Father Found in Contempt for Child Support After Two Appeals
Tennessee child support case summary on income determination and contempt.
Jeffrey Glenn Mitchell v. Carol Ann Thomas Mitchell
This divorce case from Blount County, Tennessee, was the subject of an appeal to the Tennessee Court of Appeals in 2019. The parties in that case had divorced and were back in court regarding modifications of child support. The appeals court sent the case back to the trial court because the lower court had adopted the wife’s proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, but there was insufficient evidence to show that the lower court had exercised its independent judgment in adopting those findings.
On remand, the trial court, Judge William R. Brewer, issued extensive findings in support of the holding that the husband was intentionally underemployed. In particular, the lower court made extensive findings that the husband’s testimony was misleading and that he had manipulated his income. The trial court again adopted the wife’s proposed findings, and the husband brought a second appeal.
This time, the husband argued that the trial court had misinterpreted the original marital dissolution agreement. He argued that his child support was modifiable on an annual basis, based on income. The trial court, however, had treated it as a fixed amount.
The appeals court agreed with the lower court’s interpretation, calling it a fair reading of the contract. It went on to say that this evidence supported the trial court’s conclusion that the husband was in contempt.
The husband also argued that the trial court erred in finding that he was voluntarily underemployed. Again, the appeals court found that the evidence supported the lower court’s finding.
The appeals court also affirmed the lower court’s award of attorney’s fees to the wife of over $14,000.00.
No. E2019-00759-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 31, 2020).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Child Support Laws in Tennessee.
See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring actual examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.
