Opinion ID: 1960451
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Effect of the Failure To Request Additional Findings

Text: John argues that the court failed to find sufficient facts to support its legal conclusions. [2] We have held that the divorce court has a duty to make findings sufficient to inform the parties of the reasoning underlying its conclusions and to provide for effective appellate review. Bayley v. Bayley, 602 A.2d 1152, 1153-54 (Me.1992). The omission of factual findings is not fatal to a divorce judgment, however, and does not, alone, constitute an abuse of discretion. Id. at 1154. Moreover, it is the duty of a party to make a request for additional findings of fact and conclusions of law when the judgment seems to be deficient in such findings. M.R.Civ.P. 52. John did not request additional findings. John argues that the court has an obligation, in the first instance, to set forth the basis of its decision with sufficient detail that a request for additional findings of fact and conclusions of law is unnecessary. We disagree. The case law is clear. In the absence of a motion for specific findings of fact and conclusions of law, we assume the divorce court found all the facts necessary to support the judgment. Bayley v. Bayley, 602 A.2d at 1154 (citing Murray v. Murray, 529 A.2d 1366, 1368 n. 1 (Me.1987)). [3] Because John failed to request additional findings, we assume that the court made the findings necessary to support the particulars of the judgment. We review the court's implicit findings only for clear error. Szirbik v. Szirbik, 549 A.2d 1136, 1137-38 (Me.1988).