Michelle Schum v. Morgan Schum (mem. dec.)

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED this Memorandum Decision shall not be Feb 22 2018, 7:46 am regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK Indiana Supreme Court the defense of res judicata, collateral Court of Appeals and Tax Court estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE Darin Higgs Robin R. Craig Evansville, Indiana Evansville, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Michelle Schum, February 22, 2018 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 82A01-1708-DR-1893 v. Appeal from the Vanderburgh Superior Court Morgan Schum, The Honorable Robert J. Tornatta, Appellee-Plaintiff Judge Trial Court Cause No. 82D05-1503-DR-319

May, Judge. [1] Michelle Schum (“Mother”) appeals the trial court’s denial of her motion for

relief from judgment. She makes multiple arguments, only one of which we

need address: whether the trial court abused its discretion when it denied her

motion for relief from its order. Because Mother has demonstrated neither the

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 82A01-1708-DR-1893 | February 22, 2018 Page 1 of 10

excusable neglect nor the meritorious defense required to obtain the relief she

requested, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History 1 [2] On March 16, 2017, Morgan Schum (“Father”) filed a “Petition to Modify

Custody, Parenting Time & Support and for Supervised Parenting Time.”

(Appellant’s App. Vol. II at 14) (formatting revised). Father’s Petition alleged

Mother was cohabiting with an individual who was physically abusive towards

her, creating a “substantial and continuing change in circumstances,” (id.), such

that it would be “in the best interest of the minor children” to change the

custody, child support, and parenting time arrangements. (Id.) The trial court

scheduled a hearing for 8:00 a.m. on April 4, 2017. Mother was duly served

with notice and does not contest that service. [3] On April 4, 2017, at 8:18:28 a.m., Mother was called in open court but did not

appear. Father’s counsel, Robin Craig, went to the hall to call Mother but she

did not respond. Under oath, Father testified as to his request for modification

of custody, support, and parenting time. At 8:23:27 a.m., at the conclusion of

Father’s testimony, the trial court called for Mother again but she did not

1 Appellate Rule 46(A)(6) provides that an appellant’s statement of facts “shall describe the facts relevant to the issues presented for review [and] shall be stated in accordance with the standard of review appropriate to the judgment or order being appealed.” Here, Mother’s statement of facts omits and/or misstates facts related to Mother’s failure to appear, Mother’s filings, and the alleged withdrawal of Father’s counsel. Father’s inability to agree with Mother’s statement of facts is well taken, and we appreciate Father’s efforts to clarify the relevant procedural and factual history.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 82A01-1708-DR-1893 | February 22, 2018 Page 2 of 10

respond. At 8:25:16 a.m., the trial court ruled in Father’s favor and the matter

was concluded. Later that morning, before Father’s counsel had left the

building, Mother arrived at the courthouse. Father’s counsel and Mother went

to the courtroom, and the trial court advised Mother of its ruling and of

Mother’s rights to consult counsel and to appeal. [4] On April 6, 2017, Mother obtained counsel who then filed a Motion for Relief

from Judgment. 2 Pursuant to Indiana Trial Rule 60(B), Mother argued the

ruling should be set aside “due to [her] mistake, surprise, or excusable

neglect[.]” (Appellee’s App. Vol. II at 3.) On May 16, 2017, Mother amended

her motion to add the allegation Father’s petition to modify was not verified

and, therefore, was facially defective. On July 19, 2017, the court held a

hearing on Mother’s amended motion for relief from judgment and took the

matter under advisement. Later that day, the trial court denied Mother’s

motion.

Discussion and Decision [5] Mother asserts the trial court abused its discretion when it denied her motion

for relief under Indiana Trial Rule 60(B). Indiana Trial Rule 60(B) says a court

may, upon motion by a party, relieve the party from the judgment if “mistake,

surprise, or excusable neglect” are shown. A movant alleging mistake, surprise,

2 This document, pertinent to the issues at hand, was not provided by Mother in her Appendix. Father filed an Appendix that included the document.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 82A01-1708-DR-1893 | February 22, 2018 Page 3 of 10

or excusable neglect “must allege a meritorious claim or defense.” Ind. Trial

Rule 60(B). Mother claimed her confusion about the time of the April 4

hearing constituted excusable neglect and she had a meritorious defense

because Father’s petition was not verified. 3 However, the trial court denied her

motion. [6] We review a denial of a motion for relief from judgment for an abuse of

discretion. Thompson v. Thompson, 811 N.E.2d 888, 903 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004),

reh’g denied, trans. denied. An abuse of discretion occurs if the trial court’s ruling

is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and inferences supporting the

judgment, or if the court has misinterpreted the law. Id. To prevail, Mother

“must establish (1) excusable neglect and (2) a meritorious basis to set aside the

judgment—also referred to as prejudice.” Id. The burden to establish relief is

on the movant. Id. “Because the facts and circumstances of each case differ,

there are no fixed rules or standards for determining what constitutes excusable

neglect pursuant to Trial Rule 60(B)(1).” Id. Thus, the trial court was required

to “balance the need for an efficient judicial system against the judicial

preference for resolving disputes on their merits.” Id.

3 On appeal, Mother also alleges the evidence Father submitted on April 4, in favor of his petition for change of custody, was inadmissible hearsay. Mother did not raise this argument before the trial court at the hearing on her motion to set aside the default judgment; thus, any allegations as to Father’s alleged hearsay evidence are waived. See Jackson v. State, 735 N.E.2d 1146, 1152 (Ind. 2000) (waiver of the error on appeal if objection or argument not raised at trial).

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 82A01-1708-DR-1893 | February 22, 2018 Page 4 of 10 [7] Mother claims the fact she was late to the April 4 hearing was excusable, and

she analogizes her case to Butler v. State, 933 N.E.2d 33 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010). In

Butler, we reversed a default judgment against Butler because court staff had

told Butler the hearing time was 1:00 p.m., when in fact it was 9:30 a.m. Id. at

35. Here, Mother was served with notice that indicated the hearing on Father’s

petition would begin at 8:00 a.m., but, she admits, she “thought that the court

date was 9, 9:00” until she checked the notice on the morning of the hearing.

(7/19/2017 Tr. at 18.) Mother admits she did not arrive until, “Um, maybe,

8:20ish[.]” (Id.) Butler does not control because Butler had been told the wrong

time by court personnel, while Mother was served with proper notice and that

notice had the correct information on it for the hearing. Accordingly, Mother’s

failure to arrive for the hearing was neglect that was not excusable. 4 See Smith v.

Johnston, 711 N.E.2d 1259, 1262 (Ind. 1999) (doctor’s failure to open his mail

did not equate to excusable neglect when he failed to respond to a lawsuit and

default judgment was entered against him). [8] Notwithstanding Mother’s failure to show excusable neglect, she also does not

present a meritorious defense. She argues Indiana Code section 31-16-2-4

requires Father’s petition to modify be verified, and in support thereof Mother

4 Mother also claims the trial court did not treat the parties equally because it did not default Father when he failed to appear for a hearing on May 24, 2017. However, we find no evidence in the record that Father was to attend a hearing and failed to appear. The CCS indicates both parents’ counsel appeared on May 24, 2017, for a scheduling conference with the court. Because the record does not seem to support Mother’s argument, we cannot address it. See Ind. Appellate Rule 46(A)(8)(a) (failure to present cogent argument supported by legal authority and citations to the record waives issue for appellate review).

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 82A01-1708-DR-1893 | February 22, 2018 Page 5 of 10

relies on Bunch v. Himm, 879 N.E.2d 632 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). There, Bunch

filed a petition to modify child support when Himm’s income increased due to

her deployment to active duty military service. Bunch did not verify the

petition, which was filed within twelve months of the last child support order.

Himm did not appear at the hearing, and the trial court entered a default

judgment in her absence. Subsequently, Himm moved for relief from judgment

because she had not received notice of the hearing, and the trial court granted

her relief. [9] Bunch appealed and, in our review of the circumstances, we listed “prevailing”

meritorious defenses. Id. at 637. One of those was that, when seeking child

support, Indiana Code section 31-16-2-4 requires the petition be verified. The

second was the requirements for a petition to modify that are set out in Indiana

Code section 31-16-8-1. We noted Bunch’s petition was not verified, was filed

within one year of the last order, and did not allege any other grounds for such

a modification beyond Himm’s purported salary increase. As our Indiana

Supreme Court had previously held that without a substantial and continuing

change of circumstances, a difference in income alone is not sufficient to

change a support order if twelve months had not elapsed since the last order,

MacLafferty v. MacLafferty, 829 N.E.2d 938, 942 (Ind. 2005), we held Himm had

made a “prima facie showing of a meritorious defense” and affirmed the trial

court’s decision to set aside the default judgment against her. Bunch, 879

N.E.2d at 637. Although the fact an unverified petition seeking child support

was stated as a meritorious defense, to affirm the trial court’s order of relief

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 82A01-1708-DR-1893 | February 22, 2018 Page 6 of 10

from judgment, we relied on the fact Bunch had not alleged a substantial and

continuing change in circumstances that would justify the modification prior to

the one-year mark. [10] While Indiana Code section 31-16-2-4 requires a petition to establish child

support be verified, the requirements for filing a petition to modify child support

are set out in a different chapter of the Indiana Code, specifically section 31-16-

8-1. That statute requires a petitioner requesting modification to show 1)

“changed circumstances so substantial and continuing as to make the terms

unreasonable” or 2) a 20% difference from the previous order and that more

than 12 months have elapsed since the last order. Ind. Code § 31-16-8-1(b)

(1997). Nothing in this statute, or any other statute in chapter 8 of Indiana

Code article 31-16, requires a petition to modify child support to be verified.

Mother does not allege the requirements Indiana Code section 31-16-8-1 have

not been met. Instead, she relies wholly on the fact the petition to modify was

not verified. As that is not a requirement for a petition to modify, Mother’s

argument that she has a meritorious defense fails. [11] Because Mother has shown neither excusable neglect nor a meritorious defense,

the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied her motion for relief

from judgment, and we affirm. [12] Affirmed.

Altice, J., concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 82A01-1708-DR-1893 | February 22, 2018 Page 7 of 10 Vaidik, C.J., concurs in result with separate opinion. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 82A01-1708-DR-1893 | February 22, 2018 Page 8 of 10

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Darin Higgs Robin R. Craig Evansville, Indiana Evansville, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Michelle Schum, Court of Appeals Case No. 82A01-1708-DR-1893 Appellant-Respondent, Appeal from the Vanderburgh v. County Superior Court The Honorable Robert J. Tornatta, Morgan Schum, Judge Appellee-Petitioner Trial Court Cause No. 82D05-1503-DR-319

Vaidik, Chief Judge, concurring in result. [13] Here, the trial court “defaulted” Mother because she appeared approximately

thirty minutes late for the modification-of-custody hearing. Appellant’s App.

Vol. II p. 6. I am deeply inclined to find excusable neglect in these

circumstances because the lives of two minor children are at stake. See Young v.

Elkhart Cty. Office of Family & Children, 704 N.E.2d 1065, 1068 (Ind. Ct. App.

1999) (“Generally, default judgments are not favored in Indiana, and they are

especially undesirable in the context of divorce or custody proceedings because

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 82A01-1708-DR-1893 | February 22, 2018 Page 9 of 10

of the grave importance of the matters decided therein. Any doubt as to the

propriety of a default judgment is to be resolved in favor of the defaulted party.”

(citations omitted)); see also Walker v. Kelley, 819 N.E.2d 832, 837 (Ind. Ct. App.

2004) (“[W]e do not see how the best interests of the children could be

ascertained without a hearing that affords both parents the opportunity to

present evidence and cross-examine witnesses . . . .” (emphasis added)). [14] However, Mother has given no meritorious defense. She claimed only that the

testimony from Father was hearsay and that his petition was unverified. She

did not deny Father’s allegations that the police arrested her live-in boyfriend

after he beat her up in the presence of the children. She did not claim that the

boyfriend was no longer living with her or that the children would be better off

with her. As a result, I concur in the result reached by the majority.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 82A01-1708-DR-1893 | February 22, 2018 Page 10 of 10