Sullins v. Shank, Unpublished Decision (5-4-2000)
Sullins v. Shank, Unpublished Decision (5-4-2000)
Opinion of the Court
A review of the record on appeal indicates that Jennifer L. Sullins, dob September 3, 1974, gave birth to Joshua Sullins on September 20, 1992.1 On February 9, 1996, the plaintiff-appellee petitioner Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency ("CSEA") filed an action to establish paternity pursuant to R.C.
Genetic testing in December of 1996 indicated a probability of 99.92 percent that Shank was the father of Joshua Sullins.
On October 9, 1998, subsequent to a trial where Shank appeared with counsel, the trial court issued its judgment entry which determined that: (1) Shank's current monthly child support was $294.20; (2) Shank pay $10 per month toward the support arrearage; (3) including poundage and the arrearage payment, the monthly amount of support to be paid by Shank was $310.28, beginning October 10, 1998; (4) the past support arrearage owed to the mother was $18,410, for which a lump sum judgment was awarded; (5) the past care owed to the Ohio Department of Human Services was $5,712, for which a lump sum judgment was awarded; and, (6) the maternity expenses owed to the Ohio Department of Human Services was $5,364.73, for which a lump sum judgment was awarded.2
Shank presents two assignments of error for review.
The first assignment of error provides:
THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR BY FAILING TO MAKE NECESSARY FINDINGS OF FACT AS TO THE APPELLANT'S EMPLOYMENT STATUS BEFORE IMPUTING INCOME TO APPELLANT AND FAILED TO PROPERLY COMPLETE A CHILD SUPPORT COMPUTATION WORKSHEET.
In this assignment, Shank argues that the trial court failed to follow the dictates of R.C.
This assignment is without merit because it is not evident that the trial court imputed any income to Shank, which, had it done such imputation, would trigger the specific finding mandate pursuant to R.C.
In the child support worksheet, the trial court utilized in making its order, the court used an amount of $30,000 for Shank's annual gross income, and $25,000 annual gross income for the mother. See line 1.a of the worksheet. Pursuant to Child Support Schedule contained in R.C.
The standard of review of an appellate court in matters concerning child support is abuse of discretion. Booth v. Booth
(1989),
We see no abuse of discretion in the trial court using the yearly earnings figure of $30,000 for Shank given the documented earnings of Shank at the time of the hearing.
The first assignment of error is overruled.
The second assignment of error provides:
THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION IN DETERMINING APPELLANT'S ARREARAGES OWED TO APPELLEE SULLINS.
In this assignment, appellant argues that the past care arrearage amount of $18,410 owed to the mother, appellee-Sullins, is against the manifest weight of the evidence and therefore an abuse of discretion by the trial court. Appellant argues that the trial court did not use accurate incomes of the parties between April 1, 1995 and October 9, 1998. Appellee concedes this argument in its appellate brief, at 10-11. Given the lack of income records for both mother and father for 1995, it is impossible for this court to determine a correct past care amount. Accordingly, this assignment is found to have merit, and the matter of past care owed by father to the mother, only, is reversed and remanded for a new determination of that amount.
In addressing this argument, we note that a judgment supported by some competent, credible evidence will not be reversed as being against the manifest weight of the evidence. C.E. Morris Co. v.Foley Constr. Co. (1978),
The second assignment of error is reversed and remanded.
Judgment affirmed in part, and reversed and remanded in part.
This cause is affirmed in part; reversed in part and remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion herein.
It is, therefore, considered that said appellant and said appellees equally share the costs herein.
It is ordered that a special mandate be sent to said court to carry this judgment into execution.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the
Exceptions. ___________________________ JAMES D. SWEENEY, JUDGE
DIANE KARPINSKI, P. J. AND TIMOTHY E. McMONAGLE. J., CONCUR.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.