Crenshaw v. Williams
| Decision Date | 19 April 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. COA10–720.,COA10–720. |
| Citation | 710 S.E.2d 227 |
| Parties | Reggie L. CRENSHAW, Plaintiff,v.Alaina D. WILLIAMS, f/k/a Alaina Crenshaw, Defendant. |
| Court | North Carolina Court of Appeals |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal by defendant from order entered 6 July 2009 by Judge Christy T. Mann in Mecklenburg County District Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 24 January 2011.
Todd W. Cline, P.A., Charlotte, by Todd W. Cline, for plaintiff-appellee.
James, McElroy & Diehl, P.A., Charlotte, by Preston O. Odom III, for defendant-appellant.
Defendant Alaina D. Williams (formerly Crenshaw) appeals from the trial court's order modifying a custody order entered in Michigan and granting plaintiff Reggie L. Crenshaw primary custody of the couple's two sons, Jhavon–Gabriel and Christian. After careful review, we reverse in part and affirm in part.
On 15 August 2002, the Circuit Court for Wayne County, Michigan entered a “Judgment of Divorce” (the “Michigan divorce judgment”), which granted the parties a divorce and awarded them “joint legal and joint physical custody” of the juveniles. Under the terms of the judgment, “primar[y]” custody of the juveniles was with Ms. Williams for the first three years after entry of the Michigan divorce judgment (August 2002–August 2005) and then alternated to Mr. Crenshaw for the second three-year period (August 2005–August 2008). At the time of the couple's divorce, Mr. Crenshaw was living in Dearborn, Michigan and Ms. Williams was living in Norcross, Georgia, near Atlanta. Mr. Crenshaw moved to Charlotte, North Carolina shortly after the Michigan divorce judgment was entered.
When Ms. Williams refused to “agree to the switch” in custody in 2005, Mr. Crenshaw filed a motion in Michigan state court requesting enforcement of the terms of the Michigan divorce judgment. After holding a hearing on 15 August 2005, the Michigan circuit court entered an “Order for Change of Custody” (the “Michigan custody order”) on 6 September 2005, in which the court determined that “it was in the best interests of the minor children to enforce the custody agreement set forth in the [Michigan divorce judgment]....” The custody order also directed Ms. Williams to pay child support to Mr. Crenshaw while he had primary custody. Mr. Crenshaw has retained custody of Jhavon and Christian since entry of the 2005 Michigan custody order.
Mr. Crenshaw married Myra McCaskill on 9 June 2007. Ms. McCaskill helps parent Jhavon and Christian, including helping them with their homework, driving them to and from activities, buying them clothes, and cooking meals for them. Mr. Crenshaw and Ms. McCaskill have been members of the PTA Boards of their sons' schools and have participated on the schools' Leadership Teams. Ms. Williams has not volunteered at her sons' schools since they moved to Charlotte to live with their father.
Mr. Crenshaw and Ms. McCaskill also encourage and support the children's participation in sports. Mr. Crenshaw has helped coach football teams on which the boys played and paid for Christian to attend a football camp in the Atlanta area during the summer of 2008.
Ms. Williams has had “sporadic employment” since August 2005, working as an insurance adjuster, substitute teacher, waitress, and working for her family's home renovation business. Ms. Williams is currently unemployed and living off of her savings. Her parents own the townhome in which she lives and allow her to live there rent-free in exchange for working for the family business.
Since August 2005, Ms. Williams has missed four or five visits with Jhavon and Christian. On some weekend visits, Ms. Williams will give up spending Friday nights with the children because Saturday morning flights typically are less expensive.
Ms. Williams is late for “the majority” of exchanges, often returning Jhavon and Christian to Charlotte after 9:00 p.m. on Sunday nights. When she does not return them on Sunday nights, Ms. Williams will leave Norcross around 3:00 a.m. and drive the children directly to their schools in Charlotte. When Jhavon and Christian return from visiting their mother, they typically are “exhausted” and Mr. Crenshaw and Ms. McCaskill are left to “deal with the ramifications of the exhaustion.”
Mr. Crenshaw and Ms. Williams are “[r]arely” able to agree on issues involving their children. Because Ms. Williams often yells and curses at Mr. Crenshaw on the telephone, he usually resorts to communicating with her through email. Although Mr. Crenshaw notifies Ms. Williams through email about Jhavon's and Christian's activities, she does not fully participate in the activities.
The parties also differ regarding dietary habits, health care, and time spent with the children. Ms. Williams does not support the children seeing medical doctors and they often come home to Charlotte sick. While Mr. Crenshaw disciplines Jhavon and Christian by taking away their privileges, Ms. Williams does not discipline them because they “see eye to eye” on most issues.
Mr. Crenshaw's position with Wachovia was eliminated in November 2008, but he obtained employment that same month with ServiceMaster, which is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. On 3 November 2008, Mr. Crenshaw registered the 2002 Michigan divorce judgment and 2005 custody order in Mecklenburg County, requesting modification of custody and child support. At the time of the 6 April and 17 June 2009 hearings on Mr. Crenshaw's motions in Mecklenburg County District Court, Mr. Crenshaw planned on moving his family to the Memphis area in late June or early July of 2009.
The district court entered an order on 6 July 2009, concluding that “Mr. Crenshaw ha[d] met his burden of showing that a change in circumstances actually has occurred, and that the changes have affected the welfare of Jhavon and Christian” and awarding him “primary custody” of the children. The court also concluded that Ms. Williams should pay $454 per month in child support; that she was currently $16,400 in arrears; and that she should pay an additional $100 per month “towards retirement of the arrearage.” Ms. Williams filed numerous post-trial motions, including a “Motion for New Trial and to Amend Findings of Fact,” a “Motion for Relief from Child Support Order and for Sanctions,” and a “Motion to Extract Fraudulent Evidence.” The trial court denied Ms. Williams' motions on 26 October 2009. Ms. Williams timely appealed to this Court.
Ms. Williams first contends that the Michigan child support order was not properly registered under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (“UIFSA”), codified in Chapter 52C of the North Carolina General Statutes, and thus “the trial court lacked authority to address the issue of child support.” Whether the trial court complied with the registration procedures set out in UIFSA is a question of law reviewed de novo on appeal. State ex rel. Lively v. Berry, 187 N.C.App. 459, 462, 653 S.E.2d 192, 194 (2007).
UIFSA, enacted in North Carolina in 1995, was “promulgated and intended to be used as [a] procedural mechanism[ ] for the establishment, modification, and enforcement of child and spousal support obligations.” Welsher v. Rager, 127 N.C.App. 521, 524, 491 S.E.2d 661, 663 (1997); accord New Hanover Cty. ex rel. Mannthey v. Kilbourne, 157 N.C.App. 239, 243, 578 S.E.2d 610, 613–14 (2003) ().
Under UIFSA, a child support order is first entered by the “issuing tribunal” in the “issuing state.” N.C. Gen.Stat. § 52C–1–101(9) and (10) (2009); Hook v. Hook, 170 N.C.App. 138, 141, 611 S.E.2d 869, 871, disc. review denied, 359 N.C. 631, 616 S.E.2d 234 (2005). N.C. Gen.Stat. § 52C–6–609 (2009) establishes that if an obligee wants to modify an order against an obligor who resides in a different state, the obligee must “register” the order in the state in which the obligor resides. See N.C. Gen.Stat. § 52C–6–609 cmt. (“A petitioner wishing to register a support order of another state for purposes of modification must ... follow the procedure for registration set forth in [N.C. Gen.Stat. § 52C–6–602 (2009),]” which requires registration in “the tribunal for the county in which the obligor resides in this State[.]”).
It is undisputed in this case that Ms. Williams is not a resident of North Carolina; she resides in Georgia. Consequently, Mr. Crenshaw, as the party seeking modification in this case, was required by N.C. Gen.Stat. §§ 52C–6–602 and –609 to register the Michigan support order in Georgia, not North Carolina:
In the overwhelming majority of cases, the party seeking modification must seek that relief in a new forum, almost invariably the State of residence of the other party. This rule applies to either obligor or obligee, depending on which of those parties seeks to modify....
.... This restriction attempts to achieve a rough justice between the parties in the majority of cases by preventing a litigant from choosing to seek modification in a local tribunal to the marked disadvantage of the other party.... In short, the obligee is required to register the existing order and seek modification of that order in a State which has personal jurisdiction over the obligor other than the State of the obligee's residence. Most typically this will be the State of residence of the obligor....
N.C. Gen.Stat. § 52C–6–611 cmt (2009). As North Carolina is not the proper forum for modifying the Michigan support order, the trial court lacked the authority to modify that order. See Lacarrubba v. Lacarrubba, 202N.C.App. 532, ––––, 688 S.E.2d 769, 773 (2010) (...
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