Surgent v. Surgent

Citations

• 234 Conn. App. 696

Syllabus

The plaintiff, whose marriage to the defendant had previously been dis- solved, appealed from the trial court's judgment granting his motion for modification of unallocated child support and alimony payable to the defen- dant. The plaintiff claimed, inter alia, that the court improperly considered the defendant's allegation that he had failed to share with her certain pro- ceeds of a postdissolution sale of stock when it was undisputed that no motion raising that issue had been filed with the court. Held: The trial court abused its discretion in considering evidence regarding the plaintiff's allegedly contemptuous conduct in failing to split the proceeds of a postdissolution stock sale with the defendant and the court's award to the defendant of a commensurate reduction in an arrearage she owed to the plaintiff was harmful and violated the plaintiff's due process rights, as the court admitted testimony regarding that conduct for the limited purposes of assessing credibility and establishing the plaintiff's total financial picture, and this issue had not been properly raised in a motion by the defendant with due notice to the plaintiff. The trial court did not improperly modify the terms of the alimony provision in the parties' separation agreement in construing the agreement to require the plaintiff to issue the final alimony payment in 2028, beyond the term of the alimony as agreed to by the parties based on the plaintiff's 2027 income, as such agreement anticipated that the final payment to the defendant would be calculated on the basis of the plaintiff's year-end bonuses for employment in 2027, which would not be calculated and awarded until 2028. Argued January 9—officially released September 2, 2025