In Re the Marriage of: Cheryl Smith v. Lawrence Robinson (mem. dec.) ( 2016 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED
this Memorandum Decision shall not be Oct 26 2016, 9:28 am
regarded as precedent or cited before any
CLERK
court except for the purpose of establishing Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
the defense of res judicata, collateral and Tax Court
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT
Joseph Leon Payne
Joseph L. Payne, P.C.
Austin, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
In Re the Marriage of: October 26, 2016
Cheryl Smith, Court of Appeals Case No.
Appellant-Petitioner, 72A01-1606-DR-1248
Appeal from the Scott Superior
v. Court
The Honorable Marsha Owens
Lawrence Robinson, Howser, Judge
Appellee-Respondent Trial Court Cause No.
72D01-1009-DR-144
Baker, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 72A01-1606-DR-1248 | October 26, 2016 Page 1 of 4
[1] Cheryl Smith and Lawrence Robinson were married, but they divorced in 2011.
On December 17, 2015, Smith filed a petition to modify custody and support,
seeking physical custody of the parties’ son, Charles, and child support from
Robinson. After a February 26, 2016, modification hearing, the trial court
ordered that, as stipulated, Smith would have primary physical custody of
Charles and that Robinson would have an equal amount of parenting time as
Smith. At the hearing, the parties disputed several factors used to calculate
Robinson’s child support obligation—the trial court decided to credit
Robinson’s testimony and ordered him to pay $70 per week pursuant to his
child support obligation worksheet calculation. The trial court also ordered
Robinson to pay 22% of any overtime pay he might receive to Smith. Smith
now appeals.
[2] Smith has three arguments on appeal: (1) the trial court erred by finding that
Charles would spend half of the overnights during the year with Robinson; (2)
there was no evidence underlying Robinson’s child support worksheet
calculations; and (3) the trial court erred by finding that a set of requests for
admissions, sent from Smith to Robinson, were adequately answered.
[3] When reviewing a child support modification order, we review the evidence
most favorable to the judgment without reweighing the evidence or reassessing
the credibility of witnesses. In re Marriage of Kraft, 868 N.E.2d 1181, 1185 (Ind.
Ct. App. 2007). We will reverse only when the decision is clearly against the
logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court, including any
reasonable inferences therefrom. Id.Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 72A01-1606-DR-1248 | October 26, 2016 Page 2 of 4
[4] At the hearing, Robinson testified that, given past experiences, he expected
Charles to reside with him for half the year. Tr. p. 21. While Smith attempted
to persuade the trial court that Robinson earned $1021 per week, by multiplying
his pay rate by forty hours, Robinson presented evidence and testimony that he
averaged $854 in weekly income. Id. at 19. He explained that he cannot
always work forty hours in a week due to a medical condition. Id.
[5] As is apparent, there was evidence in the record to support the trial court’s
order of $70 in weekly child support, which was premised on Charles spending
half the year with Robinson and on Robinson earning $854 in weekly income.
Smith’s argument to the contrary amounts to a request that we reweigh the
evidence—a request that we deny.
[6] We turn to Smith’s third argument. On December 23, 2015, she served a set of
four requests for admission on Robinson, seeking admissions that Robinson
told Charles to stop going back and forth between Smith’s and Robinson’s
houses; that Robinson told Charles that he is not welcome to stay the night; that
Charles has recently been living with Smith; and that Robinson removed all of
Charles’s personal belongings from his house.
[7] Robinson responded in early January in a detailed letter. Resp’t Ex. 1. In a
narrative of recent events, Robinson denied each of the requested admissions
and instead offered his side of the story.
[8] Indiana Trial Rule 36 governs requests for admission; it requires the responding
party to “serve[] upon the party requesting the admission a written answer or
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 72A01-1606-DR-1248 | October 26, 2016 Page 3 of 4
objection addressed to the matter, signed by the party or by his attorney.” That
is precisely what Robinson’s letter did: it addressed each of the four requests for
admission and was signed by Robinson. The trial court did not err by finding
that Robinson had properly responded to Smith’s requests for admission.
[9] The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Vaidik, C.J., and Najam, J., concur.
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