Opinion ID: 1820947
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Did the lower court err in allowing seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) attorney's fees for appellee?

Text: Appellant contends that appellee had an estate sufficient to pay her attorney and cites Bernard v. Bernard, 43 So.2d 727 (Miss. 1949) and Robinson v. Robinson, 112 Miss. 224, 72 So. 923 (1916), as authority that attorney's fees should not have been allowed. In Gresham v. Gresham, 199 Miss. 778, 25 So.2d 760 (1946), this Court said: The appellant brought her [appellee] into court on [the] matter ... seeking, without justification, an alteration of his liability to her from a court decree fixing it, and we think [he] should pay her an attorney's fee. Otherwise, he could sue her as often as to impose an oppressive burden on her allowance in resisting his repeated applications. 199 Miss. at 785, 25 So.2d at 762. In the case sub judice, suit was brought by appellee for the purpose of enforcing payment of support money (appellant terminated $150.00 per month payments for support of Tammy when she finished high school) for the child and for the purpose of increasing that support. Appellant was found to be in contempt of the court for failure to pay same. In Spradling v. Spradling, 362 So.2d 620 (Miss. 1978), we held that a divorced wife was entitled to $750.00 attorney's fees on a modification petition filed by her ex-husband and in Branton v. Branton, 302 So.2d 506 (Miss. 1974), the Court stated: We affirm the chancellor in all matters except his failure to allow appellant a fee for her attorney. Both appellant and appellee are able to pay their respective attorney's fees, but in this case it would be inequitable for appellant's recovery under the original decree to be diminished by the amount of the fee of her attorney. 302 So.2d at 507. See also Rogers v. Rogers, 373 So.2d 816 (Miss. 1979). We are of the opinion that the chancellor correctly allowed attorney's fees. The motion here for attorney's fees is sustained and allowed in the amount of three hundred seventy-five dollars ($375.00). AFFIRMED. PATTERSON, C.J., SMITH and ROBERTSON, P. JJ., and SUGG, WALKER, BROOM, BOWLING and COFER, JJ., concur.