Case Name: Shirley Bain Ferguson SHIPLEY v. James Henry FERGUSON
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 1994-06-23
Citations: 638 So. 2d 1295
Docket Number: No. 92-CA-1327
Parties: Shirley Bain Ferguson SHIPLEY v. James Henry FERGUSON.
Judges: Before PRATHER, P.J., and PITTMAN and SMITH, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 638
Pages: 1295–1305

Head Matter:
Shirley Bain Ferguson SHIPLEY v. James Henry FERGUSON.
No. 92-CA-1327.
Supreme Court of Mississippi.
June 23, 1994.
Richard A. Oakes, Burgoon & Oakes, Greenwood, for appellant.
Loni N. Eustace, Abraham & Associates, Greenwood, for appellee.
Before PRATHER, P.J., and PITTMAN and SMITH, JJ.

Opinion:
PRATHER, Presiding Justice,
for the Court:
I.INTRODUCTION.
This domestic case is appealed from the Chancery Court of Leflore County. After a hearing held on November 24, 1992, the chancellor entered an order dated December 2, 1992, which, among other things, reduced the amount of child support the appel-lee/complainant, James Henry Ferguson (James), was required to pay to his ex-wife, Shirley Bain Ferguson Shipley (Shirley), from $450.00 per month to $400.00. This order also modified the original divorce decree to allow James to claim the oldest of the couple's two children as a tax exemption so long as his child support payments are not in the arrears more than thirty (30) days. Finally, the chancellor denied Shirley's request for attorney's fees. From this ruling, Shirley now brings her appeal to this Court assigning as error the following:
I. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR WAS MANIFESTLY WRONG IN REDUCING FATHER'S MONTHLY CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATION AFTER FINDING THAT NO MATERIAL CHANGE IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE PARTIES HAD OCCURRED SINCE THE ENTRY OF THE ORIGINAL DECREE.
II. WHETHER THE LOWER COURT WAS MANIFESTLY WRONG IN AMENDING THE PRIOR DECREE TO PERMIT THE FATHER TO CLAIM ONE CHILD AS AN EXEMPTION FOR TAX PURPOSES WHERE THE ISSUE WAS NEITHER RAISED BY THE PLEADINGS NOR TRIED BY CONSENT.
III. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR WAS MANIFESTLY IN ERROR IN REFUSING TO AWARD ATTORNEY'S FEES TO WIFE.
In addition to these assignments of error, Shirley has filed a motion for attorney's fees asking this Court to award her attorney's fees against James in an amount determined by this Court.
II.
STATEMENT OF THE FACTS.
James Henry Ferguson (James) and Shirley Bain Ferguson Shipley (Shirley) were married on June 1,1984. James and Shirley have two (2) children: Reghan McKinley Ferguson, born on April 6, 1987, and James Daxden Ferguson, born on September 7, 1988. James and Shirley filed a joint complaint for divorce on August 23,1991, stating irreconcilable differences as the grounds for the divorce. Pursuant to filing their complaint for divorce, the two entered into a Child Custody, Child Support and Property Settlement Agreement (the Agreement). This Agreement was signed by Shirley on August 27, 1991, and by James on October 24, 1991. Among other things, this Agreement required James to pay Shirley $450.00 per month in child support until the children reach the age of twenty-one (21) or otherwise become emancipated or self supporting. Also, James was to provide hospitalization, health, accident and dental insurance on the two children. Both Shirley and James were required to pay one-half (½) of all medical expenses not covered by insurance. This Agreement was incorporated into the final Judgment For Divorce entered on November 1, 1991.
On September 21, 1992, James filed a Motion for Modification of Judgment for Divorce and for Other Relief. In addition to other things, James filed this motion seeking a modification or reduction in the amount of monthly child support payments that he was required to pay Shirley. In this motion, James alleged that a material change in circumstances had occurred since the rendition of the Judgment for Divorce. In response to James' motion, Shirley filed Respondent's Answer to Movant's Motion for Modification of Judgment for Divorce and for Other Relief and Respondent's Counter-Motion to Cite Movant for Contempt and for Other Relief on September 30, 1992. In this response, Shirley denied that James was entitled to a reduction in his child support obligation, stating that no material change in circumstances had occurred since the entry of the Judgment for Divorce. Further, Shirley filed a cross-claim seeking attorney's fees for defending against this motion to modify filed by James.
A hearing was held on these matters on November 24, 1992, in the Leflore County Chancery Court. By agreement of the parties, all issues except the reduction of child support and the issue of attorney's fees were resolved prior to the hearing. These matters which were resolved by the parties prior to the hearing were incorporated into the final order entered by the chancellor. Therefore, the only issues before the chancellor at this hearing were whether James was entitled to reduction in the amount of child support he was required to pay each month and whether Shirley should be awarded attorney's fees. The chancellor entered an order on this matter on December 2, 1992. Among a number of other things, the chancellor's order reduced James' obligation to pay child support from $450.00 per month to $400.00 per month. Also, the chancellor allowed James to claim the couple's oldest child as a tax exemption so long as his child support payments are not in the arrears more than thirty (30) days. Finally, the chancellor denied Shirley's request for an award of attorney's fees. From this order, Shirley then filed her Notice of Appeal to this Court on December 11, 1992.
III. ANALYSIS.
I. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR WAS MANIFESTLY WRONG IN REDUCING FATHER'S MONTHLY CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATION AFTER FINDING THAT NO MATERIAL CHANGE IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE PARTIES HAD OCCURRED SINCE THE ENTRY OF THE ORIGINAL DECREE.
In his motion to modify the child support, James contends that since the entry of the divorce decree a material change in circumstances had occurred which necessitated a reduction in the amount of child support he should be required to pay each month. Shirley contends that the chancellor was correct in finding that no change in circumstances had occurred which would normally warrant a modification of child support, but committed manifest error in reducing James' monthly child support payments. On the other hand, James argues that the relief granted by the chancellor was supported by the evidence presented in this case and that this Court should uphold the decision of the chancellor to reduce his monthly child support obligation by $50.00.
"In appeals from Chancery Court, our scope of review is limited. We will not reverse a Chancellor's findings of fact where they are supported by substantial credible evidence in the record." Hammett v. Woods, 602 So.2d 825, 827 (Miss.1992). See Tedford v. Dempsey, 437 So.2d 410, 417 (Miss.1983). In discussing the modification of a child support agreement, this Court has stated:
To justify changing or modifying the divorce decree there must have been a material or substantial change in the circumstances of the parties. The material or substantial change is relative to only the after-arising circumstances of the parties following the original decree.
Morris v. Morris, 541 So.2d 1040, 1042-43 (Miss.1989). See also, Miss.Code Ann. § 93-5-23 (Supp.1993). Morris also implies that the change should not be "something that could have been or should have been reasonably anticipated by the parties to the agreement at the time of the agreement." Morris, 541 So.2d at 1043. More recently, the Court has said, "The burden of proof that must be met by the party seeking a financial modification is to show a material change of circumstances of one or more of the interested parties, whether it be the father, mother, or the children), arising subsequent to the original decree." McEachem v. McEachem, 605 So.2d 809, 813 (Miss.1992). See Hammett, 602 So.2d at 828; Adams v. Adams, 591 So.2d 431, 435 (Miss.1991); Cox v. Moulds, 490 So.2d 866, 869 (Miss.1986).
In his motion for modification, James sets forth a number of factors which he claims constitute a material change in circumstances in his life and therefore would warrant a reduction in the amount of child support that he is required to pay each month. First, James states that at the time of his divorce from Shirley, he was living with his parents at their home and he did not incur any rent or living expenses. Since that time, James has moved and established his own residence and now therefore incurs rent and living expenses each month. Next, James states that his gross monthly income has been reduced from $2,200.00 to $2,000.00. Finally, James had written a check to the State Tax Commission which was returned for insufficient funds. The tax commission thereafter obtained a judgment against James. As a result, James' wages were being garnished in the amount of $390.00 per month by the State Tax Commission. Also, James makes note of the fact the Shirley has now remarried and he claims that she therefore no longer incurs living expenses or has other assistance in meeting these expenses.
As mentioned above, in determining if a material change in circumstances has occurred which would warrant a modification of child support, the change in circumstances could be that of the father, the mother, or the children. As to the children, the evidence presented in this case indicated that the children had no special or extraordinary type expenses nor was any evidence produced tending to prove that the children's expenses had either increased or decreased. It is true that Shirley has remarried subsequent to her divorce from James. Shirley testified that her new husband does help her with the children's expenses. Since her divorce, and prior to the hearing in this case, Shirley had received one pay increase and expected another $50.00 per month raise at the end of that month. However, Shirley stated that other than her salary and child support payments, she had no other sources of personal income. This Court finds no material change in circumstances in relation to either the children or Shirley which would justify the modification of James' child support obligations.
As to the factors in James' life which he contends would warrant a reduction in his monthly child support obligation, it should again be noted that only changes occurring after the original decree and not reasonably anticipated by the parties at the time of the agreement should be considered in the modification of child support. See Morris, 541 So.2d at 1042-43. The first change is that James' monthly gross salary has been reduced by $200.00, from $2,200.00 to $2,000.00.
However, James is now given a vehicle by his employer that he may utilize for his personal use. This vehicle is a 1989 Ford truck. James' employer also pays for the ear tag and insurance on this truck, however, James does have to pay for gasoline when he utilizes the truck for his personal use. James testified that at the time he signed the Agreement in which he agreed to pay $450.00 per month in child support, he knew that his salary was going to be decreased by $200.00 per month.
The next change in circumstance involves the garnishment of James' salary. James wrote a cheek to the State Tax Commission for payment of taxes for the year 1990. The check was returned for insufficient funds. The State Tax Commission obtained a judgment against James and thereafter began garnishing his salary at a rate of $390.00 per month. This garnishment was for a twelve (12) week period. It went into effect on August 31, 1992, and ended in January 1993. Further, James admitted on cross-examination that he knew that he owed these taxes to the State Tax Commission before he entered into the Agreement wherein he agreed to pay child support in the amount of $450.00 per month.
James also claims that his change in residence is a material change in circumstances which should be considered. At the time of the divorce, James was living with his parents in their home. James lived with his parents for five (5) or six (6) months out of necessity, he said that he "had to." During the time that James was living with his parents he did not incur any rent or living expenses. However, his parents were not willing to continue to allow James to live with them without sharing some of the expenses. His parents were going to start charging him rent. At this point James moved out of his parent's house 'and established his own residence. James testified that he now pays $200.00 per month in rent and approximately $100.00 in utilities. It would appear that when a person moves back into the home of his parents following a divorce, that person would not be likely to consider this a "permanent" living arrangement. Further, if a person did consider it a permanent situation, he in all likelihood should not reasonably believe that he would be allowed to live with his parents permanently or indefinitely without ever having to share the living expenses. Therefore, this Court finds that at the time James moved in with his parents, he should have reasonably expected that in the future he would once again have to incur some type of rent or living expenses.
Thus, none of the changes in circumstances raised by James present a material change in after-arising circumstances which would warrant a modification in his monthly child support obligation. All of these changes either occurred prior to James' signing of the Agreement in which he agreed to pay $450.00 a month in child support or were changes which should have been reasonably anticipated by James at the time that he signed this agreement. There was no material change in after arising circumstances sufficient to warrant a modification of James' child support obligation. The chancellor, in the court below, therefore erred in doing so. Also, the circumstances presented in the instant case do not necessitate that the chancery court grant extraordinary relief under its equitable powers. See Shaeffer v. Shaef-fer, 370 So.2d 240, 243 (Miss.1979).
II. WHETHER THE LOWER COURT WAS MANIFESTLY WRONG IN AMENDING THE PRIOR DECREE TO PERMIT THE FATHER TO CLAIM ONE CHILD AS AN EXEMPTION FOR TAX PURPOSES WHERE THE ISSUE WAS NEITHER RAISED BY THE PLEADINGS NOR TRIED BY CONSENT.
On appeal, Shirley contends that it was error for the chancellor to amend the prior decree and award James their oldest child as a tax exemption. The issue of tax exemptions was not raised by the pleadings. Also, Shirley claims that this issue was not tried by the consent of the parties and, therefore, the chancellor should not have entered a ruling concerning the issue of tax exemptions. While James admits this issue was not raised by the pleadings, he claims that it was tried by the consent of the parties and that the chancellor did not err in amend ing the original decree to award James the couple's oldest child as a tax exemption.
It is clear from the pleadings in this case that the issue of income tax exemptions was never raised. Also, the only evidence pertaining to this issue was a brief colloquy of questions of James by the chancellor regarding who claimed the children as tax exemptions.
James admits that the issue of tax exemptions was not raised by the pleadings, however, he asserts that the issue was introduced at trial, without objection, and therefore, the issue was tried by the implied consent of the parties under Rule 15(b) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 15(b) reads:
(b) Amendment to Conform to the Evidence. When issues not raised by the pleadings are tried by expressed or implied consent of the parties, they shall be treated in all respects as if they had been raised in the pleadings. Such amendment of the pleadings as may be necessary to cause them to conform to the evidence and to raise these issues may be made upon motion of any party at any time, even after judgment; but failure so to amend does not affect the result of the trial of these issues. If evidence is objected to at the trial on the ground that it is not within the issues made by the pleadings, the court may allow the pleadings to be amended and shall do so freely when the presentation of the merits of the action will be subserved thereby and the objecting party fails to satisfy the court that the admission of such evidence would prejudice him in the maintaining of his action or defense upon the merits. The court may grant a continuance to enable the objecting party to meet such evidence. The court is to be liberal in granting permission to amend when justice so requires.
M.R.C.P. 15(b). Shirley asserts that she never impliedly consented to the trying of the issue of tax exemptions. This Court finds the language employed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(b) in Crawford v. Glenns, Inc., 876 F.2d 507 (5th Cir.1989), to be instructive:
Generally a finding of implied consent '"depends on whether the parties recognized that an issue not presented by the pleadings entered the ease at trial.' " If a party fails to object because he does not recognize the significance of the evidence introduced, however, he cannot be said to have consented impliedly to the trial of the unpleaded issues suggested by it. Of course, his inability to comprehend the significance of the evidence must be reasonable in the circumstances presented. For example, implied consent is not found where evidence introduced is relevant to a pleaded issue and the nonobjeeting party has no notice that the evidence is intended to raise a new unpleaded issue into the case.
Id. at 513 (quoting Domar Ocean Transp. v. Independent Refining Co., 783 F.2d 1185, 1188 (5th Cir.1986)). See also, Jimenez v. Tuna Vessel "Granada", 652 F.2d 415 (5th Cir.1981).
In the instant case, the fact that the chancellor asked these very few questions of James concerning tax exemptions would not necessarily alert Shirley that a new, unpled issue was being raised and tried. The main issue pleaded in this case that was still contested at the time of this hearing was the question of whether James was entitled to a reduction in his monthly child support obligation. A vital factor in this determination would certainly have to be the amount of income and "take home pay" James earns. The number of exemptions that a person claims has a direct bearing on the amount of "take home pay" that a person makes by reducing his income tax withholdings. Shirley could have easily failed to grasp the significance of this evidence. Therefore, it seems very reasonable that when the chancellor questioned James regarding the tax exemptions that he claimed, that Shirley could have understood this to pertain to the issue of James' income and not as raising a new issue that was not pled in the pleadings. Thus, this Court concludes that Shirley did not impliedly consent to the trying of the issue of the tax exemptions. The chancellor's decision awarding James the oldest child as an income tax exemption is therefore reversed and rendered.
III. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR WAS MANIFESTLY IN ERROR IN REFUSING TO AWARD ATTORNEYS FEES TO WIFE.
Shirley contends that James' motion for modification was a baseless motion. As a result she argues that she should have been awarded attorney's fees and that the chancellor erred when he denied her request for these fees. James, on the other hand, submits that his motion was not baseless or without justification and that the chancellor did not err in denying Shirley attorney's fees in the instant case.
The standard of review this Court employs with regard to the issue of attorney's fees on a motion to modify a divorce decree was discussed in Cumberland v. Cumberland, 564 So.2d 839 (Miss.1990) wherein the Court stated:
The standards for an award of attorney's fees on a motion to modify a divorce decree are much the same as in an original action. J. Bunkley & W. Morse, Amis on Divorce and Separation in Mississippi § 5.08 (1957). Our law vests the Chancery Court with considerable discretion and the Court's findings on the issue will not be disturbed unless manifestly wrong. Carpenter v. Carpenter, 519 So.2d 891, 895 (Miss.1988); Milam v. Milam, 509 So.2d 864, 866 (Miss.1987); Devereaux v. Dever-eaux, 493 So.2d 1310, 1314 (Miss.1986); Kergosien v. Kergosien, 471 So.2d 1206, 1212 (Miss.1985); Trunzler v. Trunzler, 431 So.2d 1115, 1116 (Miss.1983); McKee v. McKee, 418 So.2d 764, 766 (Miss.1982); Walters v. Walters, 383 So.2d 827, 828 (Miss.1980).
Cumberland, 564 So.2d at 844-45. See Hammett v. Woods, 602 So.2d 825, 829 (Miss.1992). In addition, this Court has said: When the husband files a petition against his former wife in which he is unsuccessful, he is generally assessed with attorney's fees. This Court has said that when a former husband brings his former wife into court:
[sjeeking, without justification, alteration of his liability to her from a Court decree fixing it, [he] should pay for her an attorney's fee. Otherwise, he could sue her so often as to impose an oppressive burden on her allowance in resisting his repeated applications.
Cumberland v. Cumberland, 564 So.2d 839, 845 (Miss.1990); Gresham v. Gresham, 199 Miss. 778, 785, 25 So.2d 760, 762 (1946). It is also generally the law that the award and amount thereof of the attorney's fees is discretionary. Martin v. Martin, 566 So.2d 704, 707 (Miss.1990); Craft v. Craft, 478 So.2d 258, 265 (Miss. 1985).
Gregg v. Montgomery, 587 So.2d 928, 934 (Miss.1991). See Gresham v. Gresham, 199 Miss. 778, 25 So.2d 760, 762 (1946).
In her direct examination, Shirley testified that she owed her attorney $2,683.75 for defending this action, excluding the fees incurred at the hearing. She testified that this amount represented 36¾ hours of work at a rate of $75.00 per hour. Finally, she stated that she had not paid her attorney anything in this action and had no funds with which to do so. James had no basis on which to bring his claim that he was entitled to a reduction of his monthly child support obligation. As a result, Shirley was haled into court to defend this action without sufficient justification. This Court holds that she was properly entitled to an award of attorney's fees in the instant case and that the chancellor was in error in denying her such fees. Thus, this Court reverses and remands this case to the Chancery Court of Leflore County for a determination of the appropriate amount of attorney's fees to be awarded to Shirley both for the action in the lower court and on appeal.
IY. FINAL ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION.
Finding no material change in the after arising circumstances of the parties involved in the instant case, this Court holds that the chancellor erred in reducing James' monthly child support obligation. As to the issue of awarding the couple's oldest child to James as an exemption for income tax purposes, this Court finds that this issue was not tried by either the expressed or implied consent of the parties. Therefore, this Court reverses and renders this case on these two issues. Finally, the Court remands this case to the Chancery Court of Leflore County for a determination of the attorney's fees to be awarded to Shirley for both the action in the trial court and also on appeal.
JUDGMENT IS REVERSED AND RENDERED. JUDGMENT IS REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR ALLOWANCE OF ATTORNEY FEES.
HAWKINS, C.J., and SULLIVAN, PITTMAN, JAMES L. ROBERTS, Jr. and SMITH, JJ., concur.
DAN M. LEE, P.J., dissents with separate written opinion joined by McRAE, J.; BANKS, J., joins in part I.
BANKS, J., dissents with separate written opinion.
McRAE, J., dissents with separate written opinion joined by DAN M. LEE, P.J.