Ford v. Snowden

• Decision Date: 25 September 2015
• Docket Number: No. 13-FM-228,13-FM-228
• Citation: 145 A.3d 509
• Parties: Fashon Ford, Appellant, v. Daryl B. Snowden, Appellee
• Court: D.C. Court of Appeals

145 A.3d 509

Fashon Ford, Appellant,

v.Daryl B. Snowden, Appellee,

No. 13-FM-228

District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Argued March 6, 2014

Decided September 25, 2015^*

Diane Weinroth for appellant.

Daryl B. Snowden, pro se.

John C. Keeney, Jr., with whom Jennifer Mezey, Stephanie Troyer, and Karen S. Smith, were on the brief for amicus curiae, The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, in support of appellant.

Irvin B. Nathan, Attorney General for the District of Columbia at the time the brief was filed, with whom Todd S. Kim, Solicitor General, Loren L. AliKhan, Deputy Solicitor General, and Donna M. Murasky, Senior Assistant Attorney General, were on the brief for amicus curiae, the District of Columbia.

BEFORE: Washington, Chief Judge; McLeese, Associate Judge; and King, Senior Judge.

PER CURIAM:

Appellant, Fashon Ford (“Ms. Ford”), challenges the trial court's order denying her the opportunity to seek child support from appellee, Daryl B. Snowden (“Mr. Snowden”), for the period of time during which Ms. Ford was receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (“TANF”) benefits. Ms. Ford contends that the trial court erred in holding that the government had waived her right to seek such relief by failing to prosecute the action on her behalf. In addition, she argues that the trial court erred in failing to apply a rebuttable presumption in favor of retroactive child support for the nineteen months¹ prior to the filing of her petition for support, and that the trial judge improperly considered a “private agreement” between Ms. Ford and Mr. Snowden in calculating child support payments.² For the reasons stated below, we affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

I.

Daryl B. Snowden, Jr. was born on May 1, 2006. On June 21, 2006, Ms. Ford filed a “Petition to Establish Paternity and/or Provide Support” through the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) in order to seek court-ordered child support from Mr. Snowden. On November 16, 2006, the trial court dismissed the petition without prejudice because the government informed the court that Ms. Ford requested the petition be dismissed upon the parties reaching a private agreement.³ Ms. Ford began receiving TANF on or about February 2007. The OAG filed a motion to reinstate the support petition on December 3, 2007. When service was finally effected on February 27, 2010, a DNA test was ordered at Mr. Snowden's request; however, he did not submit samples until ordered to do so at a subsequent hearing on November 9, 2010. Upon the DNA test showing Mr. Snowden to be Daryl's father, an adjudication of paternity was entered at the February 25, 2011, hearing.

Pursuant to the D.C. Child Support Guidelines, Ms. Ford sought both prospective child support and retroactive child support for the nineteen months preceding the date of the filing of the petition.⁴ While the nineteen-month period partially encompassed months that Ms. Ford was receiving TANF assistance, she was not seeking to include the amounts she received through TANF as part of the retroactive support award. The court entered temporary child support orders of $200 per month on August 12, 2011, and $700 per month on February 9, 2012.

At the May 15, 2012, hearing, an Assistant Attorney General from OAG indicated that, in accordance with their usual practice, they would not attempt to recoup from the noncustodial parent any money paid to appellant during the TANF period. Although Ms. Ford alleged that the payments stopped sooner, the trial court adopted the government's timeline, finding that Ms. Ford received TANF payments from February 2007 until February 28, 2010. In calculating the child support awards in this case, the trial court took into account the private agreement between Ms. Ford and Mr. Snowden and also considered Mr. Snowden's obligation to pay child support for two other children—one in D.C. and one in New York—in making its determination. The trial court ordered prospective monthly support payments of $405 beginning June 1, 2012, $505 beginning September 1, 2012, and $605 beginning December 1, 2012. Additionally, the trial court awarded retroactive support totaling $16,694 for the period from March 1, 2010, the day after Ms. Ford stopped receiving TANF payments, to August 12, 2011, the date of the first temporary support order, and ordered Mr. Snowden to make payments of $60 per month toward the retroactive support amount in addition to the prospective payments.

At the hearing, Ms. Ford argued that she had the right to recoup the excess amount of support to which she would have been entitled during the period she was receiving TANF.⁵ Magistrate Judge Andrea Harnett disagreed, reiterating on multiple occasions her view that a TANF recipient assigns his or her rights for support to the government, and therefore, is not entitled to seek or collect child support for the TANF period.⁶

Ms. Ford filed a motion for review, challenging Magistrate Judge Harnett's support order and, in particular, the denial of her right to sue Mr. Snowden for child support payments to which she was entitled during the period of time when she was also receiving TANF benefits. Associate Judge Milton Lee upheld Magistrate Judge Harnett's support order generally and also agreed with her legal conclusion that the transfer of authority to seek child support effected by D.C. Code § 4–205.19 (b) (2012 Repl.) prevented Ms. Ford from personally seeking child support for the period during which she was receiving public assistance. And, having concluded that only the District could pursue child support payments on her behalf, Judge Lee found that the District had “waived” its right to seek support for the period of time during which Ms. Ford was receiving TANF benefits.

II.

A. Whether the District's decision not to sue Mr. Snowden for support provided to Ms. Ford during the TANF period acted to waive her right to seek child support for that period of time.

The primary issue on appeal is whether the District waived Ms. Ford's right to seek child support from Mr. Snowden for the period during which she was receiving TANF benefits by failing to pursue child support payments on her behalf.

Under District of Columbia law, a custodial parent receiving TANF benefits assigns to the District the right to receive child support, but that assignment is limited to the amount of TANF benefits received. D.C. Code § 4–205.19 (b), (c)(4) (2012 Repl.). The limited nature of that assignment suggests that the custodial parent will remain free to assert the right to any additional unpaid child support beyond the TANF benefits. As the District of Columbia asserts,⁷ however, a separate provision provides that a custodial parent receiving TANF benefits subrogates his or her right to seek child support to the District. See D.C. Code § 46–203 (a). Consequently, the District, as subrogee, has the statutory right to step into the custodial parent's shoes, and seek reimbursement for the benefits the government provided to the custodial parent for child support.

We agree with the District of Columbia that these provisions, read together, are properly understood to permit custodial parents in Ms. Ford's situation to seek payment of additional unpaid child support even if the District of Columbia has elected not to do so. First, the provision limiting the extent of the assignment to the amount of TANF benefits received is the more recent of the two provisions, and the earlier subrogation provision must be understood in light of the later limitation on the scope of the assignment. More generally, subrogation is an equitable remedy designed to protect an insurer's right to recover monies from the party ultimately responsible for any injury caused to the insured. See District of Columbia v. Aetna Ins. Co. , 462 A.2d 428, 431 (D.C.1983) (“[Subrogation] is a creature of equity; is enforced solely for the purpose of accomplishing the ends of substantial justice; and is independent of any contractual relations between the parties.”) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). In the context of public benefits, we have recognized “an implied statutory quid pro quo ” whereby in exchange for providing benefits to protect the health and welfare of a dependent person, the government is allowed to stand in that person's shoes and sue to seek recovery for the support it provided from the party ultimately responsible for providing it in exchange for compensation. See Edwards v. Bechtel Assocs. Prof'l Corp. , 466 A.2d 436, 438 (D.C.1983) ; see also Washington Metro. Area Transit Auth. v. Johnson , 467 U.S. 925, 940–41, 104 S.Ct. 2827, 81 L.Ed.2d 768 (1984) (interpreting provision of the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act as granting contractors immunity from tort liability if they provide compensation insurance where subcontractors fail to do so and holding that subcontractor could not sue contractor because the latter had met its obligations under the statute). While we have not previously had this issue arise in the context of a child support action, we see no reason to depart from the reasoning in those cases. Therefore, the question before us is whether the decision of the District, as subrogee, not to exercise its equitable right to seek reimbursement from Mr. Snowden waived Ms. Ford's right to seek support from Mr. Snowden under the child support guidelines for the TANF period. Based on our review of the applicable statutes and their underlying purposes, we are convinced that the District's decision not to seek child support from Mr. Snowden did not act to waive Ms. Ford's right to seek additional child support.

We determine the correct meaning and application of statutes de novo , employing the common devices of statutory interpretation. D.C. Appleseed Ctr. for Law & Justice , Inc. v. District of Columbia Dep't of Ins., Sec., & Banking , 54 A.3d 1188, 1213 (D.C.2012). Statutory interpretation includes looking to the “language,...