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Johnson v. Smith (Holliday)
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MAINE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Reporter of Decisions
Decision: 1999 ME 168
Docket: Sag-99-205
Argued: November 2, 1999
Decided: November 23, 1999
Panel:CLIFFORD, RUDMAN, DANA, SAUFLEY, ALEXANDER, and CALKINS, JJ.
GREGORY JOHNSON
v.
HEATHER SMITH, n/k/a
HEATHER HOLLIDAY
ALEXANDER, J.
[¶1] Heather Holliday appeals from the judgment of the Superior Court
(Sagadahoc County, Perkins, A.R.J.), affirming the child support order of the
District Court (West Bath, Gorman, J.), which imposes on Ms. Holliday a
weekly child support obligation of $38.88 as the nonprimary care provider
for her daughter, Olyvia Johnson. Ms. Holliday argues that the court's
application of the child support guidelines to her case was erroneous (1)
because her imputed income is below the federal poverty guideline and the
award exceeds ten percent of her imputed annual income contrary to 19-A
M.R.S.A. § 2006(5)(C); and (2) because application of the child support
guidelines in her case causes a manifest injustice that requires a deviation
from the support guidelines pursuant to 19-A M.R.S.A. § 2007(3)(Q). We
affirm.
I. CASE HISTORY
[¶2] Heather Holliday is the mother of two girls. Her eldest, Raechel,
resides with her. Her youngest, Olyvia, resides with Olyvia's father, Gregory
Johnson. The dispute over Ms. Holliday's child support obligation for Olyvia
stems from an action commenced by Gregory Johnson in 1996, to establish
his paternity and his parental rights and responsibilities to Olyvia. Following
a hearing on January 6, 1998, the District Court (West Bath, Gorman, J.)
issued an order that established Mr. Johnson's paternity, provided for
shared parental rights and responsibilities, and designated Mr. Johnson's
home as Olyvia's primary residence.
[¶3] Because this living arrangement made Ms. Holliday the
nonprimary care provider for Olyvia, the court issued a child support order
in conjunction with its judgment. See 19-A M.R.S.A. §§ 2001(8) & 2006(4)
(1998). For purposes of determining Ms. Holliday's appropriate weekly
child support payment, the court imputed to Ms. Holliday an annual,
minimum wage gross income of $10,400.{1} The court subtracted $1820
from this amount pursuant to 19-A M.R.S.A. § 2006(5)(A) as a credit for the
support of Raechel. Applying Ms. Holliday's adjusted annual income of
$8580 and Mr. Johnson's annual income of $27,050 to the child support
table, the court arrived at a basic weekly child support entitlement of $87
for Olyvia, to which was added $75 in weekly child care costs, for a total
support obligation of $162. Ms. Holliday's proportional share of the total
support obligation came to $38.88. See 19-A M.R.S.A. § 2006(1) &
(3)(A)p;(5); see also Me. Admin. Office of the Courts, Child Support Table
(Mar. 1997).
[¶4] Ms. Holliday requested findings of fact, but did not file any
proposed findings with the court. See M.R. Civ. P. 52. The court denied Ms.
Holliday's request for findings. On appeal, the Superior Court (Sagadahoc
County, Perkins, A.R.J.) affirmed the judgment. Ms. Holliday filed a timely
appeal to this Court.
II. DISCUSSION
[¶5] When the Superior Court has presided as an intermediate
appellate court, we review the District Court's judgment directly. See Glew
v. Glew, 1999 ME 114, ¶ 5, 734 A.2d 676, 679. The judgment of the
District Court will be affirmed absent clear error in the court's findings of
fact or application of the law. See Town of Union v. Strong, 681 A.2d 14, 16
(Me. 1996).
[¶6] When construing a statute, our goal is to give effect to the
Legislature's intent. We begin by looking to the plain meaning of the
statutory language and construing it to avoid absurd, illogical, or inconsistent
results. We consider related statutory provisions in our analysis in order to
ensure a construction that is harmonious with the overall statutory scheme.
See Jordan v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 651 A.2d 358, 360 (Me. 1994). Finally,
when the agency responsible for the administration of an ambiguous
statutory section has adopted a particular construction, we will defer to that
construction unless it is contrary to the legislative intent. See Delogu v.
State, 1998 ME 246, ¶ 21, 720 A.2d 1153, 1157.
[¶7] Title 19-A M.R.S.A. § 2006(5)(C) provides that a court or hearing
officer must take into consideration the subsistence needs of the
nonprimary care provider when establishing a child support obligation. See
19-A M.R.S.A. § 2006(5)(C).{2} That section requires the court or hearing
officer to reference the federal poverty guideline{3} to determine whether the
nonprimary care provider's annual gross income is less than the poverty
threshold stated therein. See id. If the nonprimary care provider's income
is beneath the federal poverty guideline, the court or hearing officer may not
impose on that parent a child support obligation in excess of 10% of his or
her weekly gross income. See id. Although the poverty measure contained
in the federal poverty guideline is keyed to family size, section 2006(5) does
not indicate whether the guideline applicable to a subsistence needs analysis
is the guideline for one person or the guideline for the number of people
currently comprising the nonprimary care provider's family. The child
support guidelines do not define "family," nor do they indicate that the
federal guideline's definition is to govern application of the federal poverty
guideline to the child support guidelines.{4}
[¶8] Ms. Holliday argues that the language of section 2006(5)(C) is
clear and that we are directed by the Legislature to apply the federal poverty
guideline, including its definition of family.{5} Under this construction, Ms.
Holliday and Raechel would make a family of two, and Ms. Holliday's annual
imputed income of $10,400 would be less than either the 1997 or 1998
poverty guidelines of $10,610 and $10,850, respectively, for a two-person
family. See 62 Fed. Reg. at 10,857; 63 Fed. Reg. at 9,236.
[¶9] Contrary to Ms. Holliday's contention, it is not clear that section
2006(5)(C) adopts the federal poverty guideline's definition of "family."
Section 2006(5)(C) makes no reference to the family's needs. Rather, it is
addressed to identify the "subsistence needs of the nonprimary care
provider." See 19-A M.R.S.A. § 2006(5)(C). In this light, it makes sense to
evaluate the nonprimary care provider's subsistence needs based on how his
or her income correlates to the poverty guideline for one person.
[¶10] This conclusion is supported by recognition that use of the
federal poverty guideline's definition of family in many section 2006(5)(C)
analyses could give rise to absurd results. For example, the addition of a
nondependent member to the nonprimary care provider's family, such as a
wage earning spouse, could simultaneously enhance the nonprimary care
provider's economic well-being and enable him or her to qualify for a
subsistence needs special circumstance pursuant to 2006(5)(C) because
family size has increased. This occurs because the determination of a
subsistence needs special circumstance is keyed to the nonprimary care
provider's personal income, not to the family's income. See 19-A
M.R.S.A. § 2006(5). It would be illogical and inequitable for the nonprimary
care provider's child support obligation to decrease at a time when that
parent is benefitting from an improvement in his or her family's annual
income, all on the ground that he or she cannot meet his or her subsistence
needs.
[¶11] Ms. Holliday's proposed construction would cause certain other
inconsistencies to arise as well. Related subsection 2006(5)(A) provides
that the nonprimary care provider's income is to be adjusted downward for
each dependent child in the household. See 19-A M.R.S.A. § 2006(5)(A).
This adjustment is not available, however, when its effect would be to reduce
an award previously established. See id. However, if the poverty guideline's
definition of family were engrafted onto the child support guidelines, it
would create an internal conflict between subsections (5)(A) and (5)(C)
because in cases where a child is born into the nonprimary care provider's
family, (5)(C) could authorize a downward modification of a pre-existing
support order to 10% of that parent's annual income even though 5(A)
specifically disallows an adjustment to his or her support obligation.
[¶12] The Department of Human Services, in an amicus curiae brief,
notes that its child support enforcement manual provides that the weekly
support obligation of a nonprimary care provider whose annual gross income
is less than the federal poverty guideline "for one person" will be 10% of his
or her weekly gross income for all children receiving a support award. See
Department of Human Services, Maine Child Support Enforcement Manual ch. 7,
26 (1990). The Department's interpretation supports the legislative intent
that the federal poverty guideline for one person should serve as the
touchstone for a section 2006(5)(C) subsistence needs analysis.
[¶13] Ms. Holliday secondarily contends that she is entitled to relief
from the child support guidelines pursuant to 19-A M.R.S.A. § 2007(3)(Q){6}
because it was plainly unjust for the court to order someone in her
predicament to make support payments for Olyvia when Olyvia's father
makes $27,000 annually.
[¶14] Section 2007 provides that a "party in a court action proposing
deviation from the application of the support guidelines shall provide the
court with written proposed findings showing that the application of the
presumptive amount would be inequitable or unjust." 19-A
M.R.S.A. § 2007(2). This language makes the provision of written proposed
findings mandatory if a party wishes the court to consider a section 2007(2)
deviation. Because Ms. Holliday failed to provide the court with such
proposed findings, we do not reach the merits of this argument. Instead,
we presume that it was within the trial court's discretion not to deviate
from the support guidelines because we have no record to suggest
otherwise.
The entry is:
Judgment affirmed.
Attorneys for plaintiff:
David J. Van Baars, Esq., (orally)
Neil S. Shankman, Esq.
Shankman & Associates
101 Pleasant Street
Brunswick, ME 04011
Attorneys for defendant:
Jennifer M. Bryant, Law Student, (orally)
Geoffrey J. Parkin, Law Student
Amy E. Keck, Law Student
Valerie Stanfill, Esq.
Jennifer Wriggins, Esq.
Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic
University of Maine School of Law
246 Deering Avenue
Portland, ME 04102
Attorneys for amicus curiae Dept. of Human Services:
Andrew Ketterer, Attorney General
James A. McKenna, Asst. Attorney General
6 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0006
FOOTNOTES******************************** {1} . In her brief, Ms. Holliday
states that "[t]he previous counsel for Appellant apparently did not
object to the imputation of the income." She does not contest the imputation
of income on appeal. The imputation of income is governed by 19-A M.R.S.A.
§ 2001(5)(D), which reads: § 2001. Definitions As used in this
chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have
the following meanings. . . . . 5. Gross income. "Gross income"
means gross income of a party as follows. . . . . D. Gross income may include
the difference between the amount a party is earning and that party's earning
capacity when the party voluntarily becomes or remains unemployed or underemployed,
if sufficient evidence is introduced concerning a party's current earning
capacity. In the absence of evidence in the record to the contrary, a party
that is personally providing primary care for a child under the age of 3
years is deemed not available for employment. The court shall consider anticipated
child care and other work-related expenses in determining whether to impute
income, or how much income to impute, to a party providing primary care
to a child between the ages of 3 and 12 years. A party who is incarcerated
in a correctional or penal institution is deemed available only for employment
that is available through such institutions. . . . . 19-A M.R.S.A. §
2001(5)(D) (1998). {2} . 19-A M.R.S.A. § 2006(5)(C) (1998) provides:
§ 2006. Support guidelines . . . . 5. Special circumstances. The court
or hearing officer shall consider the following special circumstances in
determining child support. . . . . C. The subsistence needs of the nonprimary
care provider must be taken into account when establishing the parental
support obligation. If the annual gross income of a nonprimary care provider
is less than the federal poverty guideline, or if the nonprimary care provider's
income is insufficient to meet work-related expenses and other basic necessities
as defined in Title 22, section 4301, subsection 1, that nonprimary care
provider's weekly parental support obligation for each child for whom a
support award is being established or modified may not exceed 10% of that
nonprimary care provider's weekly gross income, regardless of the amount
of the parties' combined annual gross income. . . . . 19-A M.R.S.A. §
2006(5)(C) (1998). {3} . The federal poverty guideline is "a simplified
version of the [f]ederal [g]overnment's statistical poverty thresholds used
by the [United States] Bureau of the Census to prepare its statistical estimates
of the number of persons and families in poverty." 62 Fed. Reg. at
10,857. It is published annually by the United States Department of Health
and Human Services and is generally used as an eligibility criterion for
federal and state assistance programs. See 62 Fed. Reg. at 10,357-58. The
federal poverty guideline provides graduated poverty thresholds based on
family size. See 62 Fed. Reg. at 10,857. {4} . The definitions section of
the federal poverty guideline reveals the obvious fact that "non-Federal
organizations which use the poverty guidelines in non-Federally-funded activities
may use administrative definitions that differ . . . ." 62 Fed. Reg.
at 10,858. {5} . The poverty guideline defines "family" as: "A
family group of two or more persons related by birth, marriage, or adoption
who live together; all such related persons are considered as members of
one family. For instance, if an older married couple, their daughter and
her husband and two children, and the older couple's nephew all lived in
the same house or apartment, they would all be considered members of a single
family." 62 Fed. Reg. at 10,358. {6} . 19-A M.R.S.A. § 2007 provides,
in pertinent part: § 2007. Deviation from child support guidelines
1. Rebutting presumption. If the court or hearing officer finds that a child
support order based on the support guidelines would be inequitable or unjust
due to one or more of the considerations listed under subsection 3, that
finding is sufficient to rebut the presumption established in section 2005.
2. Proposed findings. A party in a court action proposing deviation from
the application of the support guidelines shall provide the court with written
proposed findings showing that the application of the presumptive amount
would be inequitable or unjust. 3. Criteria for deviating from support guidelines.
Criteria that may justify deviation from the support guidelines are as follows:
. . . . Q. A finding by the court or hearing officer that the application
of the support guidelines would be unjust, inappropriate or not in the child's
best interest. 19-A M.R.S.A. § 2007(1), (2) & (3)(Q) (1998).
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