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Date: 09-13-2024
Case Style:
Diana Lynn Jones v. Jeffrey T. Jones
Case Number: 2016 DR 000127
Judge: Not Available
Court: Court of Common Pleas, Montgomery County, Ohioa
Plaintiff's Attorney:
Defendant's Attorney:
Description:
Dayton, Ohio family law lawyers presented the parties in a divorce.
Jeffrey and Diana Jones were married in February 2008. They have no children together.
Both parties used to work for the Montgomery County Engineer's Office. Jeffrey worked there from 1991 until he was fired in 2007. Diana worked in the Engineer's Office from 2002 until she was fired in 2009. Diana believed that she was improperly fired on the basis of her gender and in retaliation for filing discrimination complaints with the County Engineer, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. As a result, in 2013, Diana and Jeffrey filed a civil suit against the Engineer's Office and the County Engineer. The suit sought damages for sex and gender discrimination, retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, loss of consortium, breach of contract, reckless conduct, and malice; it also sought punitive damages. The complaint alleged that Diana had been bypassed for promotions and raises and that she had been subject to gender discrimination. The complaint also alleged that, before their marriage, Jeffrey was Diana's supervisor, and he was fired in retaliation for his attempt to intercede on her behalf with the County Engineer. The matter was settled in June 2015. The settlement
agreement stated that the settlement was the "result of bona fide adversarial negotiations to resolve a tort based case involving Plaintiff, Diana Jones' physical sickness." The agreement further provided that, in exchange for the dismissal of all claims made by both Jeffrey and Diana, the Engineer's Office would pay $750,000 in checks payable to Diana.
In February 2016, Diana filed for divorce. She maintained that the 2015 settlement proceeds were her separate property, but Jeffrey maintained that they were marital. Jeffrey subpoenaed documents related to the settlement from the Engineer's Office and from the Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office (which represented the County Engineer and the Engineer's Office in the action), which he said contained information supporting his claim. The Prosecutor's Office moved to quash the subpoenas, arguing that the documents sought were confidential. The trial court ultimately reviewed the documents in camera and decided not to release any to Jeffrey.
The final divorce hearing was conducted over two days in late 2017 and early 2018. On June 26, 2018, the trial court issued a final judgment and decree of divorce. The court concluded that the settlement proceeds were Diana's separate property, because by statute, "[c]ompensation to a spouse for the spouse's personal injury" is that spouse's separate property, R.C. 3105.171(A)(6)(a)(vi), and the settlement agreement provided that the payments were made to Diana for her "physical sickness." The trial court also divided the parties' other property, including Jeffrey's interest in two businesses, a farming business and a snow removal/trucking business. Diana's expert valued both businesses combined at $202,477. The court found that the value of the farming business was $110,000 and the value of the snow removal/trucking business was $92,477. The court awarded Diana half of both values ($55,000 and $46,238.50). The court also ordered Jeffrey to pay spousal support of $900 per month for 36 months.
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Outcome: The judgment of the domestic relations court is affirmed.
Jones v. Jones, 2024 Ohio 4506, 30022 (Ohio App. Sep 13, 2024)
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: