LexyCorpus case page
CourtListener opinion 10745149
Citation: Domestic Relations Order · Date unknown · US
- Extracted case name
- pending
- Extracted reporter citation
- Domestic Relations Order
- Docket / number
- pending
Machine-draft headnote
Machine-draft public headnote: CourtListener opinion 10745149 is included in the LexyCorpus QDRO sample set as a public CourtListener opinion with relevance to ERISA / defined contribution issues. The current annotation is conservative: it identifies source provenance, relevance signals, and evidence quotes for attorney/agent retrieval. It is not a Willie-approved legal headnote yet.
Retrieval annotation
Draft retrieval summary: this opinion has QDRO relevance score 5/5, retirement-division score 5/5, and family-law score 5/5. Use the quoted text and full opinion below before relying on the case.
Category: ERISA / defined contribution issues
Evidence quotes
QDRO“an: an: ** BEFORE ECKERLE A JONES AND TAYLOR JUDGES TAYLOR JUDGE Chastity Ellison appeals fiom a July 25 2023 Order entered by the Kenton Circuit Court, Family Court Division (family court), setting aside, mmc pro tune, a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) entered by the family court on January 1 1, 2023 ' For the reasons stated, we dismiss this appeal as being interlocutory The marriage of Chastity and Wayne Ellison was dissolved by decree entered by the Kenton Family Court on April 15, 2022 The parties had been married for slightly more than three years Under the Separation Agreement entered into by”
401(k)“stity and Wayne Ellison was dissolved by decree entered by the Kenton Family Court on April 15, 2022 The parties had been married for slightly more than three years Under the Separation Agreement entered into by the parties, the marital interest of Wayne's 401K account would be divided equally pursuant to a QDRO that the parties would agree to tender to the court The family court entered the QDRO on January 1 1, 2023 Wayne believed that the marital interest of the 401K account was $75,903 30, plus any investment earnings However, the QDRO language apparently allowed a distribution to Chastity from Wayne's non”
domestic relations order“RDER DISMISSING ** an: an: an: ** BEFORE ECKERLE A JONES AND TAYLOR JUDGES TAYLOR JUDGE Chastity Ellison appeals fiom a July 25 2023 Order entered by the Kenton Circuit Court, Family Court Division (family court), setting aside, mmc pro tune, a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) entered by the family court on January 1 1, 2023 ' For the reasons stated, we dismiss this appeal as being interlocutory The marriage of Chastity and Wayne Ellison was dissolved by decree entered by the Kenton Family Court on April 15, 2022 The parties had been married for slightly more than three years Under the Separation Agreement entered i”
Source and provenance
- Source type
- courtlistener_qdro_opinion_full_text
- Permissions posture
- public
- Generated status
- machine draft public v0
- Review status
- gold label pending
- Jurisdiction metadata
- US
- Deterministic extraction
- reporter: Domestic Relations Order
- Generated at
- May 14, 2026
Related public corpus pages
Deterministic links based on shared title/citation terms and QDRO / retirement / family-law retrieval scores.
Clean opinion text
RENDERED NOVEMBER 8 2024 10 00 A M
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
(finmmnnwealth Hf fientutkg
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NO 2023 CA 1136 MR
CHASTITY ELLISON APPELLANT
APPEAL FROM KENTON CIRCUIT COURT
FAMILY COURT DIVISION
v HONORABLE TERRI KING SCHOBORG JUDGE
ACTION NO 21 CI 01554
WAYNE ELLISON APPELLEE
OPINION AND ORDER
DISMISSING
** an: an: an: **
BEFORE ECKERLE A JONES AND TAYLOR JUDGES
TAYLOR JUDGE Chastity Ellison appeals fiom a July 25 2023 Order entered
by the Kenton Circuit Court, Family Court Division (family court), setting aside,
mmc pro tune, a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) entered by the
family court on January 1 1, 2023 ' For the reasons stated, we dismiss this appeal
as being interlocutory
The marriage of Chastity and Wayne Ellison was dissolved by decree
entered by the Kenton Family Court on April 15, 2022 The parties had been
married for slightly more than three years Under the Separation Agreement
entered into by the parties, the marital interest of Wayne's 401K account would be
divided equally pursuant to a QDRO that the parties would agree to tender to the
court The family court entered the QDRO on January 1 1, 2023 Wayne believed
that the marital interest of the 401K account was $75,903 30, plus any investment
earnings However, the QDRO language apparently allowed a distribution to
Chastity from Wayne's nonmarital funds On February 3, 2023, the plan
administrator distributed to Chastity the sum of approximately $164,000,
substantially more than provided for under the terms of the Separation Agreement
Thereafier, Wayne filed on February 14, 2023, a Kentucky Rules of Civil
Procedure (CR) 60 01 motion to set aside the QDRO and obtain reimbursement of
the funds overpaid to Chastity from the 401K Following an evidentiary hearing
conducted on April 10 2023 June 5 2023 and June 26 2023 the family court
' Counsel for Chastity Ellison filed a notice of bankruptcy with this Conn on October 4 2023
The bankruptcy was filed on September 25 2023 three days before this appeal was filed Based
on our review the automatic stay provisions of l 1 United States Code § 362 do not apply to this
case Notwithstanding the bankruptcy was dismissed by the United States Bankruptcy Court for
the Southern District of Ohio on July 9 2024
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concluded in its July 25 2023 Order that the QDRO did not clerically comport
with the Separation Agreement, resulting in a "windfall" payment to Chastity
under the QDRO °
In its July 25 2023 Order the family court held
It is the opinion of this Court that [Chastity] was unjustly
enriched by the execution of the QDRO which the court
declares void as to the parties The Court concludes as a
matter of law that a determination needs to be made as to
the value of [Wayne's] non marital interest in his 401K
account, including the appreciation in the value of those
funds Such calculation should be performed by
someone with expertise in that area
Order at 13
Due to that holding, the family court granted Wayne's motion to set
aside the QDRO and issued the following directives, in relevant part
2 Within ten (10) days from the entry of this Order, the
parties are directed to agree upon an expert to calculate
the value of [Wayne's] non marital interest in his 401K
account and similarly the value of the marital interest in
in [Wayne's] 401K account, including the appreciation in
value for both [Wayne's] non marital interest and the
marital interest
3 [Wayne] and [Chastity] shall share the cost of the
services of such expert
7 The motion filed by Wayne Ellison actually references Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure
(CR) 60 02 However following the evidentiary hearing the family court concluded that the
motion was properly filed under CR 60 01 as the Qualified Domestic Relations Order contained
a clerical mistake that was inconsistent with the agreement of the parties as set out in their
Separation Agreement
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4 Upon the determination of the value of the marital
interest in [Wayne's] account which should have been
equally divided between the parties, [Wayne] shall be
entitled to a Lump Sum Judgment in the amount of the
difference between fifty percent (50%) of the marital
portion which [Chastity] should have received and the
amount that was transferred by QDRO to [Chastity]
Order at 13
The family court concluded that Chastity was liable to Wayne for
unjust enrichment as a result of a clerical mistake in the QDRO The court could
not determine the amount of money Chastity was required to reimburse Wayne as a
result of the improper distribution from Wayne's 401K, pending the parties
compliance with the court's directives set out in the Order Additionally, the
court's July 25, 2023, Order did not recite that it was "final" and that there was "no
just reason for delay," as required by CR 54 02(1) On its face, the Order was
interlocutory and not appealable
However, upon entry of the July 25, 2023, Order setting aside the
QDRO, Chastity moved the family court on August 3, 2023, to amend the Order
Chastity also requested that the Order be vacated pursuant to CR 59 05 By Order
entered August 17 2023, the family court denied the motion, stating in relevant
part
1 [Chastity's] motion to amend the Court's Order of July
25 2023[ ] and for other relief is OVERRULED
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2 This Order shall be final and appealable and there is no
just reason for delay
Order at 1 Chastity then filed this appeal
The primary issue Chastity raises on appeal is the propriety of the
family court setting aside the QDRO and the determination that she is liable to
Wayne for unjust enrichment as a result of the overpayment from Wayne's 401K
account As noted, however, the family court only adjudicated part of that claim
liability and not damages In other words, the claim was not adjudicated in fiJll A
judicial determination that adjudicates only part of a claim is not appealable, even
if the order it arises from recites the necessary language set forth in CR 54 02 See
Tax Ease LIen Invs I LLC v Br own 340 S W 3d 99 102 (Ky App 201 1)
Notwithstanding Chastity argues that the family court's August 17
2023, Order amended the July 25, 2023, Order to render that earlier order final and
appealable We disagree In Blown, this Court explained that if the finality
recitations do not appear in thejudgment itself, a subsequent order revising the
judgment "must specifically incorporate finality language in the judgment " Id at
104 Here, paragraph "2" of the family court's August 17, 2023, Order did not do
that; by its own plain language, the August 17, 2023, Order merely designated that
order as being final and appealable An order denying a motion to alter, amend, or
vacate (a CR 59 05 motion) is never final and appealable regardless of whether
the order includes the CR 54 02 finality language, or whether the motion was
5
b1 ought under the auspices of CR 54 02 or CR 59 05 See Brown 340 S W 3d at
103 And, a lower court has no authority to reconsider an interlocutory order under
CR 59 05 Id
In summation, the family court's July 25, 2023, Order is a
nonappealable, interlocutory order and this Court lacks jurisdiction to review the
same Therefore, the appeal is DISMISSED
ALL CONCUR
ENTERED NOV 0 3 2024 .
AMA ALIA 1
J inGE COURT W‘EAL
BRIEFS FOR APPELLANT BRIEF FOR APPELLEE
Jeffrey O Casazza Jacqueline S Sawyers
Florence Kentucky Fort Mitchell Kentucky
6