DENIE RAY KIGER
v.
JESSICA LINDSAY KIGER
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Denie Ray Kiger appeals a trial court order dismissing his petition to modify the parenting plan and relocate his minor child from Florida to New Mexico. The trial court dismissed the petition because the parenting plan required mediation as a condition precedent to litigation, which Kiger failed to pursue. The appellate court affirmed the dismissal, holding that the mediation requirement in the parenting plan was unambiguous and enforceable.
The trial court properly dismissed Former Husband's petition because the parenting plan unambiguously requires mediation as a condition precedent to seeking court intervention in substantial disputes, and Former Husband failed to comply with this contractual requirement before filing suit.
[1] A marital settlement agreement is interpreted as a contract subject to the ordinary rules of contract interpretation, and where its terms are unambiguous, the parties' in…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the provision at issue unambiguously requires mediation prior to litigation”
Court's analysis of the parenting plan language
Denie Ray Kiger and Jessica Lindsay Kiger are former spouses with a marenting plan contained in their marital settlement agreement. Kiger filed a peti…
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Opinion filed February 9, 2022. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
________________ No. 3D21-1150 Lower Tribunal No. 18-600-K ________________
Denie Ray Kiger,
Appellant,
vs.
Jessica Lindsay Kiger,
Appellee. An Appeal from a non-final order from the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Timothy J. Koenig, Judge. Joyce Law, P.A., and Richard F. Joyce; Law Offices of Samuel J. Kaufman, P.A., and Samuel J. Kaufman, for appellant. Hoffman, Larin & Agnetti, P.A., and Daniel H. Kent and Martin L. Hoffman, for appellee. Before FERNANDEZ, C.J., and SCALES and BOKOR, JJ. PER CURIAM.
Denie Ray Kiger (Former Husband) appeals the trial court’s April 14, 2021 order dismissing his petition seeking to modify his parenting plan and to relocate his minor child from Key West, Florida, to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jessica Lindsay Kiger (Former Wife) moved to dismiss Former Husband’s petition.1 The trial court granted Former Wife’s motion to dismiss, in pertinent part, on the ground that the parties’ parenting plan plainly and expressly requires mediation as a condition precedent to seeking court intervention of a substantial dispute between the parties. The record discloses that no mediation occurred prior to Former Husband’s filing of the subject petition.
The parties’ marital settlement agreement, which contains the parenting plan as an exhibit, is a contract subject to interpretation like any contract. Ferguson v. Ferguson, 54 So. 3d 553, 556 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011).
Here, the provision at issue unambiguously requires mediation prior to litigation. See Levitt v. Levitt, 699 So. 2d 755, 756-57 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) (“Where the terms of a marital settlement agreement are clear and unambiguous, the parties’ intent must be gleaned from the four corners of the document.”).2 1 Former Husband also filed an “Urgent Motion to Permit Temporary Relocation with Minor Child” which mirrored his petition.
Affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Pitcher v. Schneider (Fla. 5th DCA 2018)
- Ferguson v. Ferguson, 54 So. 3d 553 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011)
- Plemondon v. Alberto Fernandez, M.D., 699 So. 2d 755 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)