Jamie Lynn Stillman v. Douglas C. Lee ( 2016 )


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  •                                                                        FILED
    April 21, 2016
    In the Office of the Clerk of Court
    WA State Court of Appeals, Division Ill
    IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
    DIVISION THREE
    In the Matter of the Parenting and Support    )         No. 31365-4-111
    of                                            )
    )
    D.W.L.                                        )
    )
    Child,                  )
    )
    JAMIE STILLMAN,                               )         UNPUBLISHED OPINION
    )
    Respondent,             )
    )
    and                           )
    )
    DOUGLAS C. LEE,                               )
    )
    Appellant.              )
    LAWRENCE-BERREY, A.CJ. - Douglas Lee appeals the trial court's orders setting
    child support and requiring him to pay part of Jamie Stillman's attorney fees. He argues
    that the trial court erred when it refused to consider his 2010 and 2011 federal tax returns
    submitted after trial. He also argues Ms. Stillman's intransigence precludes the partial
    attorney fee award. We disagree, award Ms. Stillman her attorney fees on appeal, and
    affirm.
    No. 31365-4-111
    In re Parenting ofD. W.L.
    FACTS AND PROCEDURE
    Mr. Lee and Ms. Stillman are the parents of D.L., who was born in June 2006.
    Prior to and after the pregnancy, the couple lived apart-Mr. Lee in Los Angeles, and Ms.
    Stillman in Spokane. The couple ended their relationship in either 2007 or 2008. In
    October 2010, Mr. Lee returned to Spokane and began to work as a journeyman lineman
    in November 2010. Ms. Stillman worked as a licensed practical nurse and took classes
    toward her associate' s degree in nursing.
    A.     Proposed parenting plans and declarations
    On December 10, 2010, Ms. Stillman filed a petition pursuant to Washington's
    Uniform Parentage Act, chapter 26.26 RCW, to establish child support and a parenting
    plan for D.L. Ms. Stillman included a proposed parenting plan for D.L. that provided for
    supervised visitation with Mr. Lee but sought to restrict contact based on factors set forth
    in RCW 26.09.191. Mr. Lee responded through counsel and asked the trial court to deny
    Ms. Stillman's petition. Ms. Stillman retained Bryan Geissler as counsel. Through
    counsel, Ms. Stillman filed an amended proposed parenting plan that listed additional
    bases for restricting contact, filed a declaration in support of her proposed restrictions,
    and sent Mr. Lee discovery questions that requested Mr. Lee's tax returns, W-2s, and pay
    stubs to verify his income.
    2
    No. 31365-4-III
    In re Parenting ofD. WL.
    On April 4, 2011, Mr. Lee filed a declaration contesting most of the facts in Ms.
    Stillman's declaration. Mr. Lee also filed a proposed parenting plan, which proposed
    Wednesday and Sunday visits. Mr. Lee moved the trial court to approve his parenting
    plan and noted a hearing for April 27. Mr. Lee never responded to Ms. Stillman's
    discovery requests.
    Ms. Stillman filed a response declaration contesting facts in Mr. Lee's declaration.
    Ms. Stillman also asked for all visits between D.L. and Mr. Lee to initially occur at a
    therapist's office. Ms. Stillman's mother, brother, and friend also filed declarations
    contesting facts in Mr. Lee's declaration. Mr. Lee filed a reply declaration contesting
    many of those facts.
    B.     The court commissioner's visitation order and motions relating thereto
    On April 27, 2011, the court commissioner signed a temporary order adopting Mr.
    Lee's proposed parenting plan, which was conditioned on several weeks of successful
    supervised visitation. The commissioner ordered the first two visits between Mr. Lee and
    D.L. to occur with a family counselor, and the next two visits to occur at Fulcrum, a
    family-oriented dispute resolution facility. The court ordered the two family counselor
    visits to be spread out over two weeks, with one visit per week, and both Fulcrum visits to
    occur the third week. If the therapists did not identify any problems, then regular
    3
    No. 31365-4-111
    In re Parenting of D. W.L.
    visitation would start on the fourth week and Mr. Lee's proposed parenting plan would be
    adopted as a temporary order.
    Immediately after the commissioner entered the order, Mr. Lee's attorney arranged
    a visitation with the therapist the next day, April 28, at 6:00 p.m. That night, Mr. Lee's
    attorney sent Ms. Stillman's attorney a text message about the scheduled visit, and Mr.
    Lee personally called Ms. Stillman the next morning. Neither Ms. Stillman nor her
    attorney responded. On April 28, Mr. Lee moved to compel compliance with the
    visitation order and to shorten time so the matter could be heard that day. At the
    expedited hearing, the parties acknowledged they had different understandings of what
    the court meant when it ruled the first visit was to occur "within a week." Clerk's Papers
    (CP) at 94. Ms. Stillman's attorney assured the court the first visit would occur inside the
    seven-day period following its April 27 order. The commissioner denied Mr. Lee's
    motion without prejudice.
    After the hearing, Ms. Stillman's attorney called the therapist to set up visits. Mr.
    Lee's attorney also called the therapist and set up visits on May 3 and May 9, and e-
    mailed these times to Ms. Stillman's attorney. That same day, on April 28, Mr. Lee's
    attorney noted another expedited hearing for May 3 "in case [Ms. Stillman was]
    recalcitrant," and told Ms. Stillman's attorney he would strike the hearing once Ms.
    4
    No. 31365-4-III
    In re Parenting ofD. W.L.
    Stillman confirmed she would bring D.L. to the May 3 visit. CP at 120. On the morning
    of May 3, Mr. Lee's attorney still had not heard from Ms. Stillman, so he obtained an ex
    parte order requiring Ms. Stillman to bring D.L. to the visitations on May 3 and May 9.
    Ms. Stillman brought D.L. to both visits, and both went well.
    On May 4, Mr. Lee's attorney e-mailed Ms. Stillman's attorney and asked if the
    Fulcrum visits could occur the week of May 16. Ms. Stillman's attorney did not respond
    to the e-mail. On May 11, Mr. Lee obtained an ex parte order scheduling a hearing on the
    matter for May 12. Also on May 11, Ms. Stillman's attorney's office called Fulcrum and
    scheduled visits for May 18 and May 20. On May 12, Ms. Stillman's attorney sent a letter
    to Mr. Lee's attorney in which he described the visits his office scheduled, stated Ms.
    Stillman would transport D.L. to the visits, and agreed to begin the regular visitation
    schedule the following week. Mr. Lee struck the May 12 hearing. The Fulcrum visits
    occurred on May 18 and May 20. After then, visits occurred regularly.
    On June 8, 2011, Bryan Geissler withdrew as counsel for Ms. Stillman. In April
    2012, Ms. Stillman, prose, and Mr. Lee entered into an agreed parenting plan, which
    provided that D.L. would spend the third weekend of each month with Mr. Lee.
    5
    No. 31365-4-111
    In re Parenting ofD. WL.
    C.      Pretrial discovery motion
    On March 15, 2012, the trial court held a status conference and set the case for
    trial on September 10, 2012. In May 2012, Mr. Lee sent Ms. Stillman blank financial
    declaration forms and child support worksheets and asked her to complete them. Ms.
    Stillman filed the completed worksheets and copies of her 2009, 2010, and 2011 tax
    returns with the court, but did not return the financial declaration. On August 20, Mr. Lee
    sent Ms. Stillman a draft of the trial management joint report and asked Ms. Stillman to
    return it. Ms. Stillman retained Ellen Hendrick as counsel on August 28, 2012. At this
    point, Mr. Lee still had not responded to Ms. Stillman's early discovery questions that
    sought tax returns, W-2's, and pay stubs to verify his income.
    Mr. Lee filed his proposed child support worksheets, his 2011 W-2, and one pay
    stub from March 2012. Mr. Lee stated he had not filed tax returns in three years, but had
    hired an accountant to prepare his returns. Ms. Stillman told Mr. Lee that the one
    W-2 and one pay stub were insufficient proof of his income, and filed motions to continue
    the trial and to extend the discovery cut-off date so she could subpoena additional
    financial information. Ms. Stillman set a hearing for September 6, less than one week
    before trial.
    6
    No. 31365-4-III
    In re Parenting ofD. WL.
    In an e-mail, Mr. Lee threatened sanctions if Ms. Stillman pursued her discovery
    motions without the requisite CR 26(i) conference. Mr. Lee filed a response and
    requested that the case proceed to trial and declared that Ms. Stillman had not participated
    in the CR 26(i) conference. Mr. Lee then e-mailed Ms. Stillman his 2012 pay stubs and
    filed them all under seal. On September 4, Ms. Stillman replied to Mr. Lee's e-mail with
    the following:
    In reviewing the pay statements you sent, it is apparent that not all were
    provided. However, I believe I have enough to calculate his gross and net
    monthly incomes. I will strike the hearing set for the 6th.
    CP at 518.
    D.        Trial
    The court held a bench trial on September 10, 2012. The sole issues were
    determination of the appropriate child support obligation and attorney fees. In his
    opening, Mr. Lee asked the trial court to hold each party responsible for their own
    attorney fees, arguing that Ms. Stillman's intransigence required multiple trips to court to
    enforce the temporary visitation order. Mr. Lee testified he had to file two expedited
    motions and threaten a third one to get visits to occur. Ms. Stillman denied that she
    resisted the commissioner's temporary visitation order, but acknowledged it was
    necessary to go to court to get visitations to occur. In closing, Mr. Lee argued:
    7
    No. 31365-4-111
    In re Parenting ofD. WL.
    [W]e do not ask for any attorney's fees for any past intransigence. We do
    hope that the Court will not hold Mr. Lee responsible for any, given the
    obvious [sic] of the court file showing the costs that he had to undertake to
    get these visits moving ....
    Report of Proceedings (RP) (Sept. 10-11, 2012) at 158.
    On the issue of child support, Mr. Lee testified that he knew he needed to provide
    his tax returns for 2010 and 2011 to verify his income. Mr. Lee acknowledged that at the
    time of trial, he had not filed tax returns for 2009, 2010, or 2011. After the noon recess,
    Mr. Lee's attorney provided Ms. Stillman with Mr. Lee's W-2s from 2009 and 2010,
    stating that he had "misunderstood Ms. Hendrick last week that she ha[ d] enough to go
    on, and when the W-2s came in the end of last week, I didn't provide those; now I did."
    RP (Sept. 10-11, 2012) at 56. The W-2s indicated amounts for federal and state income
    tax withholdings. The 2009 and 2010 W-2s were admitted at trial, and Mr. Lee filed an
    amended child support worksheet based on these two W-2s. In closing, Ms. Stillman
    acknowledged that Mr. Lee's W-2s did show his tax withholdings. However, Ms.
    Stillman argued that the trial court should not give Mr. Lee any credit for taxes paid
    because those withholdings did not necessarily reflect final tax liability and are
    insufficient under RCW 26.19 .071 (2). 1
    1
    RCW 26.19.071(2) provides in relevant part: "Verification of income. Tax
    returns for the preceding two years and current paystubs shall be provided to verify
    8
    No. 31365-4-111
    In re Parenting ofD. W.L.
    The trial court used Mr. Lee's W-2 from 2011 to calculate his gross annual income
    to be $94,118 and monthly gross income to be $7,843. To determine Mr. Lee's net
    monthly income, the trial court subtracted $96.94 for mandatory union dues and
    instructed counsel to deduct Mr. Lee's Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes when
    preparing their worksheets.
    On the issue of attorney fees, the trial court conducted a "need versus ability to
    pay" analysis. The court found that Mr. Lee was living with his parents, and while he
    was assisting his ailing father, this living arrangement saved Mr. Lee a significant amount
    of money. The trial court found that Ms. Stillman needed her attorney fees paid, and that
    it would take a long time before Ms. Stillman would have the resources to pay. The trial
    court found that Ms. Stillman was responsible for the $1,500.00 she had initially paid her
    attorney, and ordered Mr. Lee to pay the $3,075.88 balance of Ms. Stillman's attorney
    fees. In its September 11 oral ruling, the trial court explained why Mr. Lee was not
    responsible for $1,500 of Ms. Stillman's attorney fees: "[I]t did take quite a degree of
    motion work to [resolve the visitation issue.] It does not appear to have been absolutely
    necessary, given prior court orders. For that reason, mom will need to be responsible for
    [the initial] $1,500 [retainer for] Ms. Hendrick." RP (Sept. 10-11, 2012) at 173-74.
    income and deductions."
    9
    No. 31365-4-III
    In re Parenting ofD. WL.
    E.     Posttrial motions for reconsideration
    On September 26, 2012, Mr. Lee filed his 2011 federal and Idaho tax returns and a
    declaration from his payroll administrator explaining his 2012 payroll deductions. Mr.
    Lee moved the court to admit his tax returns and his payroll administrator's declaration,
    pointing out that the only disagreement between the parties' proposed child support
    worksheets was whether Mr. Lee could deduct his federal and state income taxes from his
    gross monthly income. Ms. Stillman moved to strike the tax returns and declaration from
    the record and noted a hearing for October 24.
    On October 5, 2012, Mr. Lee filed his first posttrial motion in which he asked the
    trial court to clarify its September 11 oral rulings, to amend its oral findings after trial
    pursuant to CR 52, and to reconsider its decision under CR 59(a)(4) due to newly
    discovered evidence. While Mr. Lee's motion did not explicitly characterize Ms.
    Hendrick's September 4, 2012, e-mail as a "settlement agreement," Mr. Lee generally
    argued that he detrimentally relied on Ms. Hendrick's e-mail, and the trial court should
    accordingly deduct his tax expenses from his gross income. This motion did not ask the
    trial court to reconsider its prior rulings regarding attorney fees.
    On October 16, 2012, Mr. Lee filed his 2010 federal tax return.
    10
    No. 31365-4-111
    In re Parenting ofD. WL.
    On October 24, the court held a hearing to enter final orders from the trial and to
    address Mr. Lee's posttrial motion. For the first time, Mr. Lee argued that Ms. Stillman's
    September 2012 e-mail constituted an agreement that she would calculate Mr. Lee's net
    income based on the state and federal deductions reflected in the 2012 pay stubs, and also
    argued that the court sanctioned Mr. Lee for his late disclosures by excluding his income
    taxes when it calculated his net income. The trial court denied Mr. Lee's motion for
    reconsideration. In denying his motion, the court rejected the argument that the 2010 and
    2011 tax returns were newly discovered evidence, and instead described them as "newly
    created" evidence. RP (Oct. 24, 2012) at 21. In addition, the trial court explained why it
    did not allow the tax deductions shown on the pay stubs admitted at trial:
    And certainly no federal or state income tax netting should be part of [the
    calculation] in light of the evidence at trial that there was no filings.
    Mr. Lee should not be able to take advantage of some deduction that
    he didn't, in fact, engage through his own financial contributionsPl
    RP (Oct. 24, 2012) at 22.
    The trial court awarded Ms. Stillman $1,843.40 in attorney fees for the posttrial
    motions, based on the financial circumstances of the parties. In its written order
    2
    The pay stubs show that state and federal taxes were deducted from Mr. Lee's
    wages and paid to the government. But until final tax returns are prepared and filed, it is
    not possible to know to what extent these deductions are refunded. For this reason, the
    pay stubs are not very good evidence of final tax liability.
    11
    No. 31365-4-III
    In re Parenting ofD. WL.
    following the hearing, the trial court found that Mr. Lee had an actual monthly net income
    of $7,308.59, which resulted in a $962.00 monthly child support payment for 2012 and a
    $936.94 monthly payment going forward. 3
    On October 29, 2012, Mr. Lee filed a second motion for reconsideration on the
    same failure to deduct taxes argument. However, Mr. Lee also included a new
    argument-that Ms. Stillman's pretrial intransigence precluded the court from awarding
    her attorney fees at the trial. Another round of briefing ensued. The trial court denied
    Mr. Lee's second motion for reconsideration without oral argument. This appeal
    followed.
    F.     Payment of transcription costs for appeal
    On January 28, 2013, Mr. Lee filed a statement of arrangements notifying this
    court that transcripts from trial were unnecessary per RAP 9.2. Accordingly, Mr. Lee
    never ordered verbatim reports of proceedings from trial or his own posttrial motions for
    this appeal. On February 8, Ms. Stillman designated transcripts from the trial as well as
    the two posttrial hearings under RAP 9.2(c), and asked Mr. Lee to coordinate with the
    court reporter to pay for the transcripts. Mr. Lee filed a response and argued that
    3  This decrease in Mr. Lee's child support obligation was because Ms. Stillman
    anticipated that St. Luke's would promote her from part-time to full-time by 2013, so the
    trial court imputed full-time employment for Ms. Stillman beginning in 2013.
    12
    No. 31365-4-111
    In re Parenting of D. WL.
    transcripts were unnecessary because the trial court file was sufficient to show that Ms.
    Stillman defied orders and filed false claims, and therefore this court could determine Ms.
    Stillman was intransigent as a matter of law. Similarly, Mr. Lee argued that the trial court
    file contained the September 2012 "agreement," and therefore this court could determine
    it was binding as a matter of law.
    Ms. Stillman moved this court to compel Mr. Lee to order and pay for the
    transcripts. Our court commissioner determined that RAP 9 .2(c) required Ms. Stillman to
    file her motion with the trial court. The trial court granted Ms. Stillman's motion in part,
    and found that Mr. Lee needed to order "that portion of the transcript that encompasses
    the Court's rulings," both pretrial and posttrial. RP (Apr. 19, 2013) at 54. The trial court
    stated:
    [A]s I recall, Mr. Mason's argument [on the intransigence issue] was,
    [']Look at the entire file, Judge. She didn't do this, she didn't do this, et
    cetera.['] So when it comes to that issue, the transcript of the Court's oral
    decision plus a review of the entire file will enable you to argue and will
    enable Mr. Mason to argue without the necessity of a transcript of the
    testimony at trial
    I'm not finding that the intransigent argument needs anything
    but just the Court's ruling and then this [sic] historic pleadings and
    contempt ....
    RP (Apr. 19, 2013) at 50-52.
    13
    No. 31365-4-111
    In re Parenting ofD. W.L.
    On April 24, 2013, the trial court entered a written order requiring Mr. Lee to pay
    for transcripts of the October 24, 2012 and November 1, 2012 hearings. Mr. Lee
    thereafter ordered transcripts from these hearings, as well as a transcript from the
    April 19, 2013 hearing, and filed them. Ms. Stillman moved the trial court to reconsider
    its order, arguing the trial court also intended to compel Mr. Lee to order its immediate
    posttrial rulings on September 11, 2012. The trial court denied Ms. Stillman's motion to
    reconsider. Ms. Stillman filed a notice of appeal, No. 31811-7-111, assigning error to the
    trial court's April 24, 2013 written order and its subsequent order denying
    reconsideration. Ms. Stillman later withdrew that appeal. On October 15, 2014, Ms.
    Stillman ordered the September 10 and 11, 2012, transcripts for this court's review.
    ANALYSIS
    Mr. Lee seeks to reargue the case to this court. He attempts to frame the standard
    of review as de novo by citing to the written record rather than the trial testimony. On the
    issue of attorney fees, he argues Ms. Stillman was not entitled to attorney fees because
    she was intransigent in that her amended petition improperly alleged protective factors,
    and also that she failed to assure Mr. Lee that she would adhere to the court
    commissioner's temporary visitation order. On the issue of child support, he argues the
    trial court erred in not adhering to an e-mail agreement between counsel that his 2012 pay
    14
    No. 31365-4-111
    In re Parenting ofD. W.L.
    stubs were sufficient for calculating his net income; or alternatively, the trial court
    improperly penalized him for not timely filing his tax returns. Because the trial court, not
    the appellate court, is the finder of facts, we must examine the true bases of the trial
    court's decisions, and whether the required quantum of evidence supports these decisions.
    A.     Bases of attorney fee award
    RCW 26.26.140 gives the trial court discretion to award attorney fees to a party in
    an action filed pursuant to chapter 26.26 RCW. In re Marriage ofT., 
    68 Wash. App. 329
    ,
    334, 
    842 P.2d 1010
    (1993). The trial court required Mr. Lee to pay a portion of Ms.
    Stillman's attorney fees on the basis that Ms. Stillman had substantial need, and Mr. Lee
    had the ability to pay. Mr. Lee does not assign error to the trial court's determinations in
    this respect. Rather, Mr. Lee argues that the trial court is or should be precluded from
    awarding fees because Ms. Stillman was intransigent.
    During closing arguments, the parties argued the issue of intransigence to the trial
    court. In its oral ruling, the trial court acknowledged some difficulty in getting the initial
    visits scheduled, but did not classify this difficulty as being caused by Ms. Stillman, much
    less by her intransigence. The trial court, however, refused to require Mr. Lee to pay the
    portion of Ms. Stillman's attorney fees relating to this initial difficulty. In doing so, the
    15
    No. 31365-4-111
    In re Parenting ofD. W.L.
    trial court declined to reimburse Ms. Stillman for $1,500 of her attorney fees that she paid
    her attorney as a retainer.
    There is no evidence that Ms. Stillman was intransigent. The fact that Mr. Lee
    repeatedly filed motions when he anticipated that Ms. Stillman would violate the
    commissioner's order does not establish intransigence. The fact is Ms. Stillman never
    violated a court order. But even if Ms. Stillman improperly alleged protective factors in
    her amended petition, and even if she failed to timely assure Mr. Lee that visitations
    would occur as ordered, we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's decision to
    award attorney fees incurred after these initial difficulties. We conclude that the trial
    court did not abuse its discretion when it apportioned attorney fees in a manner that
    reimbursed Ms. Stillman only for those fees incurred after the initial difficulties.
    B.     Bases of child support order
    In its oral ruling, the trial court explained it did not deduct state and federal taxes
    from Mr. Lee's W-2s because Mr. Lee failed to provide sufficient evidence of the
    amounts he ultimately had to pay. RCW 26.19.071(2) requires a party to provide tax
    returns for the preceding two years and current pay stubs to verify income and
    deductions. It is undisputed that Mr. Lee failed to provide the documents required by
    RCW 26.19.071(2) either prior to or during the trial. However, his accountant prepared
    16
    No. 31365-4-III
    In re Parenting ofD. W.L.
    returns for 2010 and 2011 after trial, and Mr. Lee filed these returns with the court
    posttrial and unsuccessfully argued that the state and federal taxes reflected in those
    returns should be deducted in calculating his net income.
    Mr. Lee makes two arguments as to why the trial court erred in rejecting his
    reconsideration motion. First, he argues that the September 4, 2012 e-mail from Ms.
    Stillman's counsel constituted an agreement that Mr. Lee's net income would be based on
    the deductions shown in the 2012 pay stubs. Second, he argues that the trial court refused
    to consider the filed returns as a discovery sanction, and that the sanction was in error
    because Ms. Stillman failed to establish prejudice.
    1.     The September 4, 2012 e-mail
    Ms. Stillman's attorney struck her motion to compel discovery once Mr. Lee
    provided the 2012 pay stubs. In striking the motion, Ms. Stillman's attorney stated:
    In reviewing the pay statements you sent, it is apparent that not all were
    provided. However, I believe I have enough to calculate his gross and net
    monthly incomes. I will strike the hearing set for the 6th.
    CP at 518. We note that there is nothing in the e-mail that indicates which deductions
    Ms. Stillman agreed to in the pay stubs. We also note that Ms. Stillman did not deduct
    the state and federal taxes shown on the pay stubs in her child support worksheets she
    filed on the day of trial. In response to Ms. Stillman not deducting state and federal taxes,
    17
    No. 31365-4-III
    In re Parenting ofD. W.L.
    Mr. Lee offered and the court admitted his 2009 and 2010 W-2s. Finally, we note that the
    above e-mail response did not cause Mr. Lee to detrimentally rely; rather, his 2010 and
    2011 tax returns were not ready prior to trial, and were not prepared until several weeks
    after trial. For all these reasons, the trial court did not err in determining that Ms.
    Stillman's September 4, 2012 e-mail was not an agreement to calculate Mr. Lee's net
    income by deducting the state and federal taxes shown on the 2012 pay stubs.
    2.      Failure to admit tax returns after trial
    The trial court correctly observed that the 2010 and 2011 tax returns that were filed
    weeks after trial were not newly discovered evidence, but rather were newly created
    evidence. Mr. Lee argues that the trial court refused to admit the 2010 and 2011 tax
    returns as a sanction, and such sanctions constitute error because Ms. Stillman was not
    prejudiced by the late disclosures. In support of his argument, he cites Burnet v. Spokane
    Ambulance, 
    131 Wash. 2d 484
    , 
    933 P.2d 1036
    (1997).
    In Burnet, the trial court precluded the plaintiffs from pursuing their corporate
    negligence claim based on their violation of a scheduling order. 
    Id. at 491-92.
    We
    affirmed the sanction, but the Supreme Court reversed. In reversing, the Burnet court
    held that when imposing sanctions for discovery violations under CR 37(b)(2), the trial
    court must indicate on the record whether the sufficiency of a lesser sanction was
    18
    No. 31365-4-111
    In re Parenting ofD. WL.
    explicitly considered, whether the conduct that lead to the sanction was willful, and
    whether the violation substantially prejudiced the opponent's ability to prepare for trial.
    
    Id. at 493-94.
    Here, unlike Burnet, the trial court was faced with the decision of whether to admit
    evidence after trial. The proper analysis falls under CR 59, not CR 37(b). Because Mr.
    Lee does not attempt to analyze the issue on appeal under CR 59, we need not either.
    Rather, we conclude that Burnet is inapplicable when considering whether evidence
    should be admitted posttrial under CR 59.
    C.     Attorney fees on appeal
    Both parties request attorney fees against the other. Because Ms. Stillman has
    prevailed, we consider her request. She argues that she is entitled to an award of attorney
    fees based on (1) RCW 26.26.140; (2) RCW 26.18.160; (3) Mr. Lee's intransigence;
    (4) Mr. Lee's noncompliance with RAP 9.2(c); and (5) RAP 18.9, relating to a frivolous
    appeal.
    As previously stated, RCW 26.26.140 authorizes an award of reasonable attorney
    fees to a prevailing party in an action filed pursuant to chapter 26.26 RCW. We exercise
    our discretion and award Ms. Stillman her reasonable attorney fees on appeal. We
    exercise our discretion in this manner because the trial and this appeal likely would have
    19
    No. 31365-4-111
    In re Parenting ofD. W.L.
    been unnecessary had Mr. Lee timely prepared his 2010 and 2011 tax returns and
    provided those returns and his pay stubs to Ms. Stillman.
    Ms. Stillman is also entitled to costs under RCW 26.26.140 for providing the
    transcripts from the trial proceedings on September 10, 2012, as well as costs for
    providing the transcripts from the trial court's oral rulings on September 11, 2012. See
    RAP 9.2.
    Affirmed.
    A majority of the panel has determined this opinion will not be printed in the
    Washington Appellate Reports, but it will be filed for public record pursuant to
    RCW 2.06.040.
    j
    WE CONCUR:
    20
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 31365-4

Filed Date: 4/21/2016

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 4/18/2021