Douglas S. v. Jennifer E. CA4/3

Filed 4/29/22 Douglas S. v. Jennifer E. CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

DOUGLAS S.,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G059942

v. (Super. Ct. No. 10P001296)

JENNIFER E., OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Nathan T. Vu, Judge. Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded. Holstrom, Block & Parke and Ronald B. Funk for Defendant and Appellant. Hellmann Law Group and Lawrence Hellmann for Plaintiff and Respondent.

INTRODUCTION The present appeal is one of two before us relating to an ongoing parenting conflict between the parents of a 12-year-old boy. Said litigation is the subject of a companion appeal, Douglas S. v. Jennifer E., case No. G058880 (the companion case), 1 for which we have written a separate opinion. This appeal is significantly narrower in scope than that one. Here we must determine whether the family law court erred in denying appellant’s request for a contribution by the respondent toward her attorney fees and costs so she can mount the companion case’s appeal. She also seeks fees and costs to help her bring claims under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (DVPA). We conclude the trial court was within its discretion to deny appellant’s request for attorney fees for the appeal, but we reverse and remand its ruling on the DVPA issue for further consideration. FACTS Appellant Jennifer E. and respondent Douglas S. are the parents of the boy and have been involved in a contested parentage action since 2010. In December 2015, the two began a protracted battle over modifications to custody and child support for the son. On October 28, 2020, almost a full year after the last of the above- referenced child support and custody modification orders had issued in December 2019, Jennifer filed a request for order (RFO) seeking attorney fees and costs. She scheduled it for hearing on December 4, 2020. Jennifer wanted Douglas to pay $60,000 total in attorney fees. $50,000 of that amount was to retain appellate counsel on the appeal in the companion case. In support of this request, she submitted the declaration of a certified appellate specialist, Herb Fox, who stated there were reasonable grounds for appeal based on Family Code