Laube v. Laube

Opinion

KLINE, P. J. Appellant Karlene I. Laube appeals from the trial court’s refusal to reinstate her spousal support payments or to award her attorney’s fees and costs.

I. Background

Appellant (hereinafter, Karlene) and her ex-husband, William Laube (hereinafter, William), were married in 1961 and separated in February of 1977. During the marriage Karlene worked outside the home only occasionally; William provided the primary source of support. The couple had five children, three of whom were minors at the time of the hearing below.

The parties’ interlocutory decree for dissolution of marriage, entered on February 4, 1980, ordered William to pay $150 per child each month as child support. It further provided that William pay $750 per month spousal support for a two-year period, or until August 1, 1981; thereafter, spousal support was to be reduced to $600 per month and to continue indefinitely at that rate until further order of the court, remarriage or cohabitation by Karlene.

[1224]William lost his job in August 1982. He continued to pay child and spousal support until March 1983 when he sought a reduction in his spousal support obligation. On April 18, 1983, spousal support was reduced to $100 per month for the months of May and June 1983; the matter came on for further proceedings on July 13, 1983, at which time the support payments were suspended.

William’s spousal support obligation was stayed until the order could be reviewed in September 1983. By the time of the hearing on September 23, 1983, William had purchased and begun operating a restaurant in Pleasanton. He had remarried and his new wife, a partner in the restaurant venture, was earning $2,000 a month. The court ordered William to pay $175 per child per month in child support, refused to award any spousal support, but reserved jurisdiction over the support issue.

Karlene subsequently filed a motion seeking an increase in child support, restoration of her spousal support and an award of attorney’s fees and costs. The motion was heard on February 26, 1985. Karlene’s expert testified that William’s 1984 income—based on his salary as an employee of the restaurant and the additional cash available to him as a partner in the business— amounted to $56,000. He further asserted that William’s new wife earned $52,000 in 1984. In comparison, William’s expert witness stated that the 1984 income for William and his new wife totalled $48,000—$2,000 per month for each of them.