Husband Couldn’t Be Held in Default for Discovery Violations
- At August 08, 2024
- By Kathryn Owen
- In Divorce, Divorce Process
- 0
Tennessee case summary on discovery in divorce.
Pejhman Ehsani v. Eugenia Michelle Ehsani
The husband commenced this Davidson County, Tennessee, divorce case in 2020, and the wife filed a counterclaim. Numerous pre-trial motions regarding discovery followed. Eventually, the wife filed a motion for sanctions against the husband for discovery violations. The trial court entered an order granting the motion to strike the husband’s pleadings and for default judgment. The order stated merely that the motion was being granted for husband’s failure to comply with court orders. No details, however, were given. After default judgment, the husband appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The appeals court noted that trial courts can impose a wide variety of sanctions for discovery failures. It noted that those rulings were discretionary, but the trial court’s judgment must be guided by sound legal principles. It cited an earlier case which held that when the sanction amounts to dismissal of the party’s claim, a heightened review was appropriate. In that case, the dismissal of a party’s case was reversed.
The appeals court found that the case before it had even less insight into the dismissal than that earlier case. The appeals court’s review of the record uncovered some “apparent instances” of misconduct, but the lower court had not made any specific findings. The lower court also failed to cite any of the relevant legal factors to be applied. Finally, the appeals court noted that the lower court didn’t even specify which orders were allegedly violated.
For these reasons, the appeals court vacated the lower court’s ruling and remanded for the required findings and determinations.
The appeals court noted that even though the judgment was vacated, the parenting plan was to remain in effect pending the lower court’s actions on remand.
No. M2022-01819-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 26, 2024).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see The Tennessee Divorce Process: How Divorces Work Start to Finish.