Opinion ID: 2642621
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Business Income

Text: ¶15. During 2009 Perry deposited a total of $188,919.51 into the heating and air conditioning business account. The chancellor stated that, due to the admittedly incorrect information provided in Perry’s 8.05 form, it was difficult to determine his adjusted gross income. Further, the chancellor found Perry’s testimony that the overhead of the business was $300,000 to be “simply not credible.” As a result, the chancellor split the deposited dollar amount in half and declared one half of the deposits ($94,459.75) to be Perry’s annual income from the business. While we agree that the 8.05 form was lacking, the chancellor ignored other evidence regarding the assets of the business. ¶16. We recognize that the findings of a chancellor in determining child support presents questions of fact that we are loath to disturb, but such disturbance is required when not substantiated by the evidence. “[A] chancellor’s findings of fact will only be reversed when the record possesses no credible evidence to support them.” Hensarling v. Hensarling, 824 So. 2d 583, 586 (¶ 7) (Miss. 2002). The Court of Appeals incorrectly stated that Perry had provided no evidence beyond his 8.05 form to substantiate his claims. Perry provided to the court the business’s bank records for 2009. These documents, correctly used by the chancellor to determine the amount of deposits made during the year, further show that the cost of supplies, salary, and other overhead resulted in Perry’s income from the business being nowhere near the $94,459.75 determined by the chancellor. ¶17. The chancellor’s concern with the document is justified. In fact, we have stated that failure to comply with Rule 8.05 constitutes a fraud on the court. See Trim v. Trim, 33 So. 3d 471 (Miss. 2010). However, if the chancellor makes such a finding, the appropriate 7 remedy for such behavior is to hold Perry in contempt and enter appropriate sanctions – not to punish him by disregarding any other credible evidence provided by him to the court. See Uniform Chancery Court Rule 8.05 (“The failure to observe this rule, without just cause, shall constitute contempt of Court for which the Court shall impose appropriate sanctions and penalties”). Rule 8.05 allows evidentiary discovery in addition to the disclosure. Id. In short, errors or omissions in the form do not preclude consideration of other evidence presented to the chancellor. We therefore find that the chancellor was manifestly wrong when she arbitrarily determined Perry’s monthly income to the exclusion of the undisputed evidence he provided.