Opinion ID: 1136064
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Was the 1995 order a final judgment?

Text: Diane argues that the order from which the present appeal was taken is not a final order at all and that an interlocutory appeal was thus Donald's only available appellate remedy. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-51-3 provides that an appeal may be taken from any final decree of the chancery court, and Diane notes that the 1995 ruling was merely a denial of a motion to strike, which, she argues, does not constitute a final decree from which an appeal may be taken. It is clear, however, that the failure to file an interlocutory appeal by Hamm does not serve to transform the void 1984 order for child support into a valid one. In addition, Donald's arguments before this Court are in the nature of an appeal from the 1984 judgment, and a party may point out at any time that a given judgment is void or this Court may so rule on its own motion. It appears that Donald's primary error was in the wording of his notice of appeal in that said notice did not expressly refer to the 1984 ruling. The hearings from which the present appeal is taken are merely continuations of that prior void order, however, and this Court concludes that Donald may properly argue that the 1984 order is void. It would have been preferable for Donald to have filed an interlocutory appeal, but where the very proceedings involved are based on a void judgment, this Court concludes that a remand for the continuation of those proceedings would be contrary to law and considerations of judicial economy. Such a decision by this Court would force Donald to await the Chancellor's ruling and then file yet another appeal in which the identical, yet valid, arguments regarding the void 1984 decree would be made. As noted earlier, however, this Court does remand for a hearing to determine Donald's liability for child support payments from and after the period in which Donald answered the current petition. The monetary obligations which were purportedly placed on Donald prior to the chancery court's obtaining in personam jurisdiction over him are properly considered to be void, but said fact does not, or course, preclude the chancery court from entering a new order for child support now that Donald has generally appeared before said court.