2 Conn. App. 380 | Conn. App. Ct. | 1984
These companion matters, which were combined for hearing, are appeals1 in the same case *381 and involve the rulings and orders of the trial court in a dissolution action and in connection with post-trial motions.
The trial court, following a contested hearing, dissolved the marriage of the parties; awarded custody of the minor child to the plaintiff wife, reserving reasonable rights of visitation to the defendant conditioned upon his sobriety; awarded the plaintiff all the personal property and appliances in the family home with discretion in the plaintiff to turn over any items she may wish to the defendant; ordered the defendant to turn over a car to the plaintiff; ordered the defendant to pay $75 weekly child support and $35 per week alimony until the child reached majority; and ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff's counsel fees in the amount of $1000 at the rate of $150 per month.
After the defendant filed an appeal, the plaintiff moved for the payment by the defendant of transcript fees and for reasonable attorney's fees to defend the appeal. After a hearing, the trial court granted the motions and ordered the defendant to pay to the plaintiff $582.17 for the transcript and $1000 towards her counsel fees. The defendant then appealed from the court's decision involving those post-trial motions.
In the first appeal, the dissolution action, the defendant claims that the trial court erred in basing its monetary awards and orders on insufficient evidence and that in doing so the court abused its discretion; and in allowing the plaintiff to turn over personal property to the defendant at her sole discretion.
During the trial there was testimony as to the earnings and the earning capacity of the defendant including evidence of deposits into the joint checking account of the parties totaling $46,612 in 1981. The plaintiff also testified that the defendant told her he made $63,000 in 1981 and that he was capable of earning *382
$1500 per week. The trial judge is in the best position to determine the credibility to be given the testimony. Swift Co. v. Rexton, Inc.,
The defendant further contends that the court erred in allowing the plaintiff to determine which articles of personal property she should turn over to the defendant. The defendant relies on Valante v. Valante,
In the second appeal, the defendant claims that the court erred by awarding, without an evidentiary hearing, attorney's fees and transcript fees in connection with this appeal. Nothing in the record indicates the nature of the hearing and what evidence, if any, was presented to the trial court. The defendant has not filed the transcript of the hearing on the motions; nor did the defendant seek under Practice Book 3082 to have the trial court articulate its decision with regard to its award of additional counsel fees and costs of transcript. Ordinarily we do not "`resort to matters extraneous to the formal record, to facts which have not been found and which are not admitted in the pleadings or exhibits which are not part of the record.'" Grunschlag v. Ethel Walker School, Inc.,
The trial court's determination that the plaintiff was entitled to the cost of the transcript and legal fees to defend the appeal must stand because the defendant, by not supplying the transcript of the hearing on the motions, has failed to complete the record. This court cannot and will not consider claims of error where the record before it is incomplete.
There is no error.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.