Court Opinion

ID: 9746741
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 14:35:31.184194+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:16.453979
License: Public Domain

WIEAND, Judge,
concurring and dissenting:
On November 29, 1983, Carl Sonder and his estranged wife, Suzanne, entered into a property settlement agreement which provided, inter alia, that Sonder would pay to his wife for the support of two minor children the sum of eight hundred ($800.00) dollars per week. Paragraph seventeen of the agreement provided further as follows:
SEVENTEENTH: INCORPORATION IN JUDGMENT FOR DIVORCE.
In the event either Husband or Wife at any time hereafter obtain a divorce in the cause presently or hereafter pending between them, this Agreement and all of its provisions shall be incorporated into any such judgment for divorce, either directly or by reference. This Agreement, upon incorporation, shall not merge into the decree, but shall remain in full force and effect. The court on entry of the judgment for divorce shall retain the right to enforce the provisions and terms of the Agreement.
Sonder made the agreed support payments until May, 1984, when he unilaterally reduced the payments to four hundred ($400.00) dollars per week.
On October 16, 1984, Suzanne Sonder filed a complaint in equity requesting a decree specifically enforcing the support agreement. Carl Sonder defended on the ground that the agreement had been merely a proposed draft presented during negotiations and did not represent a final “meeting *520of the minds.” He also contended that the agreement was invalid because of duress and undue influence. After hearing, the trial court entered a decree, dated March 27, 1985, which ordered Carl Sonder to “comply with” the terms of the agreement. Exceptions were dismissed, and Sonder appealed. This appeal was filed to No. 2259 Philadelphia, 1985.
Three weeks later, on April 18, 1985, Suzanne Sonder filed a petition asking the court to hold Carl Sonder in contempt for failing to pay the full amount of the agreed support as directed by the court’s order of March 27, 1985. After hearing, the court found that appellant was in contempt and ordered him to pay arrearages of twenty-nine thousand, eight hundred ($29,800.00) dollars, as well as counsel fees and costs in the amount of one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars. An appeal from this order, dated October 24, 1985, was filed to No. 3025 Philadelphia, 1985.
Meanwhile, on December 13, 1984, a final decree of divorce had been entered which included the following language:
[the agreement] is hereby incorporated into this Decree and Order by reference as fully as though the same were set forth at length. Said agreement shall not merge with but shall survive this Decree and Order.
On January 3, 1986, Suzanne Sonder filed in the equity action a second petition to adjudicate Carl Sonder in contempt for refusing to comply with the parties’ agreement by paying eight hundred ($800.00) dollars per week for the support of the children. Shortly thereafter, Carl filed in the divorce action a petition to reduce the amount of the court’s support order and to remit arrearages on grounds that his financial circumstances had changed. The trial court dismissed Carl’s petition for lack of jurisdiction. By order dated May 13, 1986, the trial court found Carl Sonder in contempt of court and directed him to pay the sum of ten thousand ($10,000.00) dollars or be committed to prison for a period of ninety (90) days. This order was the subject of an appeal filed to No. 1343 Philadelphia, 1986. An appeal *521from the order dismissing the petition to reduce the support provisions of the divorce decree for want of jurisdiction was filed to No. 1423 Philadelphia, 1986.
No. 2259 Philadelphia, 1985
The majority would dismiss the appeal at No. 2259 Philadelphia, 1985 on grounds that “the validity of the agreement was rendered moot when appellant insisted the agreement be incorporated in the divorce decree.” I believe the majority misconceives the concept of mootness; and, therefore, I dissent.
“A case is ‘moot’ when a determination is sought on a matter which, when rendered, cannot have any practical effect on the existing controversy.” Black’s Law Dictionary 909 (5th ed. 1979), citing Leonhart v. McCormick, 395 F.Supp. 1073, 1077 (W.D.Pa.1975). “The existence of an actual controversy is an essential requisite to appellate jurisdiction, and if, pending an appeal, an event occurs which renders it impossible for the appellate court to grant any relief, the appeal will be dismissed.” 2 P.L.E. Appeals § 313. See: American Mutual Liability Ins. Co. v. Zion & Klein, 319 Pa.Super. 547, 550, 466 A.2d 679, 680 (1983) (citing cases); K.L.H. v. G.D.H. 318 Pa.Super. 330, 334, 464 A.2d 1368, 1371 (1983); Commonwealth ex rel. Watson v. Montone, 227 Pa.Super. 541, 543, 323 A.2d 763, 765 (1974). See also: Macioce v. Glinatsis, 361 Pa.Super. 222, 522 A.2d 94 (1987); Stolker v. Stolker, 250 Pa.Super. 356, 378 A.2d 975 (1977).
In the instant case, the dispute between the Sonders regarding their property settlement agreement is not moot. Suzanne Sonder brought an equity action to obtain a decree compelling Carl Sonder to perform his agreement to support the parties’ children. The husband-appellant unsuccessfully attempted to establish that a final support agreement did not exist or that the agreement relied upon by his wife was otherwise unenforceable. At the conclusion of those proceedings, the trial court entered a decree of specific performance. Its order is facially valid and one with which appellant can be made to comply. As such, he is *522entitled to have the decree reviewed by an appellate court which can, if the decree is improper, grant relief. Such an appeal, therefore, is not moot.
The fact that the agreement was incorporated into the divorce decree does not render moot the issue of the validity of the agreement. In the first place, the husband-appellant also attempted to challenge the validity of the agreement in the divorce action but was not permitted to do so. Then he sought to have the agreement merged into the divorce decree so that the amount of the support order could be reviewed by the court from time to time as circumstances changed. The agreement, as the majority concedes, is subject to enforcement separate and apart from the decree of divorce. Cf. Guerin v. Guerin, 296 Pa.Super. 400, 442 A.2d 1112 (1982) (unappealed order reducing support not res judicata as to enforceability of private agreement in assumpsit action). In neither the equity action nor the divorce action, therefore, has the dispute become moot.
When the majority suggests that appellant will not be heard to challenge the validity of the support agreement because he wanted it to be incorporated into the divorce decree, it is talking in terms of estoppel and not mootness. However, the record in this case makes it clear that appellant consistently attempted to attack the validity of the support agreement. He has done nothing that I can discern that would estop him from filing an appeal which requires this Court to review the equity decree entered by the trial court requiring him to perform the same.
On the merits, however, appellant’s contention that the trial court erroneously enforced the agreement must fail. The evidence clearly supports the trial court’s finding that appellant, a doctor of psychiatry, was a learned man who understood the terms of the written agreement and executed the same intending to be bound thereby. If he made a bad bargain, that fact alone does not permit him to avoid his agreement.
A valid agreement for support, moreover, can be specifically enforced. See: Silvestri v. Slatowski, 423 Pa. 498, *523224 A.2d 212 (1966); Colburn v. Colburn, 279 Pa. 249, 123 A. 775 (1924). See also: Brown v. Hall, 495 Pa. 635, 435 A.2d 859 (1981).
Because I find no error in the equity court’s decree of March 27, 1985, which ordered appellant to comply with his agreement, I would affirm the same.
No. 3025 Philadelphia, 1985
I would also affirm the order of the trial court which adjudicated the amount due on the private agreement and made an award of counsel fees. This order, even though it spoke in terms of contempt, was a final determination of the amount due and owing by appellant and was thus sufficiently final to permit appellate review.
Although a support agreement which has not merged in a court order for support can be specifically enforced by a court of equity, I agree with the majority that under the present state of the law in Pennsylvania a court cannot impose a prison sentence for contempt of court upon a person who has failed to make support payments required by a private agreement. See: Colburn v. Colburn, supra; Pierce’s Appeal, 103 Pa. 27 (1883); Stull v. Stull, 126 Pa.Super. 255, 191 A. 187 (1937) (citing cases). See also: Silvestri v. Slatowski, supra. To permit enforcement of a private agreement by attachment of an obligor’s person would violate the Pennsylvania Constitution’s ban on imprisonment for private debt. See: Pennsylvania Constitution, Art. I, § 16. See also: 42 Pa.C.S. § 5108. If private support agreements, although enforceable by a court of equity, cannot be enforced by attachment of the person of the obligee, then the means of enforcement must necessarily be limited to attachment of his or her property. This is done by determining the amount of arrearages, by reducing the same to judgment, and by issuing execution against the debtor’s property.
This is what the equity court did in the instant case. It made a determination of the amount which the husband-appellant had failed to pay as support pursuant to his agreement and directed that the same be paid. In addition, the *524court ordered the husband-appellant to pay counsel fees and costs in the amount of one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars. This was a final determination of the amount owed by appellant as of the date of the court’s order. As such, it was a final order, capable of supporting the entry of judgment in favor of the wife-appellee and against the husband-appellant.
In such cases, the general rule is that the order is not appealable until it has been reduced to judgment. See: Pa.R.App.P. 301(c). This court’s practice in cases where this has been omitted, however, is to direct the prothonotary of the lower court to enter judgment on the docket nunc pro tunc and thereafter to consider the appeal on its merits. That is what I would do in the instant case. I would direct the prothonotary in Montgomery County to enter judgment on the trial court’s order and consider the merits of husband’s appeal.
When one examines the merits of this appeal, however, it is readily apparent that the determination of damages by the equity court must be affirmed. The evidence was sufficient to support the equity court’s findings on the issue of damages; and those findings, therefore, are binding upon a reviewing court. See: Presbytery of Beaver-Butler of United Presbyterian Church v. Middlesex Presbyterian Church, 507 Pa. 255, 266, 489 A.2d 1317, 1323 (1985); Commonwealth ex rel. Gibson v. DiGiacinto, 497 Pa. 66, 70, 439 A.2d 105, 107 (1981); In the Interest of Miller, 301 Pa.Super. 511, 515, 448 A.2d 25, 27 (1982).
Appellant contends that the equity court erred when it denied his last-minute request for a continuance. Whether to grant or deny a motion for continuance, however, is a matter within the discretion of the trial court, and its decision will not be reversed on appeal unless there has been a manifest abuse of discretion. Feingold v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, 339 Pa. Super. 15, 19, 488 A.2d 284, 287 (1985), aff'd, 512 Pa. 567, 517 A.2d 1270 (1986); Love v. Harrisburg Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 273 Pa.Super. 210, 214, 417 A.2d 242, 244 (1979). *525My review of this case discloses no abuse of the equity court’s discretion. It was not an adequate reason for a continuance that counsel delayed preparation until the morning of the same day on which hearing had been scheduled and then found that the morning hours would be consumed by other urgent matters.
No. 1343 Philadelphia, 1986
The order from which this appeal was taken was entered in the equity action in response to a second petition to hold the husband-appellant in contempt for refusing to comply with the decree of specific performance which had been entered on March 27, 1985. The order found Carl Sonder “in contempt of support agreement” and directed that he be committed to prison for a period of ninety (90) days unless he purged himself by paying the sum of ten thousand ($10,000.00) dollars on account of arrearages which had accumulated pursuant to the agreement. This order, quite clearly, was an attempt to enforce the party’s private agreement by attaching the person of the husband-appellant. I agree with the majority that under decisions of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania the trial court’s order was improper and must be reversed. A court cannot properly impose a prison sentence for contempt of court for failing to make support payments called for by a private agreement. Colburn v. Colburn, supra; Pierce’s Appeal, supra; Stull v. Stull, supra. See also: Silvestri v. Slatowski, supra; The panel decision of this Court in Hopkinson v. Hopkinson, 323 Pa.Super. 404, 470 A.2d 981 (1984), which reached a contrary result, is out-of-line with Supreme Court decisions and is not controlling of the instant case.
No. 1423 Philadelphia, 1986
It remains to be decided whether a court which has entered an order for the support of children can be prevented from modifying its order by the existence of a private agreement between mother and father establishing the amount of support which is to be contributed by a parent for his or her children.
*526When an' agreement for support merges into a court order, the agreement no longer has independent effect, and only the court order is enforceable. Commonwealth ex rel. Tokach v. Tokach, 326 Pa.Super. 359, 474 A.2d 41 (1984). When a support agreement is incorporated into but does not merge with a separate court order, however, the agreement between the parties survives and can be enforced in an action at law or in equity. See: Brown v. Hall, supra; Guerin v. Guerin, supra. See also: Silvestri v. Slatowski, supra. In that event, the support order has a separate existence and can also be enforced. It is obvious, of course, that there can be only one satisfaction.
Merger is a matter of intent, to be determined from the terms of the contract or the conduct of the parties. McGough v. McGough, 361 Pa.Super. 391, 522 A.2d 638 (1987). In the instant case, the parties expressed their intent clearly. The terms of their agreement were to be the basis for and were to be included in the decree of divorce. The agreement, however, was not to merge but was to survive and have a separate, independent existence. As a result, the duty of husband-appellant to support his children was established separately by (1) agreement; and (2) court order.
The agreement, as we have already observed, can be enforced by an action at law or in equity, but it cannot be enforced by attaching the person of the obligor. A court order, on the other hand, can be so enforced. One who is in contempt of a duty of support established by court order may be imprisoned until he purges himself of contempt by complying with terms and conditions imposed by the court. See: Barrett v. Barrett, 470 Pa. 253, 368 A.2d 616 (1977); 23 Pa.C.S. § 4345. See also: Pa.R.C.P. §§ 1910.20, 1910.21.
If a court has the power to enforce an order of child support by exercising its contempt powers, it must also have the right to modify the support order. The law is clear that “there is no contempt in refusing to obey an order when the alleged contemnor, without fault on his part, is unable to comply with it." Grubb v. Grubb, 326 *527Pa.Super. 218, 225, 473 A.2d 1060, 1063 (1984) (citing authorities). Where the person against whom a support order has been entered is laid off, is disabled, or otherwise becomes unable to comply with a court order without his or her fault, the court must have the power to reduce the amount of the order so that compliance is possible. Similarly, a court must be able to increase the amount of a support order for child support when circumstances change so as to require additional funds for the support of the child or children.
Modification of a court order for support is not precluded by the existence of a separate support agreement between the parties. In Millstein v. Millstein, 311 Pa.Super. 495, 457 A.2d 1291 (1983), a panel of this Court held that a separate agreement would not preclude a court from increasing a parent’s child support obligation beyond the amount provided in the agreement, but that the agreement would preclude a parent from reducing his or her child support obligation to an amount less than the amount established by the agreement. This, in my judgment, is only partially correct. A separate agreement certainly does not preclude a court from increasing the amount of its order for child support beyond that provided in the agreement. This must necessarily follow from the rule that the parents cannot bargain away the right of a child to be adequately supported. See: Abarbanel v. Weber, 340 Pa.Super. 473, 482 n. 3, 490 A.2d 877, 881 n. 3 (1985) (citing cases); Mallinger v. Mallinger, 197 Pa.Super. 34, 37, 175 A.2d 890, 891 (1961).
It is also true that a court of law or equity cannot reduce the amount which a parent has separately agreed to pay for the support of a child in a private agreement. This necessarily follows from the principle that a court will not rewrite for the parties their private agreement. See: Amoco Oil Co. v. Snyder, 505 Pa. 214, 220-221, 478 A.2d 795, 798 (1984); Trumpp v. Trumpp, 351 Pa.Super. 205, 209, 505 A.2d 601, 603 (1985); Wickes Corp. v. Newtown Savings Ass’n, 322 Pa.Super. 453, 463, 469 A.2d 1078, 1083 *528(1983). Such an agreement, however, can only be enforced by an action at law or in equity. It cannot be enforced by attaching the person of a defaulting parent.
A court may always modify its own order for the support of a child. It may modify its order not only upwards, but downwards as well. See: Brown v. Hall, supra, 495 Pa. at 642, 435 A.2d at 862 (“parties to a divorce cannot restrict the court’s power to modify a support order as facts, circumstances, and justice may require”). Only an order which can be modified as circumstances dictate can be enforced by attaching the person of the obligor or by imposing a sentence of imprisonment upon a contumacious defendant. To the extent that the decision in Millstein holds otherwise, it is contrary to the law of this Commonwealth and should be overruled. Otherwise, the parties’ private agreement becomes enforceable by attaching the obligor’s person.
In the instant case, the husband-appellant filed in the divorce action a petition to reduce the amount of the court order for the support of his children. He sought to have his petition heard by the court at the same time as the court heard the wife-appellee’s contempt petition which had been filed in the equity action. The trial court , heard the contempt petition but dismissed appellant’s petition to reduce the support order. It did so on jurisdictional grounds, without giving any reason for its decision. In my judgment, it would have been possible for the court to consolidate wife’s petition for contempt and husband’s reduction petition and hear both at the same time. Because the trial court elected not to do so, the husband-appellant’s petition to reduce the amount of the court’s order for child support has not been decided.
Therefore, I would remand the petition to reduce the order of child support for an evidentiary hearing and a determination by the trial court as to whether appellant’s circumstances have changed in such a manner that he is entitled to have the court’s order for child support reduced.
*529Summary
I would hold that the parties validly incorporated their private agreement into the divorce decree without causing their agreement to be merged into the decree. Consequently, the child support provisions of the agreement survived the court order directing appellant to contribute to the support of his children. The provisions of the parties’ agreement are not subject to modification by a court. However, the agreement can only be enforced by an action at law or in equity; it cannot be enforced by attaching appellant’s person. The court order, on the other hand, can be enforced by the contempt powers of the court; and, consequently, appellant can be imprisoned for a failure to comply therewith. An order so enforceable is subject to being increased or decreased by the court after hearing as the facts, circumstances, and justice may require. This, I submit, has always been the law of this Commonwealth. Although the wife-appellee can in this case have several remedies, she can have only one satisfaction.
Applying these principles to the several appeals now before the court en banc, I would affirm the orders which are the subject of appeal at Nos. 2259 and 3025 Philadelphia, 1985. I would reverse the order which has been appealed to No. 1343 Philadelphia, 1986 and, in No. 1423 Philadelphia, 1986,1 would remand appellant’s petition seeking to reduce the amount of the court order for further proceedings.
ROWLEY, J., joins.