Judgment Entry, as the trial court awaited the outcome of husband's appeal. On October 14, 1997, this Court affirmed the March 14, 1997 Judgment Entry of the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, Family Court Division, which dismissed husband's motion for contempt. On January 14, 1998, CSEA filed a Motion for Orders Authorizing Intervention pursuant to R.C.
Wife testified her daughter attended Central Catholic from August, 1995 until October of 1995. Beginning in October of 1995, the daughter was enrolled in home instruction through Plain Local Schools. Wife testified a tutor would either come to their home or her daughter would go to a tutor's home to take classes. Wife testified she enrolled her daughter in Glenoak High School for her senior year, (1996-1997). However, her daughter indicated she would not attend high school. She did agree to attend Canton City night school. Wife testified daughter moved out around July 12, 1997, and that she had full-time employment as of January 1998, as a waitress at Damons. CSEA next presented the testimony of John Peiper, Director of Community Educational Services at Canton City Schools. Mr. Peiper testified the child enrolled in evening classes in 1996. Mr. Peiper testified the child took senior-level courses to complete the requirements for graduation in Ohio. When asked when the child would complete her education, Mr. Peiper responded: A. Well we were very hopeful that Erin would of been a graduate this June and we had talked with her about this and ah what I understand at this point is that Erin still needs about one and half credits ah of electives. She has pretty much met all of the core requirements and that again is another feature of the adult high school. It is not intended to physically and totally replicate the traditional high school. We don't have a facility a curriculum or staff of that size. The purpose of the the adult high school is to earn the last one or two credits. So we have limited course offering we don't for example have electives per say. We have just a couple of courses that people can take. But we don't have things like foreign language and and specialized areas so we had suggested that Erin might want to think about a correspondence course and we would accept you know any validated course work so that she could complete that. The other one missing an ingredient yet for her graduation is ah successful performance on the Ohio Ninth Grade proficiency exams in mathematics. She has successfully past all other portions of that so once she's past the math section and she's gotten that other credit and a half ah . . . we're anxious to award her high school diploma.
T. at 62-63.
In a Judgment Entry dated October 27, 1998, the magistrate found the child was emancipated at the beginning of January, 1998, the time at which she obtained full-time employment. Accordingly, the trial court ordered child support in the amount of $328.00 per month to be calculated through December 31, 1997. The unpaid child support would be paid at the rate of $328.00 per month by wage withholding plus processing fees. On November 4, 1998, husband filed his objections to the magistrate's decision. On December 9, 1998, husband filed amended objections to the magistrate's decision. In a December 15, 1998 Judgment Entry, the trial court overruled husband's objections and adopted the magistrate's decision. It is from that judgment entry appellant prosecutes this appeal, assigning the following as error:
I. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY ALLOWING THE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OF STARK COUNTY TO FILE A DECLARATORY JUDGMENT ACTION IN THIS ACTION BECAUSE THE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY HAS NO STATUTORY STANDING TO BRING A DECLARATORY JUDGMENT MOTION TO THE ATTENTION OF THE COURT.
II. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY ALLOWING THE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO PROSECUTE A DECLARATORY JUDGMENT ACTION AGAINST THE APPELLANT ON THE ISSUE OF EMANCIPATION BECAUSE THE CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY CANNOT FILE A MOTION FOR DECLARATORY RELIEF BECAUSE THERE IS NO JUSTICIABLE CONTROVERSY BETWEEN THE APPELLANT AND IT SINCE THEY ARE NOT ADVERSE PARTIES.
III. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY ALLOWING THE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO INTERVENE AS A PARTY SINCE THE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY IMPROPERLY AND ILLEGALLY FILED A MOTION TO INTERVENE PURSUANT TO OHIO REVISED CODE SECTION
3111.07 WHICH DEALS WITH PARENTAGE ISSUES AND SINCE THE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY IS NOT A PROPER PARTY FOR INTERVENTION IN THIS ACTION PURSUANT TO OHIO CIVIL RULES 24 AND 75.IV. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY ADOPTING THE MAGISTRATE'S RECOMMENDATION THAT STATED THAT THE CHILD SUPPORT CONTINUED PASSED THE CHILD'S EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY EVEN THOUGH THE CHILD WAS NOT ENROLLED FULL TIME IN HIGH SCHOOL.
V. THE RULING OF THE TRIAL COURT IN REQUIRING THE APPELLANT TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT AS LONG AS THE ADULT CHILD IS IN HIGH SCHOOL VIOLATES THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE OF THE
FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE OF THE OHIO CONSTITUTION IN THAT IT CREATES TWO CLASSES OF PERSONS IN WHICH ON CONTAINS ADULT CHILDREN WHO ARE BEING SUPPORTED BY THEIR PARENTS AFTER THEY ATTAIN THE AGE OF MAJORITY WHILE THE OTHER CONTAINS ADULT CHILDREN WHO ARE NOT BEING SUPPORTED BY THEIR PARENTS AFTER THEY ATTAIN THE AGE OF MAJORITY.VI. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY NOT ORDERING THE APPELLEE, THERESA RAMPI, TO RETURN ALL SUMS OF MONEY RECEIVED AS CHILD SUPPORT AFTER NOVEMBER 6, 1996, BECAUSE THE CHILD WAS NOT A FULL TIME STUDENT AT A FULLY ACCREDITED HIGH SCHOOL AND THE APPELLEE ATTEMPTED TO CONCEAL SAID FACT FROM THE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND THE TRIAL COURT.
(b) Upon receipt of a notice given pursuant to division (G)(4)(a) of this section, the court shall impound any funds received for the child pursuant to the support order and set the case for a hearing for a determination of whether the support order should be terminated or modified or whether the court should take any other appropriate action.
(c) If the court terminates a support order pursuant to divisions (G)(4)(a) and (b) of this section, the termination of the support order also terminates any withholding or deduction order as described in division (D) or (H) of this section that was issued relative to the support order prior to December 31, 1993, and any withholding or deduction notice as described in (D)(6), (D)(7), or (H) of this section that was issued relative to the support order on or after December 31, 1993. Upon termination of any withholding or deduction order or any withholding or deduction notice, the court immediately shall notify the appropriate child support enforcement agency that the order or notice has been terminated, and the agency immediately shall notify each employer, financial institutions, or other person or entity that was required to withhold or deduct a sum of money for the payment of support under the terminated withholding or deduction notice that the order or notice has terminated and that it is required to cease all withholding or deduction under the order or notice.
Pursuant to the statute, CSEA must conduct an investigation. If it determines the support order should terminate, it is required to notify the court of that determination. The statute neither authorizes nor contemplates CSEA's involvement beyond its duty to investigate and notify the trial court of the results of its investigation where it determines the support order should terminate. To find otherwise would render the directive found in R.C.
(1) A person or corporation having possession of, control of, or claiming an interest in property, whether real, personal, or mixed, out of which another seeks an award of spousal support or other support, may be made a party defendant;
(2) When it is essential to protect the interests of a child, the court may join the child of the parties as a party defendant and appoint a guardian ad litem and legal counsel, if necessary, for the child and tax the costs;
(3) When child support is ordered, the court, on its own motion or that of an interested person, after notice to the party ordered to pay child support and to his or her employer, may make the employer a party defendant.
The only potentially applicable exception is subsection (1). We find it does not apply to CSEA. Its seems obvious CSEA does not have possession or control of the property out of which wife seeks an award of support; i.e., husband's wages. Possession and control of that property rests directly with the husband and his employer, the Hoover Company, and indirectly, with the trial court. The issue next becomes whether CSEA claims an interest in the property? We think the answer is no. Because wife has not received any child support from a public agency, CSEA's role is limited. CSEA is merely the conduit of child support payments made by husband to wife. CSEA itself has no interest in the child support payment, apart from this purely administrative poundage assessment. We think the poundage assessment is insufficient to support a "claim of interest in the property." We note CSEA is specifically authorized under R.C.
By: Hoffman, J. Gwin, P.J. and Edwards, J. concur
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.