State, Dept. of Revenue ex rel. Rochell v. Morris
| Decision Date | 27 May 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 98-294.,98-294. |
| Citation | 736 So.2d 41 |
| Parties | STATE of Florida, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, By and on Behalf of Sherrie ROCHELL, Appellant, v. George MORRIS, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Diane Tutt and Chriss Walker of Department of Revenue, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Tallahassee, for Appellant.
Donna Bass, Tallahassee, for Appellee.
In this action to enforce child support obligations under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), chapter 88, Florida Statutes (1997), the Department of Revenue, on behalf of Sherrie Rochell, appeals a final order which refused to enforce the child support provisions of a previously entered Florida final judgment and of a previously entered Georgia final judgment. The trial court based its ruling solely on the finding that Rochelle, the natural mother and custodial parent of the children for whom child support was ordered, obstructed visitation by George Morris, the appellee and natural father. We reverse.
It is well-established that a trial court may not condition the payment of child support, which is a vested right of the child, solely on a custodial parent's failure or refusal to comply with visitation obligations. See § 88.3051(4), Fla. Stat. (1997); Department of Revenue et al. v. David, 684 So.2d 308 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996). In addition, the order under review does not find that the natural mother engaged in such reprehensible conduct as to permit canceling or reducing the amount of the child support arrearage, see Department of Health and Rehabilitative Servs., et al. v. Burns, 654 So.2d 1014, 1015 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)
; Department of Revenue et al. v. Strickler, 702 So.2d 277 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997), nor would the facts in the limited record, a stipulated statement of evidence prepared pursuant to rule 9.200(b)(4), Florida Rules of Appellant Procedure, support such a finding in the instant case.
The appellee argues that under UIFSA various affirmative defenses are available to him which would also support the trial court's decision. As the supreme court has recently reiterated, "[i]n some circumstances, even though a trial court's ruling is based on improper reasoning, the ruling will be upheld if there is any theory or principle of law in the record which would support the ruling." Dade County School Bd. v. Radio Station WQBA, 24 Fla. L. Weekly S71, S72, 731 So.2d 638, 644 (Fla.1999). For the appellee to argue for affirmance based upon the application of this so-called "tipsy coachman" rule, see Home Depot U.S.A., Co. v. Taylor, 676 So.2d 479, 480 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996),
however, the appellee's argument on appeal must be supported by evidence in the record. Radio Station WQBA, 731 So.2d 638, 24 Fla. L. Weekly at S72-73. Although the appellee pled several affirmative defenses and argued the defense of laches on appeal, the record does not reflect an evidentiary basis sufficient to permit us to make a determination as to whether...
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Robertson v. State
...evidence or arguments against the admissibility of this evidence under the Williams rule. In State, Dept. of Revenue ex rel. Rochell v. Morris, 736 So.2d 41, 42 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999), the First District Court of Appeal stated that "[f]or the appellee to argue affirmance based upon the applica......
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Robertson v. State
...638, 644 (Fla.1999), and is in conflict with the opinion of the First District Court of Appeal in State Dept. of Revenue ex rel. Rochell v. Morris, 736 So.2d 41, 42 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999), regarding when an appellate court may uphold a lower court ruling on an alternative ground not considered......
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Sibley v. Sibley
...the alternative theory or principle of law. See Robertson v. State, 829 So.2d 901, 907; see also State Dept. of Revenue ex rel. Rochell v. Morris, 736 So.2d 41, 42 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). On that basis, the doctrine cannot be applied in this case because the record does not provide an adequate......
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Fed. Nat'l Mortg. Ass'n v. Morton
...to whether these defenses are applicable in the instant case’ ” (emphasis omitted) (quoting Dep't of Revenue ex rel. Rochelle v. Morris, 736 So.2d 41, 42 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)...
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Tales of the tipsy coachman: being right for the wrong reason: the tipsy coachman is alive and well and living in Florida.
...before the trial court." Robertson, thus, approved the First District's opinion in State Department of Revenue ex rel. Rochell v. Morris, 736 So. 2d 41, 42 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999), which refused to affirm on a ground not argued to the trial court, reasoning that the record did not reflect a suf......