Susan R v. Donald R

• Decision Date: 02 June 2010
• Docket Number: No. 4693.,4693.
• Court: South Carolina Court of Appeals
• Parties: SUSAN R., Respondent,v.DONALD R., Appellant.

389 S.C. 107

697 S.E.2d 634

SUSAN R., Respondent,v.DONALD R., Appellant.

No. 4693.

Court of Appeals of South Carolina.

Submitted April 1, 2010.

Decided June 2, 2010.

Christopher Paul Thompson and David Michael Collins, Jr., both of Spartanburg, for Appellant.

Richard H. Rhodes and Ruth L. Cate, both of Spartanburg, for Respondent.

WILLIAMS, J.

In this appeal, Donald R. (Husband) contends the family court erred by (1) requiring Husband to pay Susan R.'s (Wife) premarital medical expenses and costs; (2) imputing additional income to Husband; and (3) awarding attorneys' fees to Wife. We affirm as modified.¹

FACTS

On June 22, 2006, Wife filed for divorce on the grounds of Husband's adultery and habitual drunkenness. In Wife's complaint, she sought, inter alia, custody of the parties' children, child support, contribution for their children's uncovered medical expenses, equitable distribution of the parties' assets and debts, alimony, restraining orders, and attorneys' fees. Husband counterclaimed, seeking a decree of separate maintenance and support and requesting custody, child support, contribution for their children's uncovered medical expenses, equitable division of their assets and debts, restraining orders, and attorneys' fees.

The majority of Husband's and Wife's claims were resolved in the parties' settlement agreement, which the family court approved at the final hearing. During the final hearing on May 5 and 6, 2007, the family court heard testimony regarding several outstanding issues not agreed upon by Husband and Wife, namely the parties' income for purposes of computing child support, responsibility for payment of Wife's medical bills, and attorneys' fees.

In its subsequent divorce decree dated June 7, 2008, the family court made the following findings of fact and conclusions of law relevant to this appeal: (1) Husband and Wife married on May 24, 2004, in Spartanburg County; (2) the parties had two children together, one child being born during the marriage and the other child being born prior to the marriage; (3) several witnesses, including two of Husband's paramours, admitted to engaging in an adulterous relationship with Husband, thus entitling Wife to a divorce on the grounds of adultery; (4) Wife waived her claim for alimony; (5) for purposes of child support, Husband's gross monthly income from his employment with Mitsubishi Polyester Film was $4,651.66, which included $100 per month in proceeds from a rental property and $400 per month from Husband's part-time farrier business; (6) Wife's gross monthly income as a nurse was $2,849. 41; (7) the $18,542.13 in debt for Wife's surgery at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center was a result of Wife's miscarriage; thus, it was a marital debt, despite being incurred prior to the parties' marriage; and (8) Husband was responsible for paying half of Wife's attorneys' fees.

Husband timely filed a Rule 59(e), SCRCP, motion, arguing the family court erred in its award of attorneys' fees, imputation of additional income to Husband, and requirement for supervised visitation with the parties' children. The family court denied Husband's Rule 59(e) motion.² This appeal followed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

On appeal from a family court order, this court has authority to correct errors of law and find facts in accordance with its own view of the preponderance of the evidence. E.D.M. v. T.A.M., 307 S.C. 471, 473, 415 S.E.2d 812, 814 (1992). When reviewing decisions of the family court, we are cognizant that the family court had the opportunity to see the witnesses, hear “the testimony delivered from the stand, and had the benefit of that personal observance of and contact with the parties which is of peculiar value in arriving at a correct result in a case of this character.” DuBose v. DuBose, 259 S.C. 418, 423, 192 S.E.2d 329, 331 (1972).

ISSUES ON APPEAL

Husband claims the family court erred by (1) requiring Husband to pay Wife's premarital medical expenses and costs (2) imputing additional income to Husband for purposes of child support; and (3) requiring Husband to pay $13,000 of Wife's attorneys' fees. We affirm as modified.

LAW/ANALYSIS

I. Wife's Medical Expenses

Husband contends the family court lacked jurisdiction to order Husband to pay a portion of Wife's medical bills because the surgery occurred prior to the parties' marriage; thus, it was a nonmarital debt. We disagree.

The family court found Wife's medical bill from Spartanburg Regional Medical Center for $18,542.13 was a marital debt because although the surgery occurred prior to the parties' marriage, it related to the miscarriage of Husband and Wife's child. Therefore, it was a shared expense of the parties. While we agree with the family court's decision to require Husband to contribute towards the repayment of this debt, we modify the family court's classification of this debt as marital because the surgery occurred prior to the parties' marriage. See Wooten v. Wooten, 364 S.C. 532, 546, 615 S.E.2d 98, 105 (2005) (citing S.C.Code Ann. § 20-7-472(13) (Supp.2004)) (currently S.C.Code Ann. § 20-3-620(13) (Supp.2009)) (stating marital debts include, among other things, “any other existing debts incurred by the parties or either of them during the course of the marriage”).

Despite the acquisition of this debt prior to the parties' marriage, we find this debt would not have occurred but for Husband and Wife's relationship, which merits Husband's participation in its repayment. See S.C.Code Ann. § 20-5-60 (Supp.2007) (“A husband shall not be liable for the debts of his wife contracted prior to or after their marriage, except for her necessary support and that of their minor children residing with her.”); see also Richland Mem. Hosp. v. Burton, 282 S.C. 159, 160-61, 318 S.E.2d 12, 13 (1984) (reaffirming common law doctrine requiring a husband to be responsible for necessary debts incurred by a wife prior to and during marriage and holding a hospital could initiate a collection action against husband for medical services rendered to deceased wife based on this doctrine).

Furthermore, the family court has jurisdiction “to include in the requirements of an order for support the providing of necessary shelter, food, clothing, care medical attention, expenses of confinement, both before and after [ ] birth, ... and other proper and reasonable expenses....” S.C.Code Ann. § 63-3-530(15) (Supp.2009) (emphasis added). Section 63-3-530(15) grants the family court exclusive jurisdiction to include in any support order a provision for payment of medical expenses and hospital bills that are attendant to childbirth. Regardless of whether Husband and Wife were married on the date of the surgery, Wife's hospital bill was a direct result of her pregnancy and ensuing miscarriage,³ and the procedure was necessary to Wife's health. Not requiring Husband to share in the responsibility for defraying this expense would thwart the ultimate goal of ensuring a just, equitable, and fair outcome to both parties. Thus, we conclude the family court had jurisdiction, and consequently the authority, to order Husband to pay half of Wife's hospital bill.

II. Imputing Income to Husband

Next, Husband claims Wife presented insufficient evidence regarding Husband's farrier business and rental property to justify the family court's decision to impute additional income to Husband for purposes of calculating his child support obligations. We disagree.

Child support awards are within the family court's sound discretion and, absent an abuse of discretion, will not be disturbed on appeal. Mitchell v. Mitchell, 283 S.C. 87, 92, 320 S.E.2d 706, 710 (1984). An abuse of discretion occurs when the family court's decision is controlled by some error of law or when the order, based upon the findings of fact, is without evidentiary support. Kelley v. Kelley, 324 S.C. 481, 485, 477 S.E.2d 727, 729 (Ct.App.1996).

Generally, the family court determines gross income for purposes of calculating child support based upon the financial declarations submitted by the parties. S.C.Code Ann. Regs. 114-4720(A)(6) (Supp.2009). “Gross income includes income from any source including salaries, wages, commissions, royalties, bonuses, [and] rents (less allowable business expenses)....” S.C.Code Ann. Regs. 114-4720(A)(2) (Supp.2009). Additionally, “[u]nreported cas[h] income should also be included if it can be identified.” Id. When income reflected on the financial declaration is at issue, the family court may rely on suitable documentation to verify income, such as pay stubs, employer statements, receipts, or expenses covering at least one month. Regs. 114-4720(A)(6).

We note neither Husband's 2006 financial declaration nor his 2007 income tax return reflected any income from his farrier business or rental property. As a result, it was proper for the family court to consider invoices from Husband's farrier business for purposes of calculating his child support obligation. At the final hearing, Wife introduced invoices from 2004 until 2006 that documented Husband's yearly and monthly income from his farrier business. Wife testified Husband charged between $75 and $135 per horse and shoed horses almost every day of the week. Husband did not contest the validity of the invoices Wife submitted, but he stated he typically charged $50 per horse, which netted him approximately $110 every two weeks based on his current workload. Husband also discussed the ordinary and necessary expenses he incurred as part of running his farrier business during his testimony. In explaining the large discrepancies between his current earnings and past profits, Husband stated his income from the farrier business had decreased because he was spending more time with his son, and the increased cost of gas prevented him from shoeing as many horses as he had in the past.

In regards to Husband's rental property, Husband stated he had not rented his mobile home in more than two years, but when he did...