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Thrasher-Starobin v. Starobin

The trial court failed to state a statutory basis for awarding attorney fees to the husband following the parties' cross-motions for contempt of their divorce decree and failed to make specific findings supporting the award.

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Bianca Thrasher-Starobin Wife and Michael Starobin Husband were married in August 2009 and divorced in November 2013. They have one child together, and the divorce decree granted Husband primary physical custody, with Wife having visitation as set out in the parenting plan incorporated into the decree. On October 10, 2014, Wife filed a motion for contempt, alleging that Husband had violated the parenting plan by refusing to give her visitation and refusing to let her speak to their son once a day. On December 8, 2014, Husband filed an answer and a counterclaim for contempt, alleging among other things that Wife had not undergone the psychological evaluation required by the divorce decree and that she had refused to pay child support and her portion of daycare expenses.1 Husband also requested attorney fees with respect to the counterclaim, but he did not state a statutory basis for the fees request. After an evidentiary hearing on December 11, 2014, at which both parties were represented by counsel, the trial court entered an amended final order on February 10, 2015. In the only portion of the order relevant to this appeal, the court awarded Husband $6,000 in attorney fees “based on Wife’s baseless litigious actions against him.”

Wife, now representing herself, filed an application seeking to appeal the order, arguing that the trial court erred in denying her additional time to hire an attorney for the hearing, in granting Husband a continuance before his attorney filed an entry of appearance, and in granting Husband attorney fees because the award was excessive and the evidence did not support such an award under any statute. This Court granted the application only on the attorney fees issue.

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