Stagia v. Moshovitis
| Decision Date | 21 September 2022 |
| Docket Number | 1438-21 |
| Parties | PANAGIOTA STAGIA v. DIMITRIOS MOSHOVITIS |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
Circuit Court for Montgomery County Case No. 128819FL
Graeff, Arthur, Wright, Alexander, Jr. (Senior Judge Specially Assigned), JJ.
OPINION [*]Wright, J. Panagiota Stagia ("Wife") and Dimitrios Moshovitis ("Husband") were married and subsequently divorced by way of a judgment entered in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County in 2017. As part of that judgment, Husband was ordered to pay Wife a marital award, indefinite alimony, and child support.
In 2020, Husband filed a motion to modify alimony and child support. Wife thereafter filed a petition for contempt claiming that Father was in arrears on his alimony and child support. Wife also filed a motion to increase alimony and child support. In both filings, Wife requested attorneys' fees and costs. Following a hearing, the trial court granted, in part, Husband's motion to modify alimony and child support. The court denied Wife's petition for contempt and her motion to increase alimony and child support, but the court granted, in part, Wife's request for attorneys' fees and costs. Wife thereafter filed this timely appeal, presenting four questions, which we have rephrased and consolidated into three questions for clarity.[1] They are:
As to question 1, we hold that that the trial court did not err in granting, in part, Husband's motion to modify alimony and child support. As to question 2, we hold that the court's denial of Wife's contempt petition is not properly before this Court because Wife has no right to appeal that decision. Finally, as to question 3, we hold that the court did not err in failing to grant, in full, Wife's request for attorneys' fees and costs. Accordingly, we affirm the court's judgment.
Husband and Wife were married in 2005. Two children were born during the marriage: a son, born in 2007, and a daughter, born in 2009.
In 2006, Husband, a trained chef, opened a full-service restaurant, Cava Mezze, in Rockville with several friends. The restaurant was an instant success, and the group eventually opened several additional full-service restaurants in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. In 2008 the group began marketing a line of dips and spreads ("Cava Foods") that were later sold in over 200 stores. In 2011, the group opened a chain of "fast casual" restaurants known as Cava Grill. By 2017, Cava Grill had 14 locations in the Washington, D.C. area, and additional locations were planned to be opened nationwide.
In 2015, Cava Group, Inc., was created as part of a general restructuring of Husband's various business interests, and Cava Group subsequently acquired Cava Grill and Cava Foods. As part of that restructuring, Husband was awarded various stock and stock options in Cava Group.
In 2015, Wife initiated divorce proceedings in the circuit court. In 2017, following a six-day trial, the court entered a judgment of absolute divorce and issued a memorandum opinion that resolved all issues related to marital property, alimony, child custody, and child support. In so doing, the court valued Husband's various business interests at approximately $4.2 million, with the bulk of those interests, approximately $3 million worth, coming from Husband's 24% interest in a limited liability company, DTIBJ, LLC, that owned over one million shares of preferred stock of Cava Group, which was valued at approximately $12 per share. Based on the value of those various business interests, all of which were determined to be marital property, the court ordered Husband to pay Wife a monetary award of approximately $2.2 million.
The circuit court also ordered Husband to pay Wife $4,500.00 per month in indefinite alimony. In making that award, the court found that Wife, who had not worked a full-time job over the previous ten years, was unable to be self-supporting and would likely earn approximately $28,000.00 per year. The court found that Husband, on the other hand, earned approximately $284,000.00 per year. The court based that figure on Husband's reported yearly earnings of $400,284.00 in 2012, $429,832.00 in 2013, $283,558.00 in 2014, and $284,912.00 in 2015. The court also found that, in 2015, Husband had redeemed over $1 million in Cava stock, but the court declined to include that redemption as part of Husband's 2015 salary.
Regarding the minor children, the circuit court granted Wife primary physical custody, with Husband being granted reasonable access. The parties shared legal custody. Husband was ordered to pay Wife $3,506.00 per month in child support.
Around the time of the divorce, Husband began living with a woman, Donna Rismiller. In 2018, the two married.
In 2020, Husband filed a motion to modify his alimony and child support obligations. He argued that his income had decreased significantly since the divorce and that he had been forced to go into debt to pay support.
Shortly thereafter, Wife filed a motion to increase alimony and child support. Wife argued that Husband's income and total wealth had increased exponentially since the divorce and that his spending habits had become more lavish. Wife also filed a separate petition for contempt, claiming that Husband owed approximately $16,000.00 in unpaid alimony and child support. In both filings, Wife requested attorneys' fees and costs.
In April 2021, the parties appeared in court for a three-day hearing on Husband's motion to modify and Wife's motion to modify and petition for contempt. At that hearing Lambros Grigoropoulos, one of Husband's business partners, testified regarding Husband's business interests and current employment. Mr. Grigoropoulos stated that he and Husband were employed as consultants to the various Cava enterprises and that they each received a salary for that work. Mr. Grigoropoulos stated that he and Husband also received "K1" distributions from the full-service restaurants and catering business when those entities were profitable. Mr. Grigoropoulos testified that approximately 40% of Husband's total salary came from his consulting income and approximately 60% came from K1 distributions.
Mr. Grigoropoulos testified that, in March 2020, Cava's full-service restaurants and catering business were severely impacted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that the catering business had not generated any profits since February 2020 and that one of the full-service restaurants had to close. Mr. Grigoropoulos testified that he and Husband had not received any K1 distributions since March 2020. Mr. Grigoropoulos testified that he did not expect Husband to earn any K1 distributions in the near future. Mr. Grigoropoulos explained that the COVID-19 pandemic had caused heavy losses that had to be recouped before distributions could be paid. Mr. Grigoropoulos testified that Husband had earned a total yearly salary of $105,000.00 in 2020 and that he was earning approximately $13,000.00 per month in 2021. According to Mr. Grigoropoulos, all of Husband's current earnings came from his employment as a consultant.
Donna Rismiller, Husband's current wife, testified that she and Husband had been living together at her home in Gaithersburg since around the time of Husband and Wife's divorce. She stated that, when she and Husband got married in 2018, the two had agreed that Husband would pay one half of the household expenses, which totaled $10,000 per month. Ms. Rismiller testified that Husband regularly paid his share of the expenses through the first couple months of 2020, at which point Husband began falling behind. Ms. Rismiller testified that, as of the date of trial, Husband owed her $60,000.00 for his share of the expenses and an additional sum for other expenses she paid on Husband's behalf. Ms. Rismiller stated that this money was "not a gift" but rather was an "overdue obligation" that she "intend[ed] to collect[.]"
Ms. Rismiller testified that, over the previous few years, she had loaned Husband an additional $100,000.00 to help him pay for various expenses. Ms. Rismiller testified that she and Husband had executed several promissory notes for those loans. Those promissory notes were admitted into evidence. Ms. Rismiller testified that, in all, Husband owed her $171,000.00. She testified that she and Husband had always considered that money to be a loan.
Ms. Rismiller testified that, in May 2020, Husband's son started spending more time at her home. She testified that, by trial, Husband's son was living with her and Husband "full-time." Husband later provided similar testimony.
Husband testified that he was employed as a consultant for Cava and that he received a salary. Husband stated that he did not have any control over his salary. Husband testified that he began noticing a decline in his various business interests in 2019 and that the COVID-19 pandemic "pretty much flipped everything upside down." Husband testified that he had been receiving distributions as part of his salary but that those distributions stopped in 2020. Husband testified that he did not expect to receive any distributions in 2021. Husband testified that, in 2020, he earned $8,400.00 per month and that, in 2021, he earned $13,000.00 per month. Husband presented documentary evidence supporting those...
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