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CourtListener opinion 4502558

Date unknown · US

Extracted case name
pending
Extracted reporter citation
938 A.2d 246
Docket / number
1457 MDA 2019
QDRO relevance 5/5Retirement relevance 5/5Family-law relevance 5/5gold label pending
Research-use warning: This page contains machine-draft public annotations generated from public opinion text. The headnote is not Willie-approved gold-label work product and is not legal advice. Verify the full opinion and current law before relying on it.

Machine-draft headnote

Machine-draft public headnote: CourtListener opinion 4502558 is included in the LexyCorpus QDRO sample set as a public CourtListener opinion with relevance to pension / defined benefit 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: pension / defined benefit issues

Evidence quotes

QDRO

.: FILED JANUARY 29, 2020 Appellant, Earl A. Swartz ("Husband"), and Cross-Appellant, Brenda L. Swartz ("Wife"), appeal from the order entered in the Union County Court of Common Pleas, which granted in part and denied in part Husband's motion to amend a Qualified Domestic Relations Order ("QDRO"). We affirm. In its opinion, the trial court accurately set forth the relevant facts and J-S02029-20 J-S02030-20 procedural history of this case. Thus, we have no reason to restate them.1 At No. 1457 MDA 2019, Husband raises the following issue for our review: WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED, AS A MATTER OF LAW, IN DETERMINING THAT [WIFE] IS

retirement benefits

pinion. Order affirmed. Judge Musmanno joins this memorandum. President Judge Emeritus Bender concurs in the result Judgment Entered. Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq. Prothonotary Date: 01/29/2020 ____________________________________________ defined benefit retirement plan being distributed by means of deferred distribution, defined benefit plan shall be allocated between its marital and non-marital portions solely by use of coverture fraction). "Thus, the non- employee spouse is permitted to enjoy increases in value occasioned by continued employment of the worker." Smith v. Smith, 595 Pa. 80, 102, 938 A.2d 246, 259 (2007) (

pension

WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED, AS A MATTER OF LAW, IN DETERMINING THAT [WIFE] IS ENTITLED TO THE BENEFIT OF [HUSBAND'S] SALARY ADJUSTMENTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING [WIFE]'S PRO RATA SHARE OF [HUSBAND'S FEDERAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ("FERS")] PENSION WHEN THE PARTIES' MARITAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT IS SILENT AS TO ANY SUCH ADJUSTMENTS? (Husband's Brief at 1). At No. 1488 MDA 2019, Wife raises the following issue for our review: DID THE [TRIAL] COURT ERR BY GRANTING HUSBAND'S MOTION TO AMEND [THE QDRO] FILED IN EXCESS OF FIVE (5) YEARS FOLLOWING THE ENTRY OF THE [QDRO], THEREBY VIOLATING THE VALI

domestic relations order

ANUARY 29, 2020 Appellant, Earl A. Swartz ("Husband"), and Cross-Appellant, Brenda L. Swartz ("Wife"), appeal from the order entered in the Union County Court of Common Pleas, which granted in part and denied in part Husband's motion to amend a Qualified Domestic Relations Order ("QDRO"). We affirm. In its opinion, the trial court accurately set forth the relevant facts and J-S02029-20 J-S02030-20 procedural history of this case. Thus, we have no reason to restate them.1 At No. 1457 MDA 2019, Husband raises the following issue for our review: WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED, AS A MATTER OF LAW, IN DETERMINING THAT [WIFE] IS

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: 938 A.2d 246 · docket: 1457 MDA 2019
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

J-S02029-20
J-S02030-20

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

 BRENDA L. SWARTZ : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
 : PENNSYLVANIA
 Appellee :
 :
 v. :
 :
 EARL A. SWARTZ :
 :
 Appellant : No. 1457 MDA 2019

 Appeal from the Order Entered July 31, 2019
 In the Court of Common Pleas of Union County
 Civil Division at No(s): CV-12-0512

 BRENDA L. SWARTZ : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
 : PENNSYLVANIA
 Appellant :
 :
 v. :
 :
 EARL A. SWARTZ :
 :
 Appellee : No. 1488 MDA 2019

 Appeal from the Order Entered July 31, 2019
 In the Court of Common Pleas of Union County
 Civil Division at No(s): CV-12-0512

BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., KING, J., and MUSMANNO, J.

MEMORANDUM BY KING, J.: FILED JANUARY 29, 2020

 Appellant, Earl A. Swartz ("Husband"), and Cross-Appellant, Brenda L.

Swartz ("Wife"), appeal from the order entered in the Union County Court of

Common Pleas, which granted in part and denied in part Husband's motion to

amend a Qualified Domestic Relations Order ("QDRO"). We affirm.

 In its opinion, the trial court accurately set forth the relevant facts and
 J-S02029-20
J-S02030-20

procedural history of this case. Thus, we have no reason to restate them.1

 At No. 1457 MDA 2019, Husband raises the following issue for our

review:

 WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED, AS A MATTER OF LAW,
 IN DETERMINING THAT [WIFE] IS ENTITLED TO THE
 BENEFIT OF [HUSBAND'S] SALARY ADJUSTMENTS FOR THE
 PURPOSE OF DETERMINING [WIFE]'S PRO RATA SHARE OF
 [HUSBAND'S FEDERAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM
 ("FERS")] PENSION WHEN THE PARTIES' MARITAL
 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT IS SILENT AS TO ANY SUCH
 ADJUSTMENTS?

(Husband's Brief at 1).

 At No. 1488 MDA 2019, Wife raises the following issue for our review:

 DID THE [TRIAL] COURT ERR BY GRANTING HUSBAND'S
 MOTION TO AMEND [THE QDRO] FILED IN EXCESS OF FIVE
 (5) YEARS FOLLOWING THE ENTRY OF THE [QDRO],
 THEREBY VIOLATING THE VALID MARRIAGE SETTLEMENT
 AGREEMENT, 42 PA.C.S.[A.] § 5505 AND DOING SO
 WITHOUT ANY SUPPORTING FACTS OF RECORD?

(Wife's Brief at 4).

 After a thorough review of the record, the briefs of the parties, the

applicable law, and the well-reasoned opinion of the Honorable Michael T.

Hudock, we conclude the parties' issues merit no relief. The trial court opinion

____________________________________________

1 On August 29, 2019, Husband timely filed a notice of appeal at No. 1457
MDA 2019. Wife timely filed a cross-appeal on September 10, 2019, at No.
1488 MDA 2019. See Pa.R.A.P. 903(b) (explaining if timely notice of appeal
is filed by party, any other party may file notice of appeal within 14 days of
date on which first notice of appeal was served, or within time otherwise
prescribed by this rule, whichever period last expires). The cross-appeals
were mistakenly listed consecutively. On January 14, 2020, this Court issued
an order consolidating the cross-appeals sua sponte.

 -2-
 J-S02029-20
J-S02030-20

comprehensively discusses and properly disposes of the questions presented.

(See Opinion in Support of Order, filed July 31, 2019, at 3-7) (finding:

regarding court's jurisdiction to modify QDRO, extraordinary circumstances

exist to justify modification; due to policy change beyond parties' control or

contemplation, QDRO now grants Wife portion of annuity supplement to which

she was not entitled pursuant to terms of parties' marital settlement

agreement ("MSA") at time they executed it; MSA is silent as to annuity

supplement; MSA specifically identified Wife's entitlement to "Husband's gross

monthly annuity," former spouse survivor annuity, and Husband's Thrift

Savings Plan; MSA makes clear parties did not intend for Wife to receive

portion of annuity supplement, and mutual mistake has occurred as result of

policy change; even if MSA was ambiguous, Wife would not be entitled to

annuity supplement; MSA and QDRO would not have awarded Wife portion of

annuity supplement at time parties executed MSA or court entered QDRO;

regarding Husband's salary adjustments, court does not find mutual mistake;

MSA makes clear Wife is entitled to portion of "Husband's gross monthly

income"; parties made no exceptions in MSA for Husband's salary

adjustments, even though MSA specifically contemplated Husband's service

for periods of time outside parties' marriage2). Accordingly, we affirm based

____________________________________________

2 Further, in 2004, the legislature added a subsection to the Divorce Code
regarding the distribution of defined benefit pensions, at 23 Pa.C.S.A. §
3501(c). See 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 3501(c)(1) (stating in case of marital portion of

 -3-
 J-S02029-20
J-S02030-20

on the trial court's opinion.

 Order affirmed.

 Judge Musmanno joins this memorandum.

 President Judge Emeritus Bender concurs in the result

Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary

Date: 01/29/2020

____________________________________________

defined benefit retirement plan being distributed by means of deferred
distribution, defined benefit plan shall be allocated between its marital and
non-marital portions solely by use of coverture fraction). "Thus, the non-
employee spouse is permitted to enjoy increases in value occasioned by
continued employment of the worker." Smith v. Smith, 595 Pa. 80, 102,
938 A.2d 246, 259 (2007) (internal citation omitted). In other words, in
general, "the determination of the marital potion of a defined benefit pension
will entail a straightforward application of the coverture fraction to the final
total value of the pension, even though the value has increased due to years
of postseparation employment." Id. Here, Husband's reliance on
Katzenberger v. Katzenberger, 534 Pa. 419, 633 A.2d 602 (1993) affords
him no relief because that case pre-dates the legislature's addition of Section
3501(c).

 -4-
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