Samuel L. CONLEY, Appellant
v.
Althea T. CONLEY, Appellee
Page 242
APPEAL
FROM THE UNION COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 70DR-15-503],
HONORABLE MICHAEL R. LANDERS, JUDGE
J.F.
Valley Esq., P.A., by: James F. Valley, Helena, for
appellant.
Ronald
L. Griggs, El Dorado, for appellee.
OPINION
RITA W.
GRUBER, Chief Judge
The
sole issue on appeal in this case is whether the circuit
courts award of attorneys fees in a postdivorce-decree
order constitutes an abuse of discretion. We recognize that
appellant has presented four additional points[1] on appeal
concerning the courts divorce decree, but we have no
jurisdiction to address them. Accordingly,
Page 243
we grant appellees motion to dismiss a previous appeal from
the divorce decree (CV-18-603), we grant appellees motion to
limit the appeal in this case to the issue of attorneys
fees, and we affirm the award.
Althea
and Samuel Conley were married in 1988 and divorced by decree
entered on December 30, 2016. During their marriage, both
parties pursued advanced degrees with Althea obtaining a
Ph.D. in clinical psychology and an M.D. She completed her
education in 2004 and has been a practicing psychiatrist in
South Arkansas since that time. Samuel has a B.S. in
engineering, a masters degree in statistics, and several
years of coursework for a Ph.D. in biostatistics. He did not
work outside the home during their marriage but stayed home
to care for their four daughters[2] and oversee the parties
rental properties. Althea filed a complaint for divorce on
September 30, 2015. Both parties asked the court for primary
custody; Samuel also asked for alimony.
The
circuit court entered a temporary order in January 2016
awarding primary custody to Althea and directing that she and
the children remain in the family home on Ridgewood Drive in
El Dorado. The court awarded exclusive possession of the
parties West Little Rock home on Quercus Circle to Samuel.
The
circuit court held a final hearing in December 2016 and
entered a divorce decree on December 30, 2016. The court
granted a divorce to Althea and awarded her custody of the
three minor children with visitation to Samuel "as
agreed between the parties" or pursuant to the courts
standard visitation guidelines if they could not agree. The
court ordered Samuel to pay weekly child support of $119. The
court considered that Samuel was unemployed but noted the
testimony of a qualified rehabilitation counselor confirming
he had the education and physical ability to earn a
substantial wage but lacked the desire to work. The court
imputed minimum wage so that Samuel could prepare to get a
job but ordered him to "immediately present proof of
income" upon obtaining employment and stated that child
support would be modified at that time. The court also
ordered Althea to pay alimony in the amount of $2000 a month
for twenty-four months. Finally, the court specifically
divided the parties personal property and made the following
division of their real property:
a. [Althea] shall receive the residence and contents therein
located at ... Ridgewood Drive, El Dorado, Arkansas. [Samuel]
shall receive as his own property the four duplexes in North
Little Rock, Arkansas, and their contents.
b. There are two houses that are owned by the family LLC in
Little Rock, Arkansas. Each party shall receive one of the
houses and contents. If the parties cannot agree as to the
ownership of these two houses, they shall be sold and the
proceeds of the sale divided evenly between them.
c. The home at ... Quercus Circle, Little Rock, Arkansas, and
contents shall be sold and the proceeds divided evenly after
payment of the debt presently owed for said property and
costs of sale. A sale may be avoided by agreement between the
parties made within thirty (30) days of the
decree.[3]
Samuel
filed a notice of appeal from the decree on January ...