Wife Denied 2030/271 Sanction Requests—The Dissolution Battle May Be Over!
In Marriage of Shepherd, Case No. B322621 (2d Dist., Div. 3 May 4, 2023) (unpublished), two decades after a dissolution action was filed, husband and wife seemingly reached a marital settlement agreement (MSA) resolving all issues, read into the record in a court proceeding. Wife reneged and tried to add new terms, according to the unpublished opinion, also seeking Family Code section 2030/271 sanctions. The lower court granted husband’s motion to enter the MSA as a judgment and awarded him $8,179.20 in attorney’s fees in bringing the CCP § 664.6 motion. It also denied wife’s fees/sanctions requests, finding husband already had paid substantial fees, more fees were due under the MSA, and wife did not adequately support her 2030 motion.
The appellate court affirmed the results across the board. Wife was the one who increased the costs of litigation and did not adequately support her 2030 requests. Conversely, husband was entitled to fees for getting the MSA entered as a judgment so that the overall dispute may be finally ending to a close.
Husband asked for appellate frivolous sanctions, but he failed to file the required separate motion such that this request was procedurally denied.