Marriage of Phipps and Barnes
Court concluded the appeal of father from an interlocutory award of past due child support to his former wife, mother, should be dismissed because it was prematurely filed. At the time the notice of appeal was filed, the amount due had not been calculated by the Orange County Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) as ordered by the court. During the pendency of the appeal the amount was determined and is the subject of father’s motion to augment the record. However, both parties dispute the amount and would have requested a hearing on the issue had the case not been on appeal, which one or both parties believed deprived the court of jurisdiction. This and the language of the court’s order requiring the DCSS accounting show that the order is not final. Court therefore denied the motion to augment the record.
Mother filed a motion to dismiss, arguing primarily that the appeal is too late, and, only as a fallback position, that it is premature. Court determined the appeal was premature and dismissed on that basis.
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