Tilleman v. Tilleman

549 P.3d 65

2024 UT App 54

Michael Robert TILLEMAN, Appellant,

v.Michal Christine TILLEMAN, Appellee.

No. 20210637-CA

Court of Appeals of Utah.

Filed April 11, 2024

Rehearing Denied June 10, 2024

Fourth District Court, Provo Department, The Honorable M. James Brady. No. 164402522

Julie J. Nelson, Attorney for Appellant

Douglas B. Thayer, Andy V. Wright, and Jessica Griffin Anderson, Lehi, Attorneys for Appellee

Judge Gregory K. Orme authored this Opinion, in which Judges David N. Mortensen and Ryan M. Harris concurred.

Opinion

ORME, Judge:

¶1 Michael Robert Tilleman (Father) and Michal Christine Tilleman (Mother) were married and share one child (Child). Follow- ing rather contentious divorce proceedings, the trial court awarded sole legal custody of Child to Mother but awarded the parties joint physical custody. The court also imputed federal minimum wage income to Mother for child support purposes, and it awarded her attorney fees and costs.

¶2 On appeal, Father makes various arguments challenging the court’s legal custody award. He also contends that the court abused its discretion in imputing federal minimum wage income to Mother and in awarding her attorney fees and costs. Although we affirm several aspects of the court’s legal custody award, we nevertheless hold that the court abused its discretion in applying the wrong legal standard and accordingly reverse and remand for the court’s consideration of all the statutorily mandated custody factors. We also reverse the court’s imputation of Mother’s income and its attorney fee award and remand for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND¹

[1] ¶3 Mother and Father married in 2013, and Child was born a little over a year later. In 2016, following a separation, Father filed a petition for divorce. This was soon followed by Mother’s counter-petition for divorce. The trial court characterized the ensuing litigation as "contentious" and the parties as "unusually accusatory, intransigent, and uncooperative." We limit our recounting of the divorce proceedings to facts relevant to the issues raised on appeal.

¶4 In 2018, the court entered a stipulated, bifurcated decree of divorce reserving for trial, in relevant part, the issues of custody, parent-time, child support, and attorney fees. Although the parties each initially sought sole physical custody and joint legal custody of Child, by the time of trial they had each amended their pleadings to request sole physical and sole legal custody of Child.

¶5 In conjunction with her counter-petition for divorce, Mother also filed a motion asking that the court order Father to undergo a psychological examination under rule 35 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure "to properly address his ability to parent" Child.² The motion alleged that Father "has exhibited intense anger toward [Mother] and has engaged in mental and emotional abuse," that "such anger has been exhibited toward" Child, and that he "may be suffering from mental health conditions."

¶6 Father opposed Mother’s rule 35 motion and denied its allegations. In turn, he asked the court to order that Mother undergo a rule 35 evaluation, alleging that she "has been verbally and physically abusive towards" him, that she "is unable to control her anger and aggressions towards" him, and that "recent irrational and inappropriate actions, behaviors, and instability indicate that she may be suffering from some form of mental illness."

¶7 In 2017, at a hearing on temporary orders, Mother’s counsel informed the trial court that the parties had stipulated, among other things, "that either party can request and … the other party will participate in a Rule 35 mental health exam as long as the requesting party pays the cost up front." Accordingly, the court’s temporary order included a provision stating that "[e]ither party may request the other party to participate in [a] Rule 35 examination at the requesting party’s expense."

¶8 Mother subsequently provided Father with a list of three potential rule 35 evaluators, of which Father selected one (First Expert) to conduct his exam. When First Expert requested that Father sign medical releases for his psychological health records, Father refused. In response, Mother filed a motion requesting that the court order Fa- ther "to sign and execute all necessary medical releases, upon presentation by [First Expert], so that [Father’s] Rule 35 mental examination can proceed as expeditiously as possible." At a hearing before a commissioner on the matter, Father argued that he never agreed to sign medical releases and that his understanding of the stipulation was "that he was agreeing to an independent, objective, standardized psychological test." He also argued that releasing his medical records "prejudices him down the road" because "it allows information that would not otherwise be admissible to become admissible."

¶9 In ruling on the motion, the commissioner first stated that because the trial court—and not a jury—would be the finder of fact in this case, he did not consider prejudice "to be a significant issue." Next, in addressing the scope of the rule 35 exam, the commissioner stated that based on his decades of experience interacting with mental health professionals, "the one thing that they all assure me is true [is that] the best predicter of future behavior is past behavior." The commissioner also noted that the parties had not submitted affidavits from professionals indicating what their usual practice is for such evaluations. Thus, the commissioner recommended, "If it is the Rule 35 examiner’s professional opinion that certain information would assist him in completing his evaluation/report, then both parties shall cooperate in good faith and sign whatever releases for records or information the evaluator wants[.]" Father objected to the commissioner’s recommendation, but the trial court overruled his objection and ordered him to sign the requested medical releases.

¶10 Upon completion of the rule 35 evaluation, First Expert reached the following conclusions, as summarized by the trial court. First Expert noted that "Father was so guarded and defensive when he took the psychological testing that credible information from testing is not available." First Expert did not observe Father with Child as part of the evaluation. Nevertheless, First Expert concluded, among other things, that Father exhibited "varying degrees" of several negative personality traits; that he "is a very persistent person," which when "utilized to intimidate and control others" can cause substantial harm to himself and others; and that he "tends to place his own interests before those of others and is not invested in cooperative relationships." See also infra note 5. First Expert also recommended against joint legal custody of Child.

¶11 In anticipation of trial, Father tiled a motion in limine to exclude First Expert’s testimony, contending that his "report and his corresponding testimony have not been shown by [Mother] to be reliable, based on sufficient facts or data, and reliably applied to the facts as required by rule 702 of the Utah Rules of Evidence." See Utah R. Evid. 702(b). In support of his motion, Father included a report from his own expert (Second Expert) who reviewed the rule 35 evaluation. Second Expert opined, among other things, that "the methodology employed" by First Expert "did not comport with generally accepted standards of practice." He further stated that First Expert's "recommendation against joint legal custody is concerning because there is no indication the purpose of the evaluation was to aid the Court in determining custody."

¶12 Following a hearing, the court ruled that First Expert would be permitted to testify at trial because his "report and his … procedures, his methodology, arid his data gathering and his qualifications meet that low threshold of showing an indicia of reliability." But because First Expert’s "qualifications and methodology don’t meet the requirements for a custody evaluation," the court limited his testimony by precluding him from offering his opinion on that subject at trial.

¶13 Toward the end of 2020, the court held a ten-day bench trial, after which it entered thirty-three pages of findings of fact and conclusions of law. In addressing custody, the court prefaced its findings by discussing Utah Code sections 30-3-10(2) and 30-3-10.2(2), which govern child custody determinations, Section 30-3-10(2) states, with our emphasis, that "[i]n determining any form of custody and parent-time …, the court shall consider the best interest of the child and may consider among other factors the court finds relevant, the following for each parent" and then lists various factors. The court interpreted that section to mean that it "is not required to make findings on all factors listed in" that section. Further, section 30-3-10.2(2) provides, again with our emphasis, that "[i]n determining whether the best interest of a child will be served by ordering joint legal custody or joint physical custody or both, the court shall consider the custody factors in Section 30-3-10 and" additional factors listed in section 30-3-10.2(2). The court stated that it understood the interplay between the two sections to mean that when considering joint legal or physical custody of a child, it is "obligated to address the enumerated factors in" section 30-3-10.2(2), but that its consideration of each factor listed in section 30-3-10(2) is not mandatory.

¶14 The trial court then proceeded to make extensive findings pertaining to custody and parent-time, as summarized below. The court found that "[a] primary condition that permeated the marriage was Father’s underlying hostility," which also "affected the first few years of [Child’s] life and [Father’s] early relationship with, and care for" Child. Throughout Child’s life, Mother has been Child’s primary caregiver. Although "Father rarely, if ever, held, fed, changed, or played with" Child during the...