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Burt v. Burt8/23/2001
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 05/10/2000
TRIAL JUDGE: HON. PAT WISE
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: HINDS COUNTY CHANCERY COURT
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - DOMESTIC RELATIONS
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 08/23/2001
EN BANC.
. This is an appeal from a final judgment of the Hinds County Chancery Court, First Judicial District. Less than a year after she reached the age of twenty-one years, Amber Burt (Amber), filed suit against her father, Bruce Burt (Bruce), for child support unpaid since 1989. The chancellor, after hearing testimony from Amber, Bruce and Bruce's former wife, entered an order requiring Bruce to pay Amber $29,795 in back child support plus $13,882 interest. This amount, awarded solely to Amber, included the entire monthly sum ordered for both her and her brother in their parents' 1978 divorce . At the hearing there were numerous, short statements made regarding Bruce's son Todd (Amber's brother), who at the time of the hearing was 25 years old. However, Todd was not a party to this suit and no provision was asked for him, nor made for him when the chancellor granted the entire back child support award to Amber. The method of calculating the amount was determined by Gerald Lee, Ph.D. and stipulated to by the parties. However, Bruce's counsel added a handwritten statement to the stipulation, saying that they did "not admit that we owe anything." Following the chancellor's decision, Bruce timely filed a notice of appeal to this Court, raising two issues:
I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT'S ORDER WAS AGAINST THE OVERWHELMING WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE AND THE APPLICABLE LAW, AND ACCORDINGLY, WAS CLEARLY AND MANIFESTLY IN ERROR?
II. WHETHER AMBER LACKS CLEAN HANDS?
Finding no manifest error or abuse of discretion in the decision of the trial court, we affirm.
FACTS
. On December 20, 1978, Bruce and Amber's mother, Gloria Burt, was granted a divorce by the Hinds County Chancery Court. Bruce and Gloria had two children at the time of the divorce: Amber, who was born July 10, 1977, and Todd, who was born October 11, 1974. Under the terms of the 1978 divorce decree, Bruce was ordered to pay Gloria $275 per month in child support "for the minor children." There was no mention of any special needs or any special allocation between the children, so the presumption, albeit rebuttable, is that each was entitled to one half of the $275 each month. Varner v. Varner, 588 So. 2d 428, 434 (Miss. 1991).
. Gloria died on January 24, 1989. Bruce did not make any child support payments after Gloria's death. Amber lived with her grandparents in Jackson, Mississippi, for several years following the death of her mother. At approximately 16 years of age, Amber began to live in a variety of places, all of which were in the Jackson area. During the summer of 1993 she lived in an apartment with her friend Stephanie and Stephanie's mother. Amber lived with her father for approximately four to six months during 1993 and 1994. Amber testified that she moved out of her father's home because she was uncomfortable with his drinking. Later, she moved in with her boyfriend at the time, where she lived from November, 1995 until July 1996.
. During that same time, Amber worked several different places. She worked at Jan's Hallmark (20 to 30 hours per week) and then at Victoria's Secret (15 hours per week). She also worked as a waitress for a few months at Cucco's and Bennigan's restaurants. Amber apparently worked full-time at Mississippi Insurance Managers, and at the time of the hearing, she was employed by an engineering firm. Amber also attended school during part of this time.
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