Willis v. Davis

• Decision Date: 18 November 2010
• Docket Number: No. S-10-0066.,S-10-0066.
• Citation: 2010 WY 149,243 P.3d 568
• Parties: Wendy WILLIS, f/k/a Wendy Davis, Appellant (Defendant), v. Chad DAVIS, Appellee (Plaintiff).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

243 P.3d 568 2010 WY 149 Wendy WILLIS, f/k/a Wendy Davis, Appellant (Defendant), v. Chad DAVIS, Appellee (Plaintiff). No. S-10-0066. Supreme Court of Wyoming. Nov. 18, 2010.

Representing Appellant: Alex H. Sitz III of Meinecke & Sitz, LLC, Cody, Wyoming.

Representing Appellee: Matthew D. Winslow of Keegan & Winslow, P.C., Cody, Wyoming.

Before KITE, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL, VOIGT, and BURKE, JJ.

KITE, Chief Justice.

[¶ 1] Chad Davis (Father) and Wendy Willis f/k/a Wendy Davis (Mother) were divorced by decree awarding Father primary physical custody of the children and giving Mother liberal visitation. A year later, Father filed a motion for an order requiring Mother to show cause why she should not be held in contempt for violating provisions of the decree. Mother responded with her own motion for an order requiring Father to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for decree violations. In her motion, Mother also requested custody modification.

[¶ 2] After a hearing, the district court entered an order declining to hold either party in contempt and denying Mother's request for custody modification. Mother did not appeal from that order. Nine days later, Mother filed a motion to modify custody. Father moved to dismiss arguing that the motion was barred by the doctrine of res judicata because the district court had just heard and ruled on a request by Mother for custody modification. The district court granted the motion to dismiss. Mother appeals to this Court claiming res judicata did not apply and the dismissal of her custody modification motion violated her right to due process. We affirm.

ISSUE

[¶ 3] Mother presents a single issue on appeal:

Whether the district court erred when it applied the doctrine of res judicata to [her] Motion to Modify Custody.

FACTS

[¶ 4] The parties were married on August 12, 2000. They had two children, the first in 2003 and the second in 2005. Father filed for divorce in 2007. The district court granted the divorce and awarded the parties joint legal custody of the children, Father primary physical custody and Mother liberal visitation. The district court's decision letter, which the decree incorporated, contained several provisions requiring Mother and Father to cooperate, keep each other informed about matters involving the children and refrain from acting in ways detrimental to the children's relationship with the other parent.

[¶ 5] In October of 2008, six weeks shy of a year from entry of the decree, Father filed a motion for an order requiring Mother to show cause why she should not be held in contempt of court for violating certain provisions of the decree. He alleged that in contravention of the decree Mother had been taking the children to a counselor without informing him and refused to disclose the nature of the counseling or authorize the counselor to discuss it with him. He also alleged Mother had made derogatory comments about him in the children's presence and made exchanges of the children difficult.

[¶ 6] In response, Mother denied Father's allegations and filed her own petition for an order requiring him to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for his alleged acts in contravention of the decree, including moving the children to a different daycare and refusing to disclose the name or location, changing the youngest child's preschool without consulting her in order to prevent her and her family from spending time there with the child, and interfering with communication between Mother and the children by taping their telephone conversations. Father denied Mother's allegations and, several months later, filed a supplement to his motion to show cause in which he alleged additional violations of the decree by Mother. Mother filed a response in which she denied the new allegations and asked for modification of custody.

[¶ 7] Five months later and almost a year after Father filed the original contempt motion, the district court held a hearing during which both parties presented evidence. Following the hearing, the district court issued a decision letter declining to find either partyin contempt but requiring the parties to attend a parenting workshop and begin counseling. The district court further found "that the facts before it do not support a material change of circumstances" warranting a change in custody. On October 14, 2009, the district court entered an order consistent with its decision letter. Mother did not appeal the district court's order.

[¶ 8] Nine days later, on October 23, 2009, Mother filed a motion to modify custody in which she alleged there had been a material change of circumstances "including but not limited to [Father] not properly communicating with [Mother] regarding the children, manipulation of the children by [Father], the actions of [Father's] live-in girlfriend unreasonably seeking a protection order against [Mother] to prevent her from going to the children's school and daycare facilities, the immoral behavior and lifestyle of [Father] continuing to reside unwed with another woman, and various other general health and welfare concerns of the children being in [Father's] custody." Father filed a motion to dismiss Mother's motion pursuant to W.R.C.P. 12(b)(1), asserting that the district court had just decided modification was not warranted in its October 14, 2009, order, Mother's motion did not allege any new facts warranting modification and the doctrine of res judicata barred her motion.

[¶ 9] Mother responded, asserting the parties were not on notice that the issue of custody modification would be fully adjudicated during the earlier contempt hearing, no evidence was presented concerning modification at the earlier hearing and her right to due process would be violated if the court dismissed her most recent motion for custody modification. She further contended the requirements for application of res judicata were not satisfied. After hearing arguments, the district court entered an order granting the motion to dismiss. Mother timely appealed the order of dismissal to this Court.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶ 10] Mother asserts the district court erred in dismissing her custody modification motion on the basis of res judicata. She further claims the dismissal violated her right to due process. The question of whether res judicata bars a claim is one of law. Wyoming Med. Ctr., Inc. v. Wyoming Ins. Guar. Ass'n, 2010 WY 21, ¶ 11, 225 P.3d 1061, 1064 (Wyo.2010). This Court reviews questions of law de novo. Id. The question of whether the constitutional right to due process has been violated is also one of law reviewed de novo. Welch v. Welch, 2003 WY 168, ¶ 5, 81 P.3d 937, 938 (Wyo.2003).

DISCUSSION

[¶ 11] Mother contends the district court erred in dismissing her motion on the basis of res judicata when the four factors necessary for application of the doctrine were not satisfied. The doctrine of res judicata bars re-litigation of previously litigated causes of action or claims. Wyoming Med. Ctr., ¶ 15, 225 P.3d at 1065 (citation omitted). Four factors must exist for res judicata to apply: 1) the parties must be identical; 2) the subject matter must be identical; 3) the issues must be identical and relate to the same subject matter; and 4) the capacities of the persons must be identical in reference to both the subject matter and the issues between them. Id. Mother asserts the last three factors were not satisfied because the only matter at issue at the contempt hearing was whether either party had violated the divorce decree. She contends the existence of a material change of circumstances warranting modification of custody was not at issue and was not addressed in the contempt hearing. She further argues the capacities of the parties were different at the contempt hearing than they would be at a custody modification hearing in that, in the first instance, they were each trying to show the other had violated the decree while, in the second instance, they would have been advocating for the children's best interests.

[¶ 12] As a general rule the doctrine of res judicata applies to divorce decrees. Mentock v. Mentock, 638 P.2d 156, 158 (Wyo.1981). However, Wyoming law recognizes that custody modification is sometimes necessary. Id. Thus, a district court in this state that enters a custody order in a divorce proceeding has continuing subject matter jurisdictionto enforce or modify custody upon petition by either parent. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-2-203(a) (LexisNexis 2009); Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-2-204(b) (LexisNexis 2009). The party seeking to modify custody bears the burden of establishing that a material change in circumstances has occurred since the entry of the previous custody determination and that the modification would be in the best interests of the children. Section 20-2-204(c).

[¶ 13] In Aragon v. Aragon, 2005 WY 5, 104 P.3d 756 (Wyo.2005), we considered a mother's claim that the father's petition for custody modification was barred by the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel. There, the parties were divorced by decree entered in 2000. Id., ¶ 3, 104 P.3d at 758. They returned to court six months later on Mother's motions to modify Father's child support and visitation and for an order holding Father in contempt. Father responded with a motion for an order holding Mother in contempt. The district court entered an order modifying child support and visitation. Id. Several months later, Father filed a motion for correction of the child support computation. Mother responded with another motion to have Father held in contempt. The district court entered an order granting Father's motion. Id. A month later, Father filed a motion for change of custody and support which the district court granted, finding that Father had shown a material change in circumstances and the change in custody was in the best interests of the children.

[¶ 14] Addressing Mother's contention that Father's change of custody motion was barred...