Bryant James Hatcher v. Renee Matthews, 1145164

Background

Father (Bryant Hatcher) moved to modify a 2009 child support order that required him to pay $1,119/month for three children; one child had since reached majority.
J&DR court modified support slightly; father appealed to Loudoun County Circuit Court seeking further reduction based on decreased income and other child-support obligations.
At the January 2016 hearing father testified he was self-employed and earning about $2,800/month; admitted prior sanction for failing to disclose income.
Trial court found father’s income testimony not credible, noted lack of tax returns, bank records, or job-search evidence, and imputed income (stated in opinion as $7,500/month) while using a worksheet reflecting $9,583/month.
Trial court used a sole-custody worksheet (finding father’s visitation claims not credible), awarded mother $1,271/month; father appealed multiple errors including income imputations, custody basis, and deduction refusals.
Court of Appeals affirmed in part, reversed/remanded in part: held credibility-based imputation permissible, required recalculation to resolve the worksheet income discrepancy, and rejected other claimed errors.

Issues

Issue	Hatcher's Argument	Matthews' Argument	Held
Whether trial court erred by refusing to credit father’s $2,800/month income and by imputing income without required findings	Trial court should have used his actual income ($2,800) to compute presumptive support and make explicit findings if deviating	Trial court properly found father’s evidence not credible and could impute income based on prior judicially-determined income	Court: Credibility determinations supported imputation; no required written findings because court did not deviate from presumptive amount; remand only to fix worksheet arithmetic (use figures consistent with opinion)
Whether trial court ignored income evidence or failed to state basis for discrediting it	Father: court ignored his present-income evidence and gave no basis for disbelief	Mother: court addressed shortcomings and credibility, so did not ignore evidence	Court: Trial court addressed deficiencies; deference to credibility findings warranted
Whether court should have applied shared-custody formula (father claimed >90 days custody)	Father: testified he averaged ~100 days/year; therefore shared-custody guideline applies	Mother: trial court found his visitation testimony not credible; sole-custody calculation appropriate	Court: Credibility finding supported sole-custody calculation; not plainly wrong
Whether father was entitled to deductions (minor child in his household and half self-employment tax)	Father: entitled to statutory deductions under Code §20-108.2(C)(4)	Mother: court permissibly denied deductions given lack of credible proof and effect on children here	Court: Denial of deductions upheld—court did consider existing child-support payment for other child and reasonably rejected claimed self-employment deduction due to lack of credible income proof

Key Cases Cited

Congdon v. Congdon, 40 Va. App. 255 (explaining appellate view of evidence in favor of prevailing party)
Antonelli v. Antonelli, 242 Va. 152 (party seeking modification must prove material change in circumstances)
Cleary v. Cleary, 63 Va. App. 364 (statutory interpretation reviewed de novo)
Milam v. Milam, 65 Va. App. 439 (income determination is factual; reviewed for being plainly wrong)
Smith v. Smith, 18 Va. App. 427 (no written findings required when court does not deviate from presumptive guideline amount)
Virostko v. Virostko, 59 Va. App. 816 (deference to trial court credibility determinations)
Oley v. Branch, 63 Va. App. 681 (child support determinations are discretionary; reversed only if plainly wrong)
Bailes v. Sours, 231 Va. 96 (ore tenus findings entitled to weight of jury verdict)
Hankerson v. Moody, 229 Va. 270 (trier of fact may not disregard uncontradicted credible evidence)
Cheatham v. Gregory, 227 Va. 1 (same principle regarding uncontradicted evidence)