Wagle v. Henry

• Decision Date: 22 May 1997
• Docket Number: No. 49A04-9610-CV-443,49A04-9610-CV-443
• Citation: 679 N.E.2d 1002
• Parties: Ora WAGLE, Jr., Appellant-Respondent, v. Rose M. HENRY, Appellee-Petitioner.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

Page 1002

679 N.E.2d 1002

Ora WAGLE, Jr., Appellant-Respondent, v. Rose M. HENRY, Appellee-Petitioner.

No. 49A04-9610-CV-443.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

May 22, 1997.

Michael W. Van Treese, Van Treese, Dakich, Baldwin & Earnest, Indianapolis, for Appellant-Respondent.

Pamela Carter, Attorney General, Jon Laramore, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, for Appellee-Petitioner.

OPINION

CHEZEM, Judge.

Case Summary

Respondent-Appellant, Ora Wagle ("Wagle"), appeals the denial of his motion to dismiss. We affirm.

Issue

Wagle presents two issues for our review, which we consolidate and restate as: whether Rose ("Rose") Henry's complaint under the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act ("URESA") was barred by principles of res judicata.

Facts and Procedural History

Rose and Wagle were married, and subsequently divorced. In the decree of dissolution dated July 2, 1981, Wagle was ordered by the Owen County Circuit Court in Indiana to pay child support for his daughter who had been born just four months previously. Rose subsequently moved to Ohio. In November, 1993, Rose filed an action to collect child support under the URESA. There was evidence that Wagle was $17,423.00 in arrears. In February, 1994, Rose transferred her URESA action to Indiana by filing a cause in the Marion County Circuit Court. Her action was dismissed pursuant to Ind. Trial Rule 37(B)(2)(c) for her failure to follow a court order of discovery. She refused to answer an interrogatory relating to the child's paternity. On August 4, 1995, Rose filed a second action to collect child support under the URESA. Wagle filed a motion to dismiss this action, arguing the claim was barred by res judicata. It is from the denial of that motion to dismiss that Wagle appeals.

Discussion and Decision

Today's case presents an issue of first impression. We consider whether an action for enforcement of a child support obligation can be barred under principles of res judicata when a trial judge fails to specify whether a previous enforcement action was dismissed with prejudice and when the previous dismissal was ordered pursuant to Ind. Trial Rule 37(B)(2)(c). Because of the unique nature of a child support enforcement action, we hold that unless a trial court expressly states otherwise, such a dismissal is without prejudice and, therefore, a subsequent action may be filed in anticipation of securing the child support previously ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Wagle's motion to dismiss was, in essence, a motion for judgment on the pleadings. A judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Ind. Trial Rule 12(C) is proper only when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the facts shown by the pleadings clearly entitle the movant to judgment. Bell v. State Bd. of Tax Comm'rs, 651 N.E.2d 816, 818 (Ind.Tax 1995). If, on a motion for judgment on the pleadings, matters outside the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion shall be treated as one for summary judgment and disposed of as provided in Trial Rule 56. Ind. Trial Rule 12(C); Marsh v. Paternity of Rodgers by Rodgers, 659 N.E.2d 171, 172 n. 1 (Ind.Ct.App.1995).

Here, Wagle designated evidence outside the pleadings for judicial consideration. Hearing was held on Wagle's motion to dismiss and both Rose and Wagle presented evidence. While there is no transcript of the hearing, the Chronological Case Summary demonstrates that Wagle's motion and designated evidence was considered, as was Rose's testimony in opposition to Wagle's motion. Rose agreed at the hearing to allow blood tests on the child to establish Wagle's paternity. The issue of the child's paternity was central to the unanswered interrogatory, for which Rose's first claim under URESA was dismissed. To that extent, the reason for the prior dismissal had been remedied in the hearing. Although the validity of the dismissal of the first action is not before us today, we note that Rose's URESA action was for the collection of child support, incidental to a judgment which had already established the child's paternity. Rose's URESA action was merely a proceeding supplemental in an effort to enforce that judgment via collection of child support. Wagle's attempts in the URESA action to collaterally attack the dissolution judgment, which established paternity and ordered support, were inappropriate. We held in K.T.H. v. M.K.B., 670 N.E.2d 118, 119 (Ind.Ct.App.1996) that "Because URESA is essentially a procedural mechanism for the expeditious enforcement of support duties, the substantive law it relies on to make a paternity determination could only be found in the Paternity Chapter." Wagle did not rely on the paternity laws in his quest to determine paternity of the child. His proper course of action was to seek relief from the dissolution judgment pursuant to a motion to correct error, a direct appeal, and/or a motion for relief from judgment under Trial Rule 60(B)(8). See, e.g., Fairrow v. Fairrow, 559 N.E.2d 597 (Ind.1990) (setting out limitations on the use of Trial Rule 60 when paternity is challenged after the final decree of dissolution). Moreover, any URESA action which serves to examine paternity must include the child named as a party. K.T.H., 670 N.E.2d 118. Failure to do so renders the judgment voidable and is not res judicata as to the child. Id. at 119. Thus, to the extent Wagle views Rose's URESA action as a forum for determination of paternity matters, the issue of res judicata is simply solved by joining the child as a party and resubmitting the complaint, otherwise identical to the original complaint. However, because the issue of paternity or joining the child as a party is not before us today, we decline to examine further the ramifications of Wagle's introduction of the paternity issue.

Regardless of the procedural posture, the material facts in this case are not in dispute. When we are presented with questions of law, our standard on review of legal determinations is the same whether we consider a motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment. Indiana & Michigan Elec. Co. v. Terre Haute Indus., Inc., 467 N.E.2d 37, 42 n. 2 (Ind.Ct.App.1984). We must determine whether the trial court erred in its application of the law. Id. We turn, then, to the issue of res judicata.

We held in Scott v. Scott, 668 N.E.2d 691, 699 (Ind.Ct.App.1996), that the principle of res judicata prevents the repetitious litigation of that which is essentially the same dispute. The doctrine of res judicata is divided into two distinct branches, claim preclusion and issue preclusion. Progressive Casualty Ins. Co. v. Morris, 603 N.E.2d 1380, 1382 (Ind.Ct.App.1992). The doctrine of res judicata bars the relitigation of a claim after a final judgment has been rendered, when the subsequent action involves the same claim between the same parties or their privies. Marsh, 659 N.E.2d at 172. When claim preclusion applies, all matters that were or might have been litigated are deemed conclusively decided by the judgment in the prior action. Hood v. G.D.H. by Elliott, 599 N.E.2d 237, 239 (Ind.Ct.App.1992); In re Marriage of Moser, 469 N.E.2d 762, 766 (Ind.Ct.App.1984). Issue preclusion bars the subsequent relitigation of the same fact or issue where that fact or issue was necessarily adjudicated in a former suit and the same fact or issue is presented in a subsequent action. J.D. v. E.W., 610 N.E.2d 289 (Ind.Ct.App.1993); Sullivan v. American Cas. Co. of Reading, Pa., 605 N.E.2d 134, 137 (Ind.1992). Where issue preclusion applies, the previous judgment is conclusive only regarding those issues actually litigated and determined therein. Hood, 599 N.E.2d 237. This case deals with...