Opinion ID: 4099833
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: C.C.E.P. DOB (xx/xx/2010)

Text: We do not reach the substance of Father’s argument because the “allegations in a complaint are admitted when a default is entered.” Lee v. Sage Creek Ref. Co., 947 P.2d 791, 794 (Wyo. 1997) (citing Zweifel, 517 P.2d at 499; Miller v. Tony & Susan Alamo Found., 748 F.Supp. 695, 697 (W.D. Ark. 1990)). “Upon entry of a default judgment, facts alleged to establish liability are binding upon the defaulting party. . . .” Id., 947 P.2d at 794 (quoting Danning v. Lavine, 572 F.2d 1386, 1388 (9th Cir. 1978)); see also Multiple Resort Ownership Plan, Inc. v. Design-Build-Manage, Inc., 2002 WY 67, ¶ 9, 45 P.3d 647, 651 (Wyo. 2002). [¶26] We have held that once default has been entered and default judgment granted, the defaulting party cannot contest the facts alleged in the complaint on appeal: 9 If [the party in default] later wishes to draw in issue the facts thus confessed, he must move in the trial court to set aside the judgment; he cannot draw in issue the facts by appealing directly from the default judgment, because on the record they stand confessed. Spitzer v. Spitzer, 777 P.2d 587, 589-90 (Wyo. 1989), quoting 9 J. Moore, B. Ward & J. Lucas, Moore’s Federal Practice ¶ 203.06 at 3-27 to 3-28 (2d ed. 1989) (emphasis omitted). See also 46 Am. Jur. 2d Judgments § 305 (“A default has been held to operate as an admission of the truth of all the material allegations set forth in the complaint or declaration. A default has also been held to operate as an admission of the cause of action, so as to be tantamount to an admission that the plaintiff is entitled to judgment.”) (footnotes omitted). Clay, 2015 WY 84, ¶ 19, 351 P.3d at 967. [¶27] In Clay, a number of the defendants failed to appear or answer the allegations in a complaint to quiet title that had been filed years earlier, in 1976. 2015 WY 84, ¶¶ 10, 19, 351 P.3d at 965, 967. Default judgment was entered in the 1976 action, granting the plaintiffs title to the property in question. Id., ¶ 16, 351 P.3d at 967. The question before the court in 2015 was whether the 1976 default judgment precluded the original defendants’ claims that they still owned mineral rights to the property. Id., ¶ 18, 351 P.3d at 967. We held that because the entry of default operates as an admission of the truth of the allegations in the complaint, and because the default judgment had not been set aside, it continued to be “fully valid.” Id., ¶ 19, 351 P.3d at 967. [¶28] The allegations in Mother’s complaint are deemed admitted upon entry of default. This includes the allegation that all three children were born as “issue of this marriage.” The default judgment has not been set aside and, as a result, on appeal Father cannot argue that paternity has not been established. F. Did the district court abuse its discretion when it issued the default divorce decree even though the complaint was not verified and Mother failed to disclose information required by statute? [¶29] Father also claims that Mother’s complaint was not verified and did not comply with Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-5-309. He argues that the district court exceeded [its] jurisdiction and authority by not following the requirements of W.S. § 20-2-201 et seq., W.S. § 20-2-301, 10 et seq., W.S. § 20-5-309, as well as the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Constitutional Due Process guarantees of both the United States and Wyoming Constitutions, rendering the District Court’s Judgment of September 29, 2015 void. [¶30] Mother’s complaint was not verified, nor was it required to be. In most instances, there is no requirement in the Wyoming statutes that a complaint for divorce be verified. See Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-2-104 (LexisNexis 2015) (party seeking divorce may file complaint on grounds of “irreconcilable differences”), but see Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-2- 105(a) and (b) (LexisNexis 2015) (requiring verification when divorce is sought because one party to the marriage “has become incurably insane”). [¶31] Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-5-309(a) (LexisNexis 2015) requires certain information be provided to the court in a child custody proceeding, under oath, either in the party’s first pleading or in an attached affidavit. That information includes the present address of the children, along with their addresses for the last five years, and whether the children are involved in any other pending proceedings under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-5-309(a). Mother’s complaint did not include this required statement. In Brush, the father’s petition for divorce did not include the statement required under § 20-5-309(a) and the mother argued that this deprived the district court of jurisdiction. Id., 2013 WY 161, ¶ 14, 315 P.3d at 652. We observed that “although the requirement is mandatory, the statute does not indicate it is jurisdictional. To the contrary, § 20-5-309(b) states that the court may stay the proceeding until the information is furnished, but it is not required to do so.” Brush, ¶ 15, 315 P.3d at 653. We concluded that the despite the failure of either party to comply with this provision, the district court maintained jurisdiction over the divorce proceeding. Id. Likewise, in this instance, the fact that Mother failed to provide this information does not deprive the district court of jurisdiction or render its decision void. [¶32] Father presents no explanation of his position regarding the statutory provisions he cites concerning child custody and visitation, child support and the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure, and we will therefore not consider his argument. We have addressed the arguments made by Father regarding due process, the entry of default, and his argument regarding the requirement that paternity be established for child support to be calculated regarding all three of his children elsewhere in this opinion. To the extent that he is making additional arguments here, Father has not made his positions clear to this Court. Again, we will not consider arguments not supported by cogent argument and citation to legal authority.