Pritchard v. Pritchard, Unpublished Decision (12-18-2000)
Pritchard v. Pritchard, Unpublished Decision (12-18-2000)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Appellant Marianne Pritchard appeals the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas, Tuscarawas County, which granted her a divorce from Appellee Terry Rex Pritchard. The following facts give rise to this appeal. Appellant and appellee were married on October 31, 1980, in Dover, Ohio. Two children, Ty and Amanda, were born as issue of the marriage. On July 2, 1998, appellant filed a complaint for divorce. On October 20, 1999, the parties appeared before the magistrate indicating that an agreement to settle the case had been reached. Nonetheless, the parties were unable to complete and present a final agreed entry, necessitating another hearing before the magistrate on February 8, 2000. On that date, appellee's counsel told the court that appellant and appellee had conferred and drawn an agreed list of personal item division, including motor vehicles. Counsel further advised that the parties had agreed to divide equally "all accounts in financial institutions as of this date." Tr. I, at 10. Each counsel made further recitations regarding the status of remaining issues, after which the magistrate directed appellee's counsel to prepare an agreed judgment entry of divorce by the end of the day. Despite the admonition, however, no "agreed" entry resulted; rather, appellee's counsel submitted his proposed entry after appellant's counsel declined to approve it. The latter attorney instead made changes to the proposed entry and submitted the altered version. On February 9, 2000, the magistrate issued a six-page "magistrate's order/judgment entry" (sic), and accompanying exhibits, granting a divorce upon the grounds of incompatibility. Appellant filed an objection thereto on February 18, 2000. On March 8, 2000, the trial court judge issued an opinion wherein he corrected the nomenclature of the magistrate's ruling to "magistrate's decision," and declared that the court would issue a final judgment entry adopting, rejecting, or modifying the recommendations of magistrate. On March 14, 2000, the trial court judge overruled the appellant's objections and issued a final judgment entry of divorce, virtually identical to the magistrate's recommendation. Appellant timely appealed, and herein raises the following sole Assignment of Error:I. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN NOT HOLDING A FULL EVIDENTIARY HEARING WHEN IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE PARTIES HAD NOT REACHED A FULL AGREEMENT REGARDS TO DIVISION OF MARITAL ASSETS AND THERE WAS NO AGREEMENT; THE JUDGMENT ENTRY WAS INCONSISTENT WITH THE AGREEMENT READ INTO THE RECORD.
Appellant contends that it was error for the court to issue a judgment entry without an evidentiary hearing when it is apparent that appellant and appellee had not reached a complete agreement as originally anticipated by the parties. We agree. Case law clearly provides that a trial court has discretionary authority to enforce in-court settlement agreements or to modify them out of equity. Kelley v. Kelley (1991),
Tr. I, at 10.
Accordingly, we remand this matter to the trial court for the trial court to conduct an evidentiary hearing concerning the alleged financial discrepancies that exist between the in-court settlement agreement and the divorce decree. The trial court may, in its discretion, strictly limit the evidence to the subject of undeposited cash or liquid assets at issue between the parties. Appellant's sole Assignment of Error is sustained.
For the reasons stated in the foregoing opinion, the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, is hereby reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
By: Wise, J. Gwin, P.J., and Edwards, J., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.