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Judgment rendered February 27, 2013. Application for rehearing may be filed within the delay allowed by art. 2166, La. C.C.P.

No. 47,917-CA

COURT OF APPEAL SECOND CIRCUIT STATE OF LOUISIANA

*****

ERMA MOODY AMOS

Plaintiff-Appellee

versus

GROVER AMOS, III

Defendant-Appellant

***** Appealed from the First Judicial District Court for the Parish of Caddo, Louisiana Trial Court No. 553546 Honorable Ramon Lafitte, Judge

*****

DANIEL FRAZIER, JR.

Counsel for Appellant Counsel for Appellee

RONALD J. MICIOTTO

*****

Before BROWN, WILLIAMS and LOLLEY, JJ.

LOLLEY, J. Grover Amos, III, appeals a judgment of the First Judicial District Court, Parish of Caddo, State of Louisiana, which awarded his former spouse, Erma Moody Amos, $1,442.42 a month in interim spousal support. For the following reasons, we reverse the trial court's judgment. FACTS Grover and Erma were married in Shreveport, Louisiana, in April 2009. Grover, a resident of New Orleans, maintained his south Louisiana domicile, and Erma maintained her residence in Shreveport. The couple evidently never lived together during their marriage, but maintained separate households and employment in their respective cities. In September 2011, Erma filed a petition for divorce, seeking an end to their marriage as well as interim and permanent spousal support from Grover. Pursuant to an interim order dated February 6, 2012, Erma was awarded support in the amount of $500.00 per month from February 10 until the trial court could further consider the matter. From the order, it appears that the parties reached that amount by agreement in an in camera conference with the trial court judge. In March, the parties appeared before the trial court to consider the issue of interim support. Grover's attorney of record, from New Orleans, did not appear. He had informed the trial court that morning that he had car trouble and would not make it to Shreveport. In deciding to proceed with the hearing, the trial court noted that Grover had obtained two prior continuances, and the matter could not be further delayed. Thus, Grover was unrepresented at the hearing. After considering testimony from both

Erma and Grover, the trial court awarded her interim spousal support in the amount of $1,442.42 a month retroactive to the date of filing her petition, with a credit for $1,000.00 Grover had already paid pursuant to the interim order. This appeal ensued.1 DISCUSSION On appeal, Grover argues that the trial court erred in awarding spousal support to Erma without receiving evidence regarding the parties' standard of living and living arrangements during the marriage. We agree. The statutory grounds for interim spousal support are La. C.C. arts. 111 and 113. Specifically, La. C.C. art. 113 states: Upon motion of a party or when a demand for final spousal support is pending, the court may award a party an interim spousal support allowance based on the needs of that party, the ability of the other party to pay, and the standard of living of the parties during the marriage, which award of interim spousal support allowance shall terminate upon the rendition of a judgment of divorce. If a claim for final spousal support is pending at the time of the rendition of the judgment of divorce, the interim spousal support award shall thereafter terminate upon rendition of a judgment awarding or denying final spousal support or one hundred eighty days from the rendition of judgment of divorce, whichever occurs first. The obligation to pay interim spousal support may extend beyond one hundred eighty days from the rendition of judgment of divorce, but only for good cause shown. In a proceeding for divorce, the trial court may award an interim periodic support allowance to a spouse based on the needs of that spouse, the ability of the other spouse to pay, and the standard of living of the spouses during the marriage. La. C.C. arts. 111 and 113; Brown v. Brown,

Initially, Grover filed a writ application with this Court. However, after determining that the judgment was final on the incidental matter, we remanded the matter to the trial court for the purpose of perfecting the appeal.

1

2

44,989 (La. App. 2d Cir. 01/27/10), 31 So. 3d 532. The purpose of interim spousal support is to maintain the status quo without unnecessary economic dislocation until a final determination of support can be made and until a period of time of adjustment elapses that does not exceed, as a general rule, 180 days after the judgment of divorce. Id.; Hitchens v. Hitchens, 38,339 (La. App. 2d Cir. 05/12/04), 873 So. 2d 882. A spouse's right to claim interim periodic support is grounded in the statutorily imposed duty on spouses to support each other during marriage and thus provides for the spouse who does not have sufficient income for his or her maintenance during the period of separation. McAlpine v. McAlpine, 1994

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