Court Opinion

ID: 9811679
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 22:27:15.261611+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:21:05.981433
License: Public Domain

CHARLES KREGER, Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. The majority holds that ‘Yumara does not challenge the trial court’s implied finding that Codrut provided actual support equal to or greater than the unpaid support required of him under the child support order.” Relying on BMC Software Belgium, N.V. v. Marchand, 83 S.W.3d 789, 795 (Tex.2002),4 the majority declines to review whether Co-drut met his burden to prove an element of his affirmative defense; that being whether or not he supplied actual support during the period of time in question. I read Yumara’s brief sufficiently broad to include her claim that the evidence was legally insufficient for the trial court to allow an offset against the stipulated child support arrearage. See Perry v. Cohen, 272 S.W.3d 585, 587 (Tex.2008) (“[Disposing of appeals for harmless procedural defects is disfavored.... Appellate briefs are to be construed reasonably, yet liberally, so that the right to appellate review is not lost by waiver. Simply stated, appellate courts should reach the merits of an appeal whenever reasonably possible.”) (citations omitted). In issue three, Yumara argues that Codrut failed to offer any evidence of actual support. Because Codrut failed to present any evidence of actual support, I would find the trial court abused it discretion in finding for Codrut on his affirmative defense and reverse and render judgment for arrears in the amount stipulated by Co-drut. An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court’s decision is contrary to the only permissible view of the evidence. In re Barber, 982 S.W.2d 364, 366 (Tex.1998) (citing Walker v. Packer, 827 S.W.2d 833, 840 (Tex.1992)).
The Texas Supreme Court has established that to assert the affirmative defense of offset provided by section 157.008 of the Texas Family Code, the following conditions must be met: “(1) the obligee must have voluntarily relinquished actual possession and control of the child to the obligor; (2) for a period exceeding court-ordered periods of possession and access to the child; (3) during which the obligor *885must have supplied actual support.” In re A.M., 192 S.W.3d 570, 574 (Tex.2006) (citing Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 157.008(a) (Vernon 2008)). “If these conditions are met, the obligor ‘may request reimbursement for that support as a counterclaim or offset against the claim of the obligee.’ ” Id. (quoting Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 157.008(d)). Failure to prove all elements results in a failure to establish the affirmative defense. Pedregon v. Sanchez, 234 S.W.3d 90, 94 (Tex.App.-El Paso 2007, no pet.). Yumara sought judgment for unpaid child support from July 2005 through October 2007. A child support payment not timely made constitutes a final judgment for the amount due and owing. Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 157.261(a) (Vernon 2008). Therefore, each child support payment missed by Codrut constituted a separate claim by Yumara. See Lewis v. Lewis, 853 S.W.2d 850, 854 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1993, no writ). To meet his burden of proof to show himself entitled to the affirmative defense of offset, Codrut was required to offer evidence of actual support for each individual month for which arrear-age was sought.
Codrut’s assertion that Yumara voluntarily relinquished the children in excess of the court order is based upon a shared living arrangement. Codrut admitted he did not move in with Yumara until August 2005. Therefore, there was clearly no evidence of any voluntary relinquishment of actual possession and control of the children for a period exceeding court-ordered periods of possession and access provided by the parenting plan during the month of July 2005, thereby precluding Codrut from meeting his burden to claim the offset for that month. Further, Codrut admitted that he moved out of the house and terminated the shared living arrangement in August 2007, but he did not begin regular payment of child support until November 2007. Therefore, he failed to offer any evidence of a voluntary relinquishment of the children in excess of the court order to entitle him to claim the offset for the months of August, September, and October 2007. I would reverse the trial court’s order and enter judgment for the child support arrearage for each of these months.
To prove actual support paid by Codrut during the months of cohabitation, Codrut offered evidence that he paid all monthly mortgage payments on the home during the period at issue, as well as the annual homeowners’ association fees. The record shows, however, that he was the owner of the home and was simply paying the purchase money mortgage on the home and associated homeowners’ association fees as the homeowner, regardless of whether the children or Yumara were living in the house. See Pedregon, 234 S.W.3d at 95. A parent has a common law duty to support his children. See In re McLemore, 515 S.W.2d 356, 358 (Tex.Civ.App.-Dallas 1974, no writ). Further, section 151.001(3) of the Texas Family Code provides that a parent has “the duty to support the child, including providing the child with clothing, food, shelter, medical and dental care, and education[.]” Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 151.001(3) (Vernon 2008). Codrut’s payment of the monthly mortgage payments and annual homeowners’ association fees are no evidence of actual support paid to entitle him to an offset pursuant to section 157.008. Codrut submitted evidence that he paid the electric bill for the house beginning in December 2005. However, even then, he only provided documentary evidence that he paid sporadic monthly electric bills beginning at the earliest in December 2005 through September 2006, while Codrut admitted that Yumara paid all other utilities for the house during the periods in question. Payment of one of the utilities supplied to the house, electrici*886ty, would also come under the common law and statutory duty of a parent to support his children and would not be considered actual support for purposes of obtaining an offset against child support arrearages.
Additionally, Codrut submitted evidence that he paid some of the children’s medical bills. Here again, the divorce decree ordered Codrut to maintain health insurance for the children. The record shows that Codrut did not have the children covered by health insurance during the periods in question, as ordered by the court. In Texas, “[a] parent ordered to provide health insurance ... who fails to do so is liable for[ ] necessary medical expenses of the children]....” Id. § 154.188(1). Therefore, as Codrut was responsible for all necessary medical expenses of the children as part of another court order, payment of any part of the children’s medical expenses is no evidence of actual support provided under the affirmative defense of offset for child support arrearages.
In further support of his affirmative defense for offset against the stipulated amount of child support arrearages, Co-drut testified that he was saving the obli-gee money by her not having to pay rent nor having to pay for day care for the children while the children were in his possession and, thus, was entitled to an offset against any arrearages for the value of the amounts the obligee would have paid had she not relinquished actual possession and control to him during these times of the day. However, this has never been shown to be a valid offset against child support obligations. But see In re A.L.G., 229 S.W.3d 783, 785-87 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2007, no pet.) (noting arrearage judgment against father was reversed because mother knew, but never complained, that for 15 months father was paying child’s daycare tuition and subtracting that amount from child support he paid her).
When the obligor is not the children’s sole source of support, there is no presumption that the obligor’s monthly child support obligation is equal to the actual support the obligor provided the children but, the obligor must provide some evidence of the amount of actual support paid to enable the trial court to determine the proper amount of the offset, if any. See Pedregon, 234 S.W.3d at 95-96. Because Codrut failed to present any evidence of actual support paid, I would find the trial court abused its discretion in allowing the offset and reverse and render judgment for the stipulated amount of arrearage owed plus interest.

. In this case, the majority's reliance on Mar-chand is misplaced as the discussion there centered on the appropriate standard of review for an interlocutory appeal from the denial of a special appearance. See Marchand, 83 S.W.3d at 793-94. The appropriate standard is one we have used in a number of family law cases. See Wilson v. Wilson, No. 09-07-484 CV, 2008 WL 2758147, *1 (Tex.App.-Beaumont July 17, 2008, no pet.); Carlin v. Carlin, 92 S.W.3d 902, 905 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 2002, no pet.); Farish v. Farish, 921 S.W.2d 538, 542 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 1996, no writ) (under abuse of discretion standard, legal and factual sufficiency are not independent grounds of error but are merely factors in assessing whether trial court abused its discretion).