State ex rel. Paula Buchanan v. Joseph Buchanan

This appeal involves a belated dispute over unpaid child and spousal support. After their divorce, the former spouses twice changed the custody arrangements and support obligation in their 1993 divorce decree without obtaining court approval. In 1998, a private Title IV-D contractor, acting on behalf of the State of Tennessee, filed suit in the Circuit Court for Davidson County seeking to collect $59,150 in unpaid child support and spousal support from the former husband. The trial court held that the former husband could not, as a matter of law, assert the defenses of laches, estoppel, or waiver against these claims, granted a $51,250 judgment against the former husband, and placed a judgment lien against the former husband's house. While the trial court correctly determined that the former husband could not assert equitable defenses with regard to the child support arrearage, the trial court erred by refusing to permit him to assert equitable defenses against the claim for unpaid spousal support. Accordingly, we vacate the portion of the judgment awarding the wife $29,150 for unpaid spousal support and remand the case for further proceedings.