Thomas v. Thomas11/20/2001
(not designated for permanent publication)
Appeal from the District Court for Knox County: Richard P. Garden, Judge. Affirmed in part as modified, and in part reversed and remanded.
I. INTRODUCTION
Lea Ann Thomas appeals from the custody, child support, and property division portions of the decree dissolving her marriage to Rodney Joseph Thomas. Lea Ann further claims that the district court erred in failing to award alimony and attorney fees and that it made evidentiary errors during the trial.
II. STATEMENT OF FACTS
Rodney and Lea Ann were married on July 23, 1993. They have two children: Amber Lea, born September 30, 1991, and Cole Joseph, born November 27, 1994. On February 18, 2000, Rodney filed a petition for dissolution of his marriage to Lea Ann. On May 3, Lea Ann was awarded temporary custody of the children, and Rodney was ordered to pay $640 per month in temporary child support and $250 per month in temporary alimony.
Trial was held on October 16, 2000. The evidence at trial reflected that the parties began living together 2 or 3 years prior to the September 1991 birth of Amber and that during the parties' marriage, they resided in Creighton, Nebraska.
At the time of the parties' marriage, Rodney was working for a contractor out of Creighton. After Cole's birth, Rodney worked at Affiliated Foods in Norfolk, Nebraska. He commuted daily, leaving home at approximately 12:30 p.m. and returning between 3 and 4 a.m. After 6 months, Rodney ceased his employment at Affiliated Foods due to a back injury, and he received workers' compensation of $18 per week for the next 7 or 8 months. In approximately 1995, Rodney began working at JII Sales Promotion Associates, Inc., where he worked from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 or 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, covering a sales territory consisting of about 20 counties.
During the parties' marriage, Lea Ann ran a licensed day care out of the parties' home. However, after Rodney became unemployed due to his back injury, Lea Ann began working at Region IV in Bloomfield, Nebraska, from 10:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. to help support the family. Additionally, during the approximately 31 days that Rodney spent in treatment for abuse of prescription painkillers in early 1998, Lea Ann took on additional work in order to help pay the bills.
At the time of trial, Lea Ann was employed at Creighton Area Health Services, earning approximately $6.22 per hour and working a little more than 38 hours per week, whereas Rodney was employed with JII Sales Promotion Associates, Inc., earning $775 per week. However, Rodney testified that he had to pay for his own work-related supplies, gas, and travel expenses out of that amount.
Lea Ann testified that throughout the marriage, she was the primary caregiver to the children. However, Rodney testified that during the parties' marriage, both he and Lea Ann performed household duties and cared for the children.
The evidence reflected that both Rodney and Lea Ann have previously used illegal drugs, and both parties testified that Rodney used illegal drugs during the parties' marriage, but the parties disagreed on the extent of Rodney's drug use. Rodney claimed that he used marijuana during the marriage and may have used crank on one occasion, whereas Lea Ann testified that Rodney used marijuana and cocaine, but she could not remember the specific time period when he allegedly used these drugs. Lea Ann further testified that her use of illegal drugs was prior to her having children.
Rodney testified that during the parties' marriage, he would take the children to their paternal grandparents' ho
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Nebraska Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|