Chicago Ex-Cop Surfaces in Tennessee and Wife Goes After Pension

Tennessee law case summary on pension division enforcement after divorce and family law from the Court of Appeals.

Violet Corrozzo v. Joseph Corrozzo – Tennessee divorce with pension

The husband and wife were divorced in 1996 in Illinois, and the wife was awarded 40% of the husband’s pension from the Chicago police.  The husband, however, failed to pay the wife any portion.  Instead, he moved out-of-state and “essentially disappeared” for four years.  The wife did not locate him until she later learned that he had filed for bankruptcy in Tennessee.  Much litigation followed in the Tennessee courts and the bankruptcy court.  In 2003, the parties agreed to an order in the bankruptcy court.  In that order, they agreed to the non-dischargability of certain amounts, totaling almost $14,000.  As a result of that order, the wife began receiving amounts that were withheld from his Chicago pension to satisfy the debt.

The husband later filed a motion arguing that his obligations under this order had been fully satisfied, and that the amount of withholding of his pension should be reduced.  He also alleged that he had made overpayments and sought credit for those payments.  The case was referred to a master, who determined that the husband had indeed overpaid, and recommended a judgment in his favor.  The master found, however, that the attorney fee obligation had not yet been satisfied.  Therefore, the master found that the total amount of the overpayment was about $5000.  The trial court entered judgment based upon the master’s report.

Dissatisfied with this outcome, the wife appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.  She first argued that the trial court erred in not holding a full hearing.  But the Court of Appeals found that many of the arguments had been waived, because the wife had failed to properly object to the master’s report.  Objections must be filed within ten days, and the Court held that the failure to do this waived many of the wife’s issues on appeal.

However, the Court of Appeals went on to note that only the issues covered in the master’s report are covered by this provision.  Those issues that were not referred to the master, or not covered in the master’s report, are not subject to this rule, and the Court heard arguments as to these issues.  In particular, the interpretation of the 2003 bankruptcy court order was not an issue before the master.  Since it had not been among the issues addressed by the master, the wife was allowed to raise these issues on appeal.  Upon an examination of the agreed bankruptcy order, the Court of Appeals held that the earlier obligation had not been fully satisfied, and that the order being appealed must therefore be vacated.

No. M2012-01317-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 13, 2013).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

The Miles Mason Family Law Group handles Tennessee divorce, child support, alimony, child custody, and parent relocation.  Download our free e-Book, Your First Steps: 7 Steps Planning Your Tennessee Divorce.  A Memphis divorce lawyer from the Miles Mason Family Law Group can help.  To schedule your confidential consultation, call us today at (901) 683-1850.