Preview:

REPORTED IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND No. 1150 September Term, 2004

EVELYN SALDANA WOODSON v. MOSES P. SALDANA, JR.

Adkins, Krauser, Getty, James S., (Retired, Specially Assigned) JJ.

Opinion by Adkins, J.

Filed: November 3, 2005

C010001368

Evelyn

Saldana

Woodson,

appellant,

challenges

a

judgment

resolving disputed property issues in her divorce from appellee Capt. Moses P. Saldana, Jr., USMC (Ret.), as well as an order holding her in civil contempt and awarding attorney's fees. raises six issues, which we have rephrased and reordered:1 I. Did the trial court err in calculating the marital portion of Woodson's military reserve retirement benefits? Did the trial court err in awarding Crawford She

II.

1

Woodson presents the issues as follows: I. Were the contempt proceedings flawed in that appellant was deprived of procedural due process, and the court failed to find her behavior was either willful or contumacious? Did appellee present sufficient evidence to enable the court to make an award of attorney's fees?

II.

III. Did the trial court properly calculate the award based on appellant Woodson's military reserve retirement benefits? IV. Where appellee used marital funds to pay the mortgage and other expenses on the marital home, did the trial court abuse its discretion in awarding appellee "Crawford credits"? Did the trial court err in failing to consider whether appellee dissipated marital funds when he expended marital funds to provide vacations for his girlfriends? Did the trial court abuse its discretion in awarding appellee a share of appellant's civil service pension which began to accrue only after the parties separated?

V.

VI.

credits to Saldana? III. Did the trial court abuse its discretion in awarding Saldana a share of Woodson's civil service pension? IV. Did the trial court err in failing to determine whether Saldana dissipated marital funds to provide vacations for his girlfriends? Did the circuit court err in finding Woodson in contempt of a court order prohibiting her from entering and removing property from the marital residence? Was the evidence sufficient to support the court's award of attorney's fees to Saldana in connection with the contempt proceedings?

V.

VI.

We find merit in Woodson's first, second, third, and sixth assignments of error. order resolving In the divorce action, we shall vacate the property issues and remand arising for from

disputed of the

reconsideration

marital

property

issues

Woodson's military reserve retirement benefits, Crawford credits, and Woodson's civil service pension. We shall affirm the contempt

finding, but vacate the attorney's fee award in the contempt order, and remand for further proceedings on that matter. FACTS AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS Woodson and Saldana were married on August 6, 1983, separated on June 20, 2001, and divorced on March 25, 2003. The couple has

two children, Moses P. Saldana, III and Sara Saldana, both of whom were still minors at the time of the divorce. Both Woodson and Saldana served in the military. 2 Throughout

the marriage, and until he retired effective October 31, 2004, Saldana was an active duty Marine Corps officer. Following active

duty that ended in 1982 before the marriage, Woodson was on reserve military duty. After the separation, she became a civil service

employee at the Pentagon. The parties resolved custody, visitation, and some property issues consensually. During the litigation, the Circuit Court for

St. Mary's County found Woodson in contempt of an order requiring her to stay away from Saldana's residence, which was the former marital home; the court ordered Woodson to pay Saldana's attorney's fees in connection with that contempt order. After trial on the

reserved property issues, the court issued a June 29, 2004 opinion and order. Woodson noted this timely appeal of both the property We will set forth additional

disposition and contempt orders.

facts as they pertain to our discussion of the issues. DISCUSSION I. Military Reserve Retirement Benefits Woodson complains that the trial court did not correctly calculate the marital portion of her military reserve retirement benefits. total of During her military reserve career, Woodson accrued a 4,257 "points" toward retirement benefits. These

retirement points may be awarded for a reservist's activities, and therefore do not necessarily accrue based solely on the length of active or reserve duty service. 3 See 10 U.S.C.A.

Download Woodson v. Saldana.pdf

Maryland Law