Wife Also Failed to Separate Out Argument or Provide Citation to Authority.
The Third District’s decision in Marriage of Gartman, Case No, C071200 (3d Dist. Feb. 2, 2015) (unpublished) shows the dangers of a judgment roll appeal as well as failing to follow appellate rules on presentation/support of written arguments.
In this one, ex-wife sought $10,000 in “needs based” fees under Family Code section 2030/2032 after a spousal support award with a termination date was entered earlier. The trial judge denied a further spousal support modification as well as ex-wife’s request for fees.
These determinations were affirmed on appeal. When a judgment roll appeal is utilized (whether just a clerk’s transcript or just an appellant’s appendix), error must affirmatively appear on the record alone given that no reporter’s transcripts or settled statements of hearings were presented. Ex-wife simply could not establish such clear error, compounded by her “lumping” of the fee argument with another point and by her failure to provide any citations to authority.