CAPRITA VINCENT, APPELLANT,
v.
STEPHEN VINCENT, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1998-08-26
No. 97-2860
STONE, C.J., and FARMER and STEVENSON, JJ., concur.
715 So. 2d 1147 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1998) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

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Synopsis

The court reversed a dismissal of a petition for modification of child support, holding that the petition adequately alleged a substantial change in circumstances sufficient to overcome a motion to dismiss. The decision clarifies that such petitions need only allege a substantial change in either the child's needs or a parent's income.


Holding

The petition adequately alleged a substantial change in circumstances, including increased child needs, increased parental expenses, bankruptcy filing, and increased parental income, which is sufficient to overcome a motion to dismiss. Appellant was not barred by res judicata or law of the case because the earlier petition was never fully ruled upon and the circumstances have substantially changed.


Headnotes

[1] A petition for modification of child support is sufficiently pleaded if it alleges a substantial change in either the child's needs or a parent's income.

[2] Allegations of increased needs of a child, increased expenses of a parent, and a parent's bankruptcy protection are sufficient to overcome a motion to dismiss a petition…

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Key Quotes

“A petition for modification of child support need only allege a substantial change in either the child's needs or one of the parent's income.”

Establishes the legal standard for surviving a motion to dismiss on child support modification petitions.

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Facts & Procedural History

A final judgment of dissolution was entered in 1993 incorporating a marital settlement agreement. Appellee defaulted on his obligations, prompting App…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

We reverse an order dismissing Appellant’s petition for modification of child support.

A final judgment of dissolution was entered in 1993 which incorporated the terms of a marital settlement agreement. Shortly thereafter, Appellee defaulted on his obligations thereunder, and Appellant filed her first petition for modification with an amended petition in February of 1994. In June 1994, Appellant filed a “motion to enforce child support and to compel [Appellee to pay certain mortgage and maintenance obligations and fees].” She subsequently filed a motion for emergency relief regarding child support. The court entered a final order on Appellant’s motion to enforce child support, denying Appellant’s request to compel payment of mortgage and maintenance payments on the former marital home. In 1996, Appellant filed another petition for modification, and in 1997, she filed the second amended petition for modification at issue here.

We reverse because on its face, Appellant’s petition alleges a substantial change in circumstance, including claims that the minor child’s needs have substantially increased since the entry of the final judgment, Appellant’s expenses have increased, and Ap pellant has filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors. The petition also claimed that Appellee had increased his available cash by $1,660,440 because of his. willful nonpayment of money due as equitable distribution. These allegations are sufficient to overcome a motion to dismiss. A petition for modification of child support need only allege a substantial change in either the child’s needs or one of the parent’s income. See Miller v. Schou, 616 So. 2d 436 (Fla.1993).

We recognize that Appellee asserts that Appellant is barred by res judicata and law of the case because she previously filed a motion for modification. However, apparently the earlier petition was never fully ruled upon, .as the court never made any decisions regarding Appellant’s request to increase child support, and she did not further pursue the matter until she filed the petition at issue. Further, Appellant has argued that the facts and circumstances have not remained the same, but that there has been a substantial change in circumstances since the first petition. In any event, affirmative defenses should not be considered in a motion to dismiss unless they have been clearly established in the complaint itself. See Bess v. Eagle Capital, Inc., 704 So. 2d 621 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997).

STONE, C.J., and FARMER and STEVENSON, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Sanchez v. Sanchez, 773 So. 2d 611 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)
    …to contribute $250 monthly for day care expenses if the child is no longer in day care. His further contention that the child now spends a great deal of time with him may also warrant some adjustment in the support obligation. In Vincent v. Vincent, 715 So. 2d 1147 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998), the court stated: We recognize that Appellee asserts that Appellant is barred by res judicata and law of the case because she previously filed a motion for modification. However, apparently the earlier petition was never fully…
  • Alli v. Sanchez (Fla. 4th DCA 2025)
    …(Fla. 1st DCA 1996) (quoting Miller v. Schou, 616 So. 2d 436, 437 (Fla. 1993)). “A petition for modification of child support need only allege a substantial change in either the child’s needs or one of the parent’s income.” Vincent v. Vincent, 715 So. 2d 1147, 1148 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998). As the Fifth District has observed, when a trial court reviews the report and recommendations of the general magistrate, it takes on the role of an appellate court. Middleton v. Hager, 179 So. 3d 529, 533 (Fla.…

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