Wife’s Appeal Tossed Out When She Fails To Submit Proper Records

Tennessee case summary on appeals and property division in divorce.

Tiffany “Whitaker” Kramer v. Phillip John Kramer

The husband and wife were married in 2013 and had no children.  In 2016, the wife filed for divorce in Blount County, Tennessee.  The husband filed a counter-claim also requesting a divorce, and the trial court entered a final decree of divorce in 2017.  The wife later filed a motion to set aside the decree, and this motion was denied.  The wife then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.  She argued that the trial court did not equitably divide the parties’ assets.

The appeals court first noted that in any non-jury case, the fact findings are reviewed de novo, but with a presumption of correctness.  It also noted that it was generally disinclined to disturb a trial court’s decision as to distribution.  It will do so only if there is improper evidentiary support or an error of law.

The wife argued that she should have been awarded a portion of the husband’s 401K, and that the trial court had failed to take into account that she had provided health insurance for the husband and his son from an earlier marriage.

But the appeals court pointed out that there was no transcript of the trial, and that the wife had failed to provide the court with a statement of the evidence as required by the court rules.

The only transcript provided was of the hearing to set aside the decree.  Under these circumstances, the appeals court concluded that the wife had failed to present any proof to establish that there was a trial court error.  It stated that she had failed to present an adequate appellate record.

For this reason, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s judgment.  It also found that the appeal was frivolous and awarded the husband his attorney’s fees on appeal.  It remanded the case for the lower court to compute those fees.

No. E2018-00736-COA-R3-CV  (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 18, 2019).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see The Tennessee Divorce Process: How Divorces Work Start to Finish.