Husband Couldn’t Set Aside Divorce Default Judgment When Reality Proved Him Wrong

Tennessee case summary on default judgments in divorce.

Tawana S. Wilson v. Timothy L. Wilson

In 2017, the wife in this Davidson County, Tennessee, case filed for divorce from her husband of almost sixteen years.  She requested spousal support and a division of property.  The husband never filed an answer, and over a year later, the wife moved for default judgment.  A hearing was held at which the husband did not appear.

The wife, as well as her mother and a friend, testified at the hearing.  There was testimony regarding the husband’s infidelity and physical abuse, as well as the finances and assets.  The wife was reluctant to testify as to the husband’s occupation, but the court ultimately concluded that he was a drug dealer.

The trial court granted the divorce on the ground of inappropriate marital conduct.  The wife was awarded $1,000 per month alimony in futuro.

Less than a month later, the husband hired an attorney who filed a motion to set aside the decree.  The husband argued that he was living in the marital home while the case was proceeding, and he hadn’t received papers that were mailed to him.  The trial court refused to set aside the judgment.  After some post-trial procedural matters, the husband appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

While the husband’s exact grounds for setting aside the judgment were unclear, the appeals court analyzed whether it was a case of excusable neglect.  The appeals court concluded that the case couldn’t be set aside on those grounds because the husband’s conduct was willful.  The court noted that the husband admitted that he had been served with the complaint and decided to represent himself.  And even though he claimed at a deposition that the wife was intercepting his mail, he went on to say that future items should be mailed to him at that same address.

The court also noted that copies of papers had been sent to an alternative address where the husband sometimes stayed, and the husband had offered no explanation as to why mail to that address was inadequate.

The appeals court concluded that husband approached the divorce as if it was not going to happen, and that “reality proved husband wrong.”

The appeals court went on to review the lower court’s judgment and concluded that the lower court had acted properly.  For that reason, it affirmed the lower court’s judgment.  The wife asked for attorney’s fees on appeal, but this request was denied.

No. M2019-01275-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 11,  2021).

TN default divorce judgment upheld when husband failed to respond.

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

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