Long v. Thomas
| Decision Date | 30 December 1992 |
| Parties | Ollie Jean LONG v. Benjamin THOMAS. Appeal of COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE, Appellant. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court |
Jacqueline M. Moran, Asst. Counsel, for appellant.
Margaret A. Diamond, for appellee.
Before a Panel of Three Judges.
The Department of Public Welfare (DPW) appeals from an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County (trial court) which granted credit against the arrearages on a child support order for a direct payment of $10,000.00 from Benjamin Thomas (Thomas) to Ollie Jean Long (Long).
Thomas and Long are the unmarried parents of five children born between 1961 and 1965. On January 11, 1965, upon receipt of a guilty plea to the charge of "willful neglect to support bastard children," the trial court ordered Thomas to pay $10.00 per month to the parole office for the support of two children. 1 He paid a total of $350.00 in child support. DPW provided cash assistance to the children until the emancipation of the youngest child in 1984. 2
In March 1991, Benjamin Thomas received a workmen's compensation award of approximately $90,000.00. On May 17, 1991, Ollie Jean Long filed a petition for special relief seeking reimbursement for unpaid child support and to enjoin Thomas' disposition of the workmen's compensation award. By private agreement dated May 20, 1991, she withdrew her petition and waived her right to further child support arrearages in exchange for a lump sum payment of $10,000.00. 3 Neither party notified DPW or the Washington County Domestic Relations Office (DRO) of this agreement.
On June 10, 1991, the DRO filed a petition for special relief in Long's name requesting that Thomas' disposition of the workmen's compensation award be enjoined and that the trust account containing the award be frozen; seeking the reimbursement of assistance payments made by DPW in the amount of $13,470.90 4; and asserting that Long's right to child support arrearages had been assigned to DPW by operation of law 5 and that the parties' agreement releasing Thomas from unpaid arrearages was invalid. On July 1, 1991, the trial court ordered that $15,000.00 be enjoined from disposition and frozen pending a full resolution of the matter. 6
On January 17, 1992, the trial court decreed that DPW was the proper party; that the petition was properly filed in the name of Long as the assistance recipient; that the filing of a petition for special relief was the proper procedure; and that Long's claim was assigned by operation of law to DPW. The trial court ordered that Thomas receive a credit of $10,000.00 towards the payment of child support arrearages; that his workmen's compensation award shall not be liable for reimbursement on an assistance reimbursement claim brought by DPW 7; that the remaining arrearages of $3,740.00 be seized from the frozen trust account and paid directly to the DRO; and that the July 1, 1991 order be vacated as to the remaining $11,530.00. DPW appeals from this order.
The sole issue raised on appeal is whether the trial court erred in crediting Thomas' child support arrearages with his direct payment of $10,000.00 to Long. 8 Our scope of review of the decision of a court of common pleas is limited to a determination of whether the court abused its discretion or committed an error or law, or whether constitutional rights were violated. Rohrer v. Dep't of Pub. Welfare, 146 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 8, 604 A.2d 746 (1991), appeal denied, 531 Pa. 649, 612 A.2d 986 (1992).
DPW argues that the acceptance of public assistance operates as an assignment of support rights pursuant to Section 432.6(e) of the Public Welfare Code 9, that the assignment cannot be avoided by private direct payment, and that Thomas may be compelled to pay the full amount of the child support arrearages to DPW notwithstanding the private restitution to Long.
DPW relies on Department of Public Welfare (Martinez) v. Alvin, 278 Pa.Superior Ct. 64, 419 A.2d 1358 (1980), for support. In Alvin, Mrs. Martinez had applied for public assistance and, as a condition of eligibility, a prior recorded support order and its arrearages were assigned to DPW and the assignment recorded in the DRO. Two years later, Mr. Alvin gave a $1,000 check marked "Alvin support" to Mrs. Martinez and then claimed credit for the same against his arrearages. The trial court ordered that the direct payment be credited and DPW appealed. On appeal, the Superior Court noted that all prior payments had been made by Alvin to the Probation Office and that he was familiar with the required procedure. The Superior Court reversed concluding that at the time of the $1,000 payment, no support was payable to Mrs. Martinez, but was due the State and that notice of the same was on record. The court characterized the payment as "subserving" and found that it did not constitute a reduction of the debt owed the State and was in conflict with applicable federal and state statutes requiring assignment.
DPW distinguishes Commonwealth v. Pressley, 331 Pa.Superior Ct. 43, 479 A.2d 1069 (1984). In Pressley, one year after the amendment of a support order the wife applied for assistance payments and was required to execute an assignment of her right to receive support to DPW. The father allegedly continued to make direct payments to his wife and DPW filed a petition to hold the appellant in contempt for failing to make the ordered payments. The father filed a cross-petition to remit the arrearages. The trial court denied the father's petition and ordered the payment of arrearages.
On appeal, the Superior Court in Pressley distinguished Alvin and found that the record in Pressley did not disclose if the father was informed that he was required to make payments to the DRO or of the potential consequence of a double payment if he instead made a direct payment to his wife, or if he had notice of the assignment executed by his ex-wife. While not contesting the propriety of the assignment, the father argued that the failure to notify him of it left him free to discharge his support obligation by tendering a direct payment to his ex-wife. The Superior Court held that the fact that the father had deposited payments into the court did not show that he had been informed that use of this court-provided payment...
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