AC45708 - Margarita O. v. Fernando I. ("The self-represented defendant, Fernando
I., appeals from the postdissolution judgment of the trial
court finding the plaintiff, Margarita O., in contempt of
a court order, which concerned the listing of the parties’
marital residence for sale, and distributing the proceeds
from the sale of the residence, as well as from the
court’s denial of his postjudgment motion to disqualify
the judicial authority. Additionally, the plaintiff cross
appeals from the court’s contempt finding. On direct
appeal, we distill the defendant’s claims to be that the
court (1) incorrectly calculated his share of the sale
proceeds in several ways, including by reducing his share by $25,000 in postsecondary educational support
that the court improperly ordered him to pay to the
plaintiff, and (2) improperly denied his motion to disqualify. On cross appeal, the plaintiff claims that the
court improperly found her in contempt because the
order underlying the contempt finding was not clear
and unambiguous. Turning first to the plaintiff’s cross
appeal, we conclude that the order at issue was clear
and unambiguous, and, therefore, we reject the plaintiff’s claim challenging the court’s contempt finding.
With respect to the defendant’s direct appeal, we agree
only with the defendant’s claim that the court improperly ordered him to pay, and deducted from his share of
the sale proceeds, $25,000 in postsecondary educational
support. Accordingly, we reverse in part the judgment
of the trial court.")
AC46578 - Lukasik v. Kopinska ("The plaintiff, Czeslaw Lukasik, appeals from
the judgment rendered by the trial court in this child
custody action filed against the defendant, Karolina
Kopinska. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that (1) the
court abused its discretion by failing to make a specific
finding of the presumptive child support amount before
applying the deviation criteria, and (2) its child support
award of $600 per week was arbitrary and not in accordance with the child support guidelines (guidelines).
We agree with the plaintiff’s second claim and conclude
that the court improperly deviated from the guidelines.
Accordingly, we reverse the judgment with respect to
the order of child support and remand the case for
further proceedings on that issue. We affirm the judgment in all other respects.")