Opinion ID: 853092
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Substance of Father's Claim

Text: Regardless of which procedural avenue a party selects to assert a claim of fraud on the court, the party must establish that an unconscionable plan or scheme was used to improperly influence the court's decision and that such acts prevented the losing party from fully and fairly presenting its case or defense. Glover, 723 N.E.2d at 933; Humbert v. Smith, 655 N.E.2d 602, 607 (Ind.Ct.App.1995), aff'd, 664 N.E.2d 356 (Ind.1996) (affirming summarily the opinion of the Court of Appeals as to sufficiency of the evidence and fraud on the court); Tompkins, 518 N.E.2d at 507. Fraud on the court has been narrowly applied and is limited to the most egregious of circumstances involving the courts. Glover, 723 N.E.2d at 933; In re Paternity of K.M., 651 N.E.2d 271, 277 (Ind.Ct.App.1995); Tompkins, 518 N.E.2d at 507 (relying on Hazel-Atlas Glass Co. v. Hartford-Empire Co., 322 U.S. 238, 64 S.Ct. 997, 88 L.Ed. 1250 (1944), a case in which the United States Supreme Court examined and applied the doctrine of fraud on the court). The record in this case is not clear as to which procedural avenue Father selected for his Trial Rule 60(B) motion. However, because nearly three years had passed when Father filed the motion, he missed the deadline for a motion pursuant to Trial Rule 60(B)(3). We therefore construe Father's motion either as an independent action or as a pleading to invoke the court's inherent power to grant relief for fraud on the court. Regardless of how we analyze his claim, Father is not entitled to relief. The substance of Father's Trial Rule 60(B) motion was that Dr. Ehrmann incorporated fraudulent materials from The Family Counseling Center into his report which ultimately influenced the trial court's decision to transfer custody to Mother. Father presented the following evidence in support: (1) Dr. Jacobsen's curriculum vitae contained inaccuracies regarding her academic training; (2) the psychological report on the children bearing Dr. Gover's signature was in fact signed by a secretary without Dr. Gover's authorization; and (3) Dr. Gover did not recall preparing the report. [2] Mother responded that even if this evidence was true, Dr. Ehrmann's recommendation to transfer custody would have remained the same without the materials from The Family Counseling Center and therefore they could not possibly have influenced the trial court's decision to transfer custody. When asked at the Trial Rule 60(B) hearing how much weight he gave to The Family Counseling Center materials, Dr. Ehrmann responded that he did not find the materials particularly significant and that they were not by any means close to the strongest or one of the strongest factors in me arriving at my conclusions and recommendations. R. at 1085. Moreover, when asked [i]s it safe to say had you not received any information from [T]he Family Counseling Center, your recommendation would remain the same, Dr. Ehrmann replied [a]bsolutely, without question. R. at 1085. In ruling on Father's Trial Rule 60(B) motion, the trial court first observed that it believe[d] [Dr. Ehrmann's] testimony that the Gover/Jacobsen evaluation and materials were not significant to his decision and carried little weight, and didn't change [his] opinion.... R. at 208. Although the trial court called Dr. Gover's report a fabrication, it found that the report was tangential to the true issues pertaining to custody and did not count for much. R. at 207, 210. As for Dr. Jacobsen's curriculum vitae, the trial court suggested appropriate professional review of [her] credentials ... be initiated. R. at 207. Concluding that Father failed to carry his burden of proof, the trial court denied his Trial Rule 60(B) motion. The decision of whether to grant or deny a Trial Rule 60(B) motion for relief from judgment is within the sound, equitable discretion of the trial court. Wolvos v. Meyer, 668 N.E.2d 671, 678 (Ind.1996). We will not reverse a denial of a motion for relief from judgment in the absence of an abuse of discretion. Id.; Miller v. Moore, 696 N.E.2d 888, 889 (Ind. Ct.App.1998). Moreover, where as here, the trial court enters special findings and conclusions pursuant to Indiana Trial Rule 52(A), our standard of review is two-tiered. First, we determine whether the evidence supports the findings, and second whether the findings support the judgment. Carnahan v. Moriah Prop. Owners Ass'n, 716 N.E.2d 437, 443 (Ind.1999). The trial court's findings and conclusions will be set aside only if they are clearly erroneous. Id. In reviewing the trial court's entry of special findings, we neither reweigh the evidence nor reassess the credibility of the witnesses. Indianapolis Convention Ass'n v. Newspaper, 577 N.E.2d 208, 211 (Ind.1991). Rather we must accept the ultimate facts as stated by the trial court if there is evidence to sustain them. Estate of Reasor v. Putnam County, 635 N.E.2d 153, 158 (Ind.1994). We agree with the trial court that Father failed to carry his burden of proving fraud on the court. To prove fraud on the court, it is not enough to show a possibility that the trial court was misled. Humbert, 655 N.E.2d at 607; K.M., 651 N.E.2d at 277; Pinter v. Pinter, 641 N.E.2d 101, 104 (Ind.Ct.App.1994). Rather, there must be a showing that the trial court's decision was actually influenced. G.H. Skala Const. Co. v. NPW, Inc., 704 N.E.2d 1044, 1049 (Ind.Ct.App.1998), trans. denied. Father has made no showing that Dr. Jacobsen's curriculum vitae or Dr. Gover's report actually influenced the trial court's decision to transfer custody; rather, the evidence presented at the Trial Rule 60(B) hearing points to the conclusion that they had no influence on the trial court's decision. This conclusion is buttressed by evidence of record that shows:(1) neither Dr. Jacobsen nor Dr. Gover were witnesses in the 1996 custody modification proceedings; (2) Dr. Jacobsen's curriculum vitae was not provided to Dr. Ehrmann or the trial court in the course of those proceedings; (3) Dr. Ehrmann's nineteen-page report recommending that physical custody be transferred to Mother did not reference Dr. Jacobsen's curriculum vitae and reduced The Family Counseling Center materials to only five paragraphs; and (4) the trial court's forty-six page findings of fact and conclusions of law awarding sole custody to Mother did not even mention Dr. Jacobsen, Dr. Gover, or The Family Counseling Center.