Opinion ID: 1044003
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: The Award of Alimony in Solido

Text: Husband asked the trial court to award him his attorney's fees and expenses as a form of alimony, maintaining that Wife's actions had unnecessarily complicated and prolonged the case. Wife likewise sought an award of attorney's fees. The trial court declined to make such an award to either party because much of the expense they incurred in litigating the case was due to numerous, unnecessary filings resulting in numerous, unnecessary court hearings. The Court of Appeals reversed and awarded Wife her attorney's fees and expenses, both in the trial court and on appeal, as a form of alimony in solido. In our view, this was error. It is well-settled that an award of attorney's fees in a divorce case constitutes alimony in solido. See Tenn.Code Ann. § 36-5-121(h)(1) (alimony in solido may include attorney fees, where appropriate); Herrera v. Herrera, 944 S.W.2d 379, 390 (Tenn.Ct.App.1996). The decision whether to award attorney's fees is within the sound discretion of the trial court. Crabtree, 16 S.W.3d at 361; Kincaid v. Kincaid, 912 S.W.2d 140, 144 (Tenn.Ct. App.1995). As with any alimony award, in deciding whether to award attorney's fees as alimony in solido, the trial court should consider the factors enumerated in Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-5-121(i). A spouse with adequate property and income is not entitled to an award of alimony to pay attorney's fees and expenses. Umstot v. Umstot, 968 S.W.2d 819, 824 (Tenn.Ct.App.1997). Such awards are appropriate only when the spouse seeking them lacks sufficient funds to pay his or her own legal expenses, see Houghland v. Houghland, 844 S.W.2d 619, 623 (Tenn.Ct.App.1992), or the spouse would be required to deplete his or her resources in order to pay them, see Harwell v. Harwell, 612 S.W.2d 182, 185 (Tenn.Ct.App. 1980). Thus, where the spouse seeking such an award has demonstrated that he or she is financially unable to procure counsel, and where the other spouse has the ability to pay, the court may properly grant an award of attorney's fees as alimony. See id. at 185. Under the facts of this case, we have determined that the award of attorney's fees as alimony in solido was unwarranted. At the time of the divorce, Wife had been steadily employed for more than 16 years with the same employer, was earning an annual salary of at least $72,000, and was working in the field of information technology. Moreover, she had a college education, received more of the marital estate than Husband and, as far as this record shows, is physically and mentally healthy. The record contains nothing to suggest that Wife was unable to secure counsel, either at trial or on appeal, but for an award of attorney's fees. Furthermore, the procedural history of this case militates against an award of attorney's fees and expenses. Once the divorce proceeding was underway, both parties filed papers with the trial court accusing the other of harassing behavior, such as unplugging telephone cords in their house, interfering with the other's use of the family computer, placing a plant on top of Wife's car, making too many calls in rapid succession to Husband's cell phone, and preventing one of their teenagers from having access to her clothes. They litigated disputes over a ski trip involving their daughters, the forwarding of emails from their home computer, car insurance for their children, Husband's access to his deer hunting equipment, and whether certain pleadings should be stricken from the record. They accused each other of criminal contempt, committing perjury, sought restraining orders, and had disputes over whether Wife's lawyer should be disqualified and who should pay $17.29 to a lawn service business for a driveway repair. They had disagreements over discovery, custody, child support, spousal support, a tax refund, insurance proceeds, and whether Husband should be permitted to bring his girlfriend around the parties' daughters. Most of these matters, which were raised and pursued by both parties, required the attention of the trial court before the case was even tried. In view of these circumstances, we have no difficulty concluding that the trial court acted within its discretion in denying either party their attorney's fees and expenses. We fully agree with the trial court that each party should bear the expense of his or her litigiousness in what should have been a relatively uncomplicated, routine divorce proceeding. Consequently, we conclude that the award of attorney's fees by the Court of Appeals was error.