TN Husband Could Not Undo Default Judgment, Excuse Was Not Credible

Tennessee law case summary on default judgment in divorce and family law from the Court of Appeals.

Amanda Leenhouts v. Gert Jan Leenhouts – Tennessee divorce default judgment

The husband and wife were married in 2007 and had no children.  In 2012, the wife filed a complaint for divorce in Davidson County, Tennessee, and alleged irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct.  The husband was properly served with the summons and complaint, but did not file any answer or other reply.  A default hearing was held, but the husband did not appear.  A divorce hearing was scheduled for July 10.  On July 5, the husband sent an e-mail to the wife’s attorney stating that he would not be present for that hearing, since he didn’t have sufficient notice for his employer.  The attorney e-mailed back stating that the hearing would be held as scheduled.  The wife presented evidence as to the parties’ property.  She testified that she had been the primary caregiver for the pets, and asked for the pets to be awarded to her.  The court awarded the parties’ residence and pets to the wife, with each party being awarded his or her own personal property.

Two days later, the husband filed a motion to set aside the judgment.  He submitted a proposed answer, and a hearing was held on his motion.  The husband testified that he had a mandatory meeting at work that could not be rescheduled, but that meeting turned out to be a conference call.  The trial court found that the husband was not a credible witness and denied the motion.  The husband appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals first noted that a party seeking to have a default judgment set aside has the burden of proof.  And the Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court that the husband had not met this burden, since his testimony was rejected as not being credible.  The Court of Appeals went on to look at the property settlement, and concluded that it was supported by the evidence, and that the husband failed to take advantage of his opportunity to introduce any evidence to the contrary.

Therefore, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court.  It did, however, decline to award the wife her attorney fees on appeal, since she had not stated the grounds for an award of those fees.  It did assess the costs of the appeal against the husband.

No. M2012-01844-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. July 31, 2013).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

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