In re Gordon

• Docket Number: 23 CAF 08 00047
• Decision Date: 28 December 2023
• Parties: CYNTHIA GORDON Plaintiff-Appellee v. TERRY GORDON Defendant-Appellant
• Court: Ohio Court of Appeals

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2023-Ohio-4780

CYNTHIA GORDON Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
TERRY GORDON Defendant-Appellant

No. 23 CAF 08 00047

Court of Appeals of Ohio, Fifth District, Delaware

December 28, 2023

Character of Proceeding: Civil appeal from the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division, Case No. 97-07-1113AD

For Plaintiff-Appellee Tanya H. Kidd

For Defendant-Appellant Christopher Bazeley

Judges: Hon. Patricia A. Delaney, P.J. Hon. Craig R. Baldwin, J. Hon. Andrew J. King, J.

OPINION

DELANEY, P.J.

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{¶1} Appellant Terry Gordon appeals the July 18, 2023 judgment entry of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division. Appellee is the Delaware County Child Support Enforcement Agency ("DCCSEA").

Facts & Procedural History

{¶2} Appellant is the father of three children. In July of 2008, appellant was ordered to pay $373.56 per month in child support, plus a 2% administrative processing fee.

{¶3} On March 14, 2023, the DCCSEA filed a motion for contempt and to show cause. The motion requested appellant be found in contempt for the failure to pay child support. The motion also alleged appellant was previously found in contempt in 1999, and last made a child support payment on December 23, 2021.

{¶4} The magistrate issued a summons and order to appear on March 13, 2023. It ordered appellant to appear on June 22, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. for a contempt hearing. The summons/order to appear specifically stated that appellant had a right to counsel and, if appellant was indigent, he had to apply for a public defender or court-ordered counsel within three business days after his receipt of the summons, and prior to the hearing.

{¶5} Deputy Jack Daniels certified that he served appellant with the motion, summons, and order to appear on June 8, 2023. The magistrate held the contempt hearing on June 22, 2023. At the beginning of the hearing, the magistrate noted that appellant was personally served with the motion and summons to appear on June 8, 2023. Further, that appellant failed to appear and failed to have an attorney appear on

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his behalf. The CSEA caseworker testified at the hearing as to the child support arrearages.

{¶6} The magistrate issued a decision on July 18, 2023 and found as follows: appellant was personally served with the motion and summons; appellant did not appear for the hearing and no attorney appeared on his behalf; an alleged contemnor in a civil contempt action may be tried in absentia if he or she was provided appropriate notice and an opportunity to be heard; appellant did not comply with the child support orders of the court as he owes more than $10,000 in child support and $2,000 in administrative fees; appellant failed to appear at the hearing or otherwise provide a defense for his failure to comply; appellant is in contempt for failing to comply with child support payments; appellant is sentenced to sixty days in the Delaware County Jail; the sentence is deferred and purged if appellant pays $350.00 per month plus processing fees and, within seven days, contacts DCCSEA and provides them with information about his current employer and/or bank account number for direct withholding of support; for each month that appellant is current in his payments, two days are purged from his jail sentence; an additional two days are purged from his jail sentence upon his completion of the DCCSEA's Steps to Success program; and an additional two days are purged from his jail sentence for his successful completion of each session of the Goodwill Industries' Job Readiness course. The trial court adopted and entered the magistrate's decision on July 18, 2023.

{¶7} Appellant did not timely object to the magistrate's decision. On August 9, 2023, appellant wrote a pro se letter to the trial court stating he was in jail, on unrelated charges, on the date of the contempt hearing, and no one transported him to the hearing.

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In the letter, appellant admitted he was served with a copy of the summons and order to appear when he was booked...