Summary 2006 WY 50

Summary of Decision issued April 20, 2006

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Case Name: Payne v. Payne

Citation: 2006 WY 50

Docket Number: 05-181

Appeals from the District Court of Albany County, the Honorable Jeffrey A. Donnell, Judge.

Representing Appellant (Defendant): Carol Serelson, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Representing Appellee (Plaintiff): Bert T. Ahlstrom, Jr., Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Date of Decision: April 20, 2006

Issue: Mother takes issue with the district court’s determination that she waived her claim for reimbursement by not submitting the medical bills to Father in a timely manner.

Holding: The Paynes were married in 1981 and produced two children. They divorced in 1998 and the decree awarded Mother primary custody. Father was ordered to pay, among other things, one-half of any uninsured medical, dental and eye care expenses incurred by the children. Mother petitioned the court to order Father to pay.
The Court reviewed the record. The district court found that Mother had waived her claim to reimbursement by not submitting the medical bills in a timely manner. The district court also found that she failed to present sufficient evidence during the hearing to support the amount she claimed was due. Because the denial of Mother’s claim is supported on other grounds, reversal of the district court’s waiver ruling would have no effect on the outcome of the appeal. The Court also noted that even if Mother had appealed the district court’s sufficiency of the evidence ruling, she failed to provide the Court with an adequate record to permit rational review.

The Court affirmed.

J. Golden delivered the opinion for the court.

Link to the case: http://tinyurl.com/rv3v6 .