Wife Gets $30K Alimony + $30K Attorneys Fees After 11 Years

Shelby County Courthouse

Tennessee alimony divorce case summary after 11 years married.

Anthony C. Howell v. Noel Ruth Kail Howell

The husband and wife in this Shelby County, Tennessee, case were married in 2008.  The husband initially worked as an auto mechanic, but shortly after getting married, he suffered and injury that prevented him from working as a mechanic.  He worked as an auto parts manager until 2017, when he received an inheritance.  At that time, he left the full-time job and went to work part time for his brother-in-law’s towing company.

The wife worked as a house cleaner, but quit after her adult son died.  She returned to work, but the amount of work she could do was limited due to health conditions.

The parties separated in 2016, and in 2017, the husband admitted that he had been living with his girlfriend since separating.  The husband filed for divorce, and shortly after doing so, both his father and paternal grandmother died.  The husband was the sole heir, and inherited over $700,000.

The case went to trial in 2018 before Judge Robert Samual Weiss.  The wife was granted a divorce on the grounds of inappropriate marital conduct and abandonment.  The wife received most marital assets, with a value of about $21,000.

The husband was ordered to pay alimony of $1,000 per month for 30 months.  In addition, the wife was awarded alimony in solido of $30,000 to cover her attorney’s fees.  Initially, the court had awarded only about half this amount, but on the wife’s motion for reconsideration, the full amount was awarded.

The husband appealed these awards to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, which first affirmed the alimony award before turning to the award of attorney’s fees.

The husband argued that it had been improper for the trial court to increase the attorney fee award after making its initial determination.  On appeal, he argued that the wife didn’t plead proper grounds for the increase.  In her motion, the wife had argued only that the initial award was woefully inadequate, contrary to the proof at trial, and that it resulted in an injustice to her.

The husband argued that this was not a proper ground, and that the trial court had not made detailed findings as to the reasons for granting the motion.

But the Court of Appeals noted that the wife had very limited assets, that she would need to deplete her resources to pay her lawyer’s bill, and that the husband had an ability to pay.  For these reasons, the court held that the overall award was appropriately made.

Both parties had made a request for attorney’s fees for the appeal, and the Court of Appeals held that the wife was entitled to this award.  It had already found that the wife was unable to pay, and for that reason, it exercised its discretion and awarded the attorney fees for the appeal.  It remanded the case for the trial court to calculate the amount of those fees.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment and remanded the case.

No. W2019-00061-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 23,  2019).

TN husband must pay wife’s attorney fees.

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Alimony Law in Tennessee.