Dad Must Pay $25,000 in Attorney Fees

Tennessee case summary on attorney’s fees award.

Shane Seth Ghorley v. Brandi Lynn Ghorley

The mother and father in this Monroe County, Tennessee, case were divorced in 2013.  They had three children, but one was over the age of majority at the time of trial, which took place in 2014 and 2015.  The mother was named the primary residential parent, with 212 days of parenting time.  The father was awarded the other 153 days of parenting time.  The divorce was contentious, with many issues litigated.  The lower court’s final order included an award of $25,000 in attorney’s fees, and the court specifically held that this was a reasonable amount, and that the mother had a need.  Despite the father’s protestations to the contrary, the court also held that the father had an ability to pay.

The father then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals on a number of issues, including the award of attorney’s fees.

The father argued primarily that he had no ability to pay.  He cited his net income as being $3,486 per month.  After expenses such as child support, he argued that this left him with a deficit of over $860 per month, with no ability to pay the fees.  The court, on the other hand, had set his income at $6,400 per month, and the mother argued on appeal that this was the correct amount.

After reviewing the record, the appeals court agreed with the lower court.  It had noted that in a child support worksheet, the father had stated his gross income as $6,484 per month, and paycheck stubs were consistent with this amount.

Based upon this review of the record, the appeals court agreed that the father had the ability to pay.

The father also argued that the amount of the attorney’s fees was excessive.  The mother argued that the amount awarded was well within the lower court’s discretion.  The lower court had actually reduced the amount claimed, and the appeals court could find no reason in the record to support the claim that $25,000 was unreasonable.

The court did remand the case for a modification of the order, after finding an internal inconsistency in its terms.  However, it affirmed the award of attorney’s fees in the case.

No. E2015-02051-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 10, 2016).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

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