# William Louis Rosin v. Laura Miller Rosin

> Michigan Court of Appeals · July 25, 2025

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11108108

## Case

- **Court:** Michigan Court of Appeals
- **Decided:** July 25, 2025
- **Precedential status:** Unpublished
- **Opinion:** Opinion
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

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- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11108108

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- noting that Michigan -7- “follows the ‘raise or waive’ rule of appellate review” and that “a ‘failure to timely raise an issue waives review of that issue on appeal’ ”
- concluding that the error in a referee deciding a purely legal question was harmless given the trial court’s subsequent de novo consideration
- holding that the friend of the court is “limited to its fact-finding, investigative functions and that purely legal questions [are] left to the circuit court judges”

## Opinion text

If this opinion indicates that it is “FOR PUBLICATION,” it is subject to
revision until final publication in the Michigan Appeals Reports.

STATE OF MICHIGAN

COURT OF APPEALS

WILLIAM LOUIS ROSIN, UNPUBLISHED
July 25, 2025
Plaintiff-Appellee/Cross-Appellant, 1:37 PM

v No. 368739
Oakland Circuit Court
LAURA MILLER ROSIN, LC No. 2011-781648-DM

Defendant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee.

Before: MARIANI, P.J., and MURRAY and TREBILCOCK, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

In this appeal arising from post-divorce proceedings, defendant, Laura Rosin, appeals by
right the trial court’s November 1, 2023 order reducing the amount of monthly spousal support
payable by plaintiff, William Rosin, and denying defendant’s request for attorney fees under MCR
3.206(D).1 Plaintiff cross-appeals the same order. We affirm.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

This case returns to this Court following a remand to the trial court in January 2023. See
Rosin v Rosin, unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued January 19, 2023
(Docket Nos. 357142; 358764) (Rosin I). This Court provided the underlying background of this
case in its prior opinion, see id. at 1-4, but to summarize for purposes of this appeal: In January
2020, plaintiff, pursuant to the parties’ settlement agreement incorporated into their 2011 consent

1
Although this postjudgment order denying defendant’s request for attorney fees under MCR
3.206(D) is a final order appealable by right, MCR 7.202(6)(a)(iv); MCR 7.203(A)(1), defendant’s
appeal from that order “is limited to the portion of the order with respect to which there is an appeal
of right,” MCR 7.203(A)(1). Thus, to the extent that we lack jurisdiction to consider as an appeal
by right defendant’s claim concerning the spousal support addressed in the same postjudgment
order, in the interest of judicial economy, we exercise our discretion to treat defendant’s claim of
appeal regarding spousal support as a granted application for leave to appeal. See Botsford
Continuing Care Corp v Intelistaf Healthcare, Inc, 292 Mich App 51, 61; 807 NW2d 354 (2011).

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judgment of divorce, moved to terminate or alternatively reduce the amount of monthly spousal
support he paid to defendant. At that time, plaintiff was paying defendant $6,500 a month, or
$78,000 a year, in spousal support. Id. at 2. On December 3, 2020, following a six-day evidentiary
hearing before a referee and the submission of the parties’ written closing arguments, the referee
issued a recommended order, in which she analyzed the factors from Berger v Berger, 277 Mich
App 700, 726-727; 747 NW2d 336 (2008), and concluded that although termination of support
was not equitable, a reduction “from $6,500 a month to $3,350 a month, retroactive to February 1,
2020,” was. Rosin I, unpub op at 3. Defendant objected to that recommended order. Id. After
reviewing the entire record de novo, the trial court issued an opinion and order adopting the
referee’s recommended order, finding that none of defendant’s objections had any merit. Id.

Defendant subsequently appealed to this Court, arguing that the trial court erred by failing
to award her attorney fees that she requested under MCR 3.206(D) and abused its discretion by
reducing plaintiff’s spousal support payments from $6,500 a month to $3,350 a month. Id. at 4-5.
Regarding the attorney-fees issue, this Court held that defendant had preserved the issue below
(albeit “barely”) by including a request for attorney fees in her written closing argument, and the
trial court erred by “fail[ing] to address this request.” Id. at 4-5. Regarding the spousal-support
issue, this Court concluded that the trial court’s reduction of spousal support was an abuse of its
discretion because the court had “failed to link its analysis of the [Berger] factors to the amount of
the reduction.” Id. at 5-6. This Court explained that the trial court had not “err[ed] in its
consideration and application” of Berger factors 1 through 13, but it had failed to “provide an
explanation of how the analysis of these factors linked to its reduction of spousal support . . . or
why such a reduction was equitable” under the “general principles of equity” contemplated by
Berger factor 14. Id. at 5-9. This Court also concluded that it was “inequitable to retroactively
reduce the spousal support back to February 1, 2020,” because the retroactive reduction was based
on “defendant . . . making full-time wages,” but “defendant did not obtain that full-time position
until September 2020.” Id. at 10. Accordingly, this Court “vacate[d] the trial court’s reduction of
spousal support and its order partially denying attorney fees” and remanded for the court to
consider defendant’s request for attorney fees under MCR 3.206(D) and to “explain how [the
court’s] reduction in spousal support is tied to its analysis of the Berger factors and how it is an
equitable result.” Id. at 5, 9-10.

On remand, defendant moved the trial court to, in relevant part, (1) permit supplemental
briefing on the spousal-support issue, and (2) conduct an evidentiary hearing on the attorney-fees
and spousal-support issues. The trial court denied defendant’s request for an evidentiary hearing
on the spousal-support issue because it did not believe that one was required to comply with this
Court’s directives on remand. Specifically, the court noted that approximately one week prior, the
referee had issued an amended recommended order regarding the reduction in spousal support, in
which the referee again recommended that spousal support be decreased from $6,500 to $3,350 a
month. The amended recommended order was nearly identical to the 2020 recommended order,
save some additional clarifying language throughout the discussion of Berger factors 1 through
13, as well as additional analysis under Berger factor 14 as directed by this Court. Defendant
thereafter objected to the referee’s amended recommended order and requested de novo review by
the trial court. Defendant also, pursuant to an order from the trial court, submitted a brief in support
of her request for attorney fees under MCR 3.206(D).

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After receiving the referee’s amended recommended order and the parties’ written and oral
arguments on both issues, the trial court again reviewed the entire record de novo “to address the
specific issues before it on remand.” In its written opinion and order, the trial court adopted the
additional analysis included in the referee’s amended recommended order regarding spousal
support and similarly concluded that a reduction in spousal support from $6,500 to $3,350 a month
was equitable given the circumstances of the case. The court also denied defendant’s request for
attorney fees under MCR 3.206(D). The instant appeal and cross-appeal followed.

II. COMPLIANCE WITH THIS COURT’S DIRECTIVES IN ROSIN I

On appeal, defendant first argues the trial court failed to comply with this Court’s directives
in Rosin I on remand. “When an appellate court remands a case with specific instructions, it is
improper for a lower court to exceed the scope of the order.” Int’l Business Machines, Corp v
Dep’t of Treasury, 316 Mich App 346, 350; 891 NW2d 880 (2016) (quotation marks and citations
omitted). Indeed, “[i]t is the duty of the lower court or tribunal, on remand, to comply strictly with
the mandate of the appellate court” when the appellate court “gives clear instructions in its remand
order[.]” Glenn v TPI Petroleum, Inc, 305 Mich App 698, 703; 854 NW2d 509 (2014) (quotation
marks and citation omitted). “Whether a trial court followed an appellate court’s ruling on remand
is a question of law that this Court reviews de novo.” Schumacher v Dep’t of Natural Resources,
275 Mich App 121, 127; 737 NW2d 782 (2007).

As noted, when this Court vacated the trial court’s prior order and remanded for further
proceedings, this Court specifically instructed the court to consider the request for attorney fees
under MCR 3.206(D) that defendant had included in her written closing argument and to “explain
how [the court’s] reduction in spousal support is tied to its analysis of the Berger factors and how
it is an equitable result,” including “any retroactive application” of that support. Rosin I, unpub
op at 5, 9-10. The trial court reiterated these directives in its written opinion and order on remand
and, contrary to defendant’s assertions on appeal, thoroughly addressed each of the issues on
remand as directed.

Regarding the attorney-fees issue, the trial court duly explained why it believed that
defendant was not entitled the requested fees under MCR 3.206(D). Specifically, the court
explained that defendant was required by MCR 3.206(D)(2)(a) to sufficiently show that she “is
unable to bear the expense of the action . . . and that [plaintiff wa]s able to pay,” but when
defendant made this request, she provided no “testimony as to her actual [attorney] fees, no
documents related to any request for fees, no testimony or evidence to show she was unable to pay
her fees, or any evidence to show that [p]laintiff was able to pay [her] fees.” The court then cited
to caselaw and to specific portions of the record to further support its conclusion.

Regarding the spousal-support issue, the trial court, in accordance with this Court’s
directive, expressly clarified how its reduction in support connected to its analysis of the Berger
factors and why that reduction was equitable in light of that analysis. The court noted that this
Court, in Rosin I, had “found that the Referee’s analysis as to [Berger] Factors 1-13 were supported
by the record and were without error,” and the court determined that, “[b]ased on its de novo
review of the record . . . , the downward modification of spousal support [from $6,500 to $3,350]
is equitable based on [plaintiff’s] decrease in earnings, [defendant’s] present income, and
[defendant’s] failure to timely obtain appropriate employment.” The court also clarified the

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reasoning behind the amount of its reduction in support, from $6,500 to $3,350 a month, adopting,
after the court’s own de novo review of the record, the explanation provided by the referee in the
amended recommended order:

[Defendant’s] support should be lowered by one half of the percentage of
[plaintiff’s] decrease in income, which is an average of 9.86% (decrease from
$6,500 per month to $5,859 per month) and further lowered by her income of
$30,096 per year or $2,508 per month based on her hourly wage of $18.81 per hour
for 40 hours per week for 40 weeks per school year (decrease from $5,859 per
month to $3,350 per month).

And regarding the retroactive modification of spousal support, the trial court noted that this Court
concluded the retroactive modification of the support to February 1, 2020, was inequitable given
that defendant did not begin working a full-time job until September 2020, so the court ordered
“that the modification be retroactively applied to September 1, 2020, when [defendant] first began
working full-time.”

The record makes clear that the trial court complied on remand with this Court’s specific
directives in Rosin I, id. at 5, 9-10, and we see no reversible error in that regard, see Glenn, 305
Mich App at 703.2

III. SPOUSAL SUPPORT

Next, defendant challenges the trial court’s reduction in spousal support on multiple
grounds. And plaintiff, on cross-appeal, challenges the trial court’s decision to make its reduction
of spousal support retroactive to September 1, 2020, rather than February 1, 2020. We address
each parties’ arguments in turn.

A. DEFENDANT’S CHALLENGES ON APPEAL

Defendant first argues that the trial court abused its discretion by reducing spousal support
from $6,500 to $3,350 a month because it clearly erred by finding that such a reduction was
equitable in light of the circumstances of this case. We review a trial court’s decision regarding
spousal support for an abuse of discretion, but we review the court’s findings of fact regarding
spousal support for clear error. Loutts v Loutts, 298 Mich App 21, 25-26; 826 NW2d 152 (2012).
“An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court’s decision falls outside the range of reasonable
and principled outcomes,” and “[a] finding is clearly erroneous if, after reviewing the entire record,
we are left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake was made.” Id. at 26 (quotation
marks and citation omitted). Because a trial court is best positioned to weigh evidence and assess

2
Defendant also briefly argues that the trial court adopted a “dollar to dollar reduction in spousal
support” in violation of the principles outlined in Myland v Myland, 290 Mich App 691, 695-696;
804 NW2d 124 (2010), but contrary to Myland, id., the trial court in this case clearly contemplated
the Berger factors and general principles of equity when calculating the reduction of spousal
support, and it did so at this Court’s express direction.

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a witness’s credibility, we afford great deference to those determinations. Berger, 277 Mich App
at 705. “If the trial court’s findings are not clearly erroneous,” the trial court’s discretionary
dispositional ruling regarding spousal support must be affirmed “unless we are convinced that it
was inequitable.” Loutts, 298 Mich App at 26.

The primary objective of spousal support “is to balance the incomes and needs of the parties
in a way that will not impoverish either party,” and the court must base spousal support “on what
is just and reasonable under the circumstances of the case.” Smith v Smith, 328 Mich App 279,
286; 936 NW2d 716 (2019) (quotation marks and citation omitted). MCL 552.28 authorizes the
modification of an award of spousal support and states that “[o]n petition of either party, after a
judgment for alimony . . . , the court may revise and alter the judgment, respecting the amount or
payment of the alimony . . . and may make any judgment respecting any of the matters that the
court might have made in the original action.”

For a court to modify spousal support, the moving party must first “establish new facts or
changed circumstances arising since the prior order regarding support was issued.” Luckow Estate
v Luckow, 291 Mich App 417, 424; 805 NW2d 453 (2011). Once the court finds that the moving
party “has established a change in circumstances, it must then make factual findings from which
to conclude whether the [spousal support] should be modified and, if so, by what amount.” Id.
(quotation marks and citation omitted). When making this determination, a trial court should
consider “many factors,” id., including:

(1) the past relations and conduct of the parties, (2) the length of the marriage, (3)
the abilities of the parties to work, (4) the source and amount of property awarded
to the parties, (5) the parties’ ages, (6) the abilities of the parties to pay alimony,
(7) the present situation of the parties, (8) the needs of the parties, (9) the parties’
health, (10) the prior standard of living of the parties and whether either is
responsible for the support of others, (11) contributions of the parties to the joint
estate, (12) a party’s fault in causing the divorce, (13) the effect of cohabitation on
a party’s financial status, and (14) general principles of equity. [Berger, 277 Mich
App at 726-727 (quotation marks and citation omitted).]

“The trial court should make specific factual findings regarding the factors that are relevant to the
particular case.” Korth v Korth, 256 Mich App 286, 289; 662 NW2d 111 (2003).

As previously determined in Rosin I, “the threshold inquiry of whether there was a change
in circumstances was satisfied through the parties’ stipulation.” Rosin I, unpub op at 6. The parties
do not dispute this. Accordingly, our focus is on the second step of the inquiry, i.e., the trial court’s
analysis of the Berger factors when determining whether spousal support should be modified and,
if so, by what amount. See Luckow, 291 Mich App at 424.

Our focus is further narrowed, however, by this Court’s prior determinations in Rosin I.
As the trial court noted on remand, this Court concluded that the trial court’s prior findings and
analyses regarding Berger factors 1 through 13 were not clearly erroneous and instead took issue
with the court’s treatment of Berger factor 14 and general principles of equity. Rosin I, unpub op
at 6-10. This Court emphasized that “[t]he amount of the reduction, though significant, [wa]s not
the problem,” and that “an explanation tying the factor analysis to the amount of the reduction”

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may well exist, but absent “such an explanation” on the record, it was “left with a firm conviction
that the reduction in spousal support . . . [wa]s not equitable.” Id. at 9.

As discussed, the trial court duly tailored its spousal-support analysis to the scope of these
prior determinations and the corresponding remand order. And despite defendant’s attempt to now
relitigate all 14 Berger factors in this appeal, the law-of-the-case doctrine applies and defendant
has failed to show any grounds that would justify disregarding it.3 Accordingly, our focus is on
the general principles of equity contemplated by Berger factor 14 and whether the trial court
sufficiently explained how its reduction of spousal support was equitable in light of its existing
analysis of the Berger factors.4

In reviewing Berger factor 14 and general principles of equity, we see no reversible error
in the trial court’s conclusion that a reduction in spousal support from $6,500 to $3,350 a month
was equitable given the circumstances of this case. As discussed, the trial court supplemented its
findings under the Berger factors and provided additional explanation as to why its reduction was
equitable and how it obtained the specific reduced amount that it did. The court agreed with the
referee’s amended findings regarding Berger factor 14, which determined that “it was
unreasonable to terminate spousal support” because the evidence established that defendant was
“clearly still in need of some monetary support,” but it was also “inequitable for [plaintiff] to
continue paying at the same rate” that he was previously. Following a de novo review of the
record, the court found that the reduction, both in fact and in amount, was equitable based on
plaintiff’s decreased income, defendant’s “present income,” and defendant’s “failure to timely

3
As this Court has explained, “a conclusion that a prior appellate decision was erroneous is not
sufficient in itself to justify ignoring the law of the case doctrine.” Grace v Grace, 253 Mich App
357, 363; 655 NW2d 595 (2002). Instead, the doctrine is to be followed except under limited
circumstances, such as when (1) there is a material change in the facts of the case; (2) there is an
intervening change in the law, Duncan v Michigan, 300 Mich App 176, 188-189; 832 NW2d 761
(2013); (3) there is a significant competing interest at stake, such as a constitutional right, requiring
independent review, Locricchio v Evening News Ass’n, 438 Mich 84, 109-110; 476 NW2d 112
(1991); or (4) the court believes that “its prior decision is clearly erroneous” and would result in
“a manifest injustice” if left intact, Rott v Rott, 508 Mich 274, 288; 972 NW2d 789 (2021)
(quotation marks and citation omitted). Defendant has not explained, and we do not see, how any
such circumstances might be present here, so as to warrant disregarding this Court’s prior
determinations regarding Berger factors 1 through 13.

4
We note that, while the referee made certain additions to her prior analysis of Berger factors 1
through 13 in the amended recommended order, they were minimal and did not substantively
change the findings for any of those factors. Instead, they served as clarifying language to further
supplement the analysis of Berger factor 14 and to better connect the entire analysis to the
recommended reduction of spousal support, as directed by this Court in Rosin I. To the extent that
any of the additions may have substantively changed the findings for any of the Berger factors 1
through 13 themselves, however, those findings were amply supported by the record and not
clearly erroneous. See Loutts, 298 Mich App at 25-26.

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obtain appropriate employment,” noting that defendant’s “delayed [search] for employment for
the first two years post-divorce” and her “narrowed her job search to only the most affluent school
districts in the area” was “not reasonable and prevented her from obtaining employment sooner.”

Consistent with these findings, the record reflects that plaintiff’s income had steadily
decreased from $474,142 in 2011 to $362,487 in 2019, and he reasonably expected it to decrease
further in 2020 given the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding defendant’s employment, there is no
dispute that defendant opted not to work for the first few years following the divorce to focus on
personal growth and did not begin seeking any form of employment until 2014. As a result,
defendant had no steady income outside of spousal support between 2011 and 2016. Defendant
also testified that when she began seeking employment, she restricted her applications for
schoolteacher positions to certain grade levels and to what she described as “crem de la crem [sic]
[school] districts,” and she did not apply to other positions outside of these grade levels and school
districts, despite being qualified for them. Defendant testified that she eventually obtained full-
time employment teaching four-year-old students at a preschool in Bloomfield Hills in 2017,
where she made approximately $12,519 in 2017 and $22,527 in 2018, but her annual salary had
decreased to $15,931 in 2019 after decreased enrollment at the school. Testimony also established
that defendant had voluntarily decreased her employment from full-time to part-time in 2019 and
had refused full-time employment offers to teach three-year-old students at the preschool’s
alternate location. Testimony further established that defendant did not widen her application pool
until after the evidentiary hearing on plaintiff’s motion to terminate or modify spousal support
began, and she eventually obtained full-time employment in September 2020, where she made
approximately $30,000 annually. In light of this record evidence, the trial court’s factual findings
on remand were not clearly erroneous, and we are not convinced that its discretionary reduction of
spousal support was inequitable. See Loutts, 298 Mich App at 26.

Defendant also argues that the trial court’s award of spousal support on remand is
inherently faulty and therefore must be vacated because it was largely based on the referee’s
amended recommended order. Specifically, defendant argues that because MCL 552.507(2)(a)
does not allow a referee to “[h]ear . . . motions pertaining to an increase or decrease in spouse
support,” the referee lacked statutory authority to provide the amended recommended order
regarding spousal support. It was not until after the referee issued an amended recommended order
on remand, however, that defendant took any issue with the referee’s role in these proceedings.
Defendant was notified by the trial court in March 2020 that it had referred plaintiff’s motion to
the referee. The referee then conducted a six-day evidentiary hearing on the matter between July
and October 2020 and issued a recommended order in December 2020. The trial court then
conducted a de novo review of the record, and defendant eventually appealed to this Court. At no
point during these lengthy prior proceedings did defendant raise any alleged error by the trial court
for assigning the issue of spousal support to a referee, and defendant concedes as much on appeal.
Defendant’s failure to raise this issue earlier undermines her ability to now claim error based upon
it. See Walters v Nadell, 481 Mich 377, 387; 751 NW2d 431 (2008) (noting that Michigan

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“follows the ‘raise or waive’ rule of appellate review” and that “a ‘failure to timely raise an issue
waives review of that issue on appeal’ ”) (citations omitted).5

Regardless, defendant fails to show, and we fail to see, how any such error was not
harmless. See MCR 2.613(A). Defendant was afforded a six-day evidentiary hearing to present
all relevant evidence and arguments related to the spousal-support issue, during which she
vigorously participated. The referee conducted the evidentiary hearing and provided
recommended orders containing findings of fact, but did not purport to do anything further, such
as resolving any purely legal questions or issuing a final decision in lieu of the trial court. See,
e.g., Rose v May, ___ Mich App ___, ___; ___ NW3d ___ (2025) (Docket No. 371605); slip op at
7 (explaining that the duties contemplated by the Friend of the Court Act (FCA), MCL 552.501 et
seq., generally “involve . . . the investigation and compilation of facts for use by the circuit court
judge”) (quotation marks and citation omitted); D’Allessandro v Ely, 173 Mich App 788, 800; 434
NW2d 662 (1988) (holding that the friend of the court is “limited to its fact-finding, investigative
functions and that purely legal questions [are] left to the circuit court judges”).6 And the trial court,
for its part, did not simply adopt the referee’s recommended order or amended recommended
order; rather, in each instance, the trial court received and considered defendant’s objections and
completed a de novo review of the entire record before reaching its conclusion. See MCL
552.507(4)-(6); MCR 3.215(E)(4) and (F); see also D’Allessandro, 173 Mich App at 800
(concluding that the error in a referee deciding a purely legal question was harmless given the trial
court’s subsequent de novo consideration). Defendant has not shown entitlement to relief on this
issue.

Lastly, defendant argues that she was denied her due-process right to notice and an
opportunity to be heard because the trial court did not conduct an evidentiary hearing or allow
supplemental briefing on remand before deciding the spousal-support issue. We do not see merit
in this claim. As noted above, defendant received a six-day evidentiary hearing addressing spousal

5
Defendant argues that no waiver of this issue could have occurred, relying heavily on Allard v
Allard (On Remand), 318 Mich App 583, 601; 899 NW2d 420 (2017). In Allard, this Court
concluded that the parties to a divorce could not, “by mutual agreement, strip a circuit court of its
authority under MCL 552.23(1) to order relief that the court, in its sound discretion, deems
necessary to adequately support and maintain the parties’ minor children.” Id. at 602. In support,
this Court explained that “the parties to a divorce cannot, through antenuptial agreement, compel
a court of equity to order a property settlement that is inequitable” or “relieve a circuit court of its
duty to independently safeguard the interests of minor children who are involved.” Id. at 601. We
fail to see how Allard’s reasoning or conclusion sheds any meaningful light on the circumstances
presented by this case, and whether defendant’s failure to object to the referee’s role with respect
to the spousal-support issue until after remand waived her ability to now challenge it on appeal.
And in any event, as discussed infra, defendant has not shown entitlement to relief for any such
error, regardless of waiver.
6
“Although cases decided before November 1, 1990 are not binding precedent, they nevertheless
can be considered persuasive authority[.]” In re Stillwell Trust, 299 Mich App 289, 299 n 1; 829
NW2d 353 (2012) (citations omitted).

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support in which she fully participated, and she was afforded the opportunity to submit written
closing arguments. Defendant was also undisputedly notified of this Court’s remand to the trial
court for further consideration of the spousal-support issue in Rosin I, and she both received notice
of the referee’s amended recommended order and was permitted to object to it. After receiving
defendant’s written objections and oral arguments at a hearing, the court reviewed the entire record
de novo, and then issued a written opinion and order addressing the spousal-support issue. It is
thus clear from the record that defendant was afforded ample notice and opportunity to be heard
regarding that issue, including on remand, and defendant has failed to show how she was
nonetheless denied her constitutional right to due process as to it. See, e.g., Cummings v Wayne
Co, 210 Mich App 249, 253-254; 533 NW2d 13 (1995).7

B. PLAINTIFF’S CHALLENGE ON CROSS-APPEAL

Plaintiff argues on cross-appeal that the trial court erred by retroactively reducing the
spousal support to September 1, 2020, rather than to February 1, 2020. According to plaintiff, it
is inequitable to require him to pay full spousal support between those dates because the evidence
establishes defendant was voluntarily underemployed during that time. This Court directly
addressed the retroactive modification of the spousal support in Rosin I, concluding that “it was . . .
inequitable to retroactively reduce the spousal support back to February 1, 2020,” because the
reduction was largely based on defendant’s full-time salary of “nearly $30,000 a year,” but
“defendant did not obtain that full-time employment until September 2020.” Rosin I, unpub op at
10. This Court acknowledged that “the trial court had discretion under MCL 552.603(2) to make
a modification of spousal support retroactive,” but it concluded that “imposing that reduction
retroactively to a time when defendant was not working full time is unnecessarily and inherently
unfair.” Id. The trial court acknowledged this Court’s holding in Rosin I in its written opinion
and order on remand, ordering that, for the reasons set forth by this Court in Rosin I, the spousal-
support modification was to be “retroactively applied to September 1, 2020, when [defendant] first
began working full-time.”

As noted, the law-of-the-case doctrine dictates that, absent limited circumstances, both the
trial court on remand and this Court in this subsequent appeal are bound by this Court’s prior
determination of this issue in Rosin I. See, e.g., Rott v Rott, 508 Mich 274, 286-288; 972 NW2d
789 (2021). Although plaintiff clearly disagrees with that prior determination, plaintiff has
offered, and we see, no colorable basis for disregarding the law-of-the-case doctrine here. See id.
at 284; Locricchio v Evening News Ass’n, 438 Mich 84, 109-110; 476 NW2d 112 (1991); Duncan
v Michigan, 300 Mich App 176, 188-189; 832 NW2d 761 (2013); Grace v Grace, 253 Mich App
357, 363; 655 NW2d 595 (2002). Accordingly, we remain bound by this Court’s prior

7
Defendant also argues, in her reply brief on appeal, that the trial court’s failure to hold an
evidentiary hearing on her attorney-fees request amounted to a due-process violation. Defendant,
however, failed to raise this argument in her principal brief on appeal, rendering it not properly
presented for review. See, e.g., Bronson Methodist Hosp v Mich Assigned Claims Facility, 298
Mich App 192, 199; 826 NW2d 197 (2012). Nor is the argument particularly developed, and we
fail to see how it might fare any better than the one above regarding spousal support.

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determination regarding the retroactive application of the spousal-support modification, and see
no reversible error in the trial court’s handling of that issue on remand.

IV. ATTORNEY FEES AND COSTS

Lastly, defendant argues the trial court abused its discretion by holding she was not entitled
to attorney fees under MCR 3.206(D). We review a trial court’s decision concerning attorney fees
for an abuse of discretion, but we review its underlying findings of fact for clear error. Richards
v Richards, 310 Mich App 683, 699-700; 874 NW2d 704 (2015). Statutory interpretation and
interpretation of our court rules are questions of law that we review de novo. Barretta v Zhitkov,
348 Mich App 539, 549; 19 NW3d 420 (2023).

Although attorney fees are not recoverable by right in divorce actions, they are authorized
by statute, MCL 552.13(1), and court rule, MCR 3.206(D). Reed v Reed, 265 Mich App 131, 164;
693 NW2d 825 (2005). Pursuant to MCR 3.206(D)(1) and (2)(a), when a party cannot afford the
attorney fees and expenses related to a case or proceeding, he or she may request that the court
order the opposing party to pay some or all of those fees and expenses. “This Court has interpreted
this rule to require an award of attorney fees in a divorce action only as necessary to enable a party
to prosecute or defend a suit.” Myland v Myland, 290 Mich App 691, 702; 804 NW2d 124 (2010)
(quotation marks and citation omitted). If a party requests attorney fees and expenses under MCR
3.206(D)(2)(a), he or she must put forth “facts sufficient to show that he or she is unable to bear
the expense of the action, and that the other party is able to pay.” Colen v Colen, 331 Mich App
295, 306; 952 NW2d 558 (2020) (quotation marks and citation omitted).

As noted, in Rosin I, this Court concluded that the trial court should have considered the
request for attorney fees that defendant had previously raised, and remanded “to the trial court for
consideration of that request.” Rosin I, unpub op at 5. On remand, the trial court, after explaining
why it had not considered the request previously, concluded that the prior request was inadequate
because defendant had “failed to submit sufficient testimony or evidence that an award of attorney
fees under [the court rule] would be appropriate.” The court explained:

Defendant did not present any testimony as to her actual fees, no documents related
to any request for fees, no testimony or evidence to show she was unable to pay her
fees, or any evidence to show that Plaintiff was able to pay Defendant’s fees.
Indeed, Defendant testified that she elected to take several years off work following
the divorce to focus on personal growth and yoga and spent considerable funds on
annual beauty treatments, house cleaners and travel, while purchasing a home in an
affluent neighborhood.

Accordingly, the trial court denied defendant’s request for attorney fees under MCR 3.206(D).

We see no clear error in the trial court’s findings. Although defendant estimated her
attorney fees to be over $50,000 at the time of the September 2020 evidentiary hearing, she
provided no evidence at that time of what the exact amount in fees and expenses was or whether
she had been asked to pay any of them at that point. And, as for the parties’ respective abilities to
pay, defendant relied almost exclusively on the fact that plaintiff’s annual income was much higher
than hers; she otherwise put forth no forth no proofs regarding plaintiff’s ability to pay. There was

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undisputedly a substantial difference in the parties’ incomes—defendant’s annual salary was
approximately $30,000 a year and plaintiff’s annual salary was over $350,000. While that
disparity may certainly be relevant to the inquiry, defendant failed to provide support, legally or
factually, for the notion that it was sufficient in itself to demonstrate the parties’ respective abilities
to pay defendant’s attorney fees in this case. See, e.g., Colen, 331 Mich App at 309 (noting that
“[t]he essence of plaintiff’s argument is that she has fewer financial resources than defendant, but
the standard for awarding attorney fees under MCR 3.206(D)(2)(a) is more complex than that”).

Additionally, as the trial court recognized, the record before the court contained evidence
and testimony undermining defendant’s claimed inability to pay. As discussed previously,
testimony established that, although defendant expressed concern about her finances, she had
chosen not to take full advantage of her income-earning potential for a number of years following
the divorce, and only widened her employment search after the evidentiary hearing in the instant
matter was underway. Defendant also was solely responsible for her mortgage payment, but she
opted to purchase a $379,000 home in an affluent neighborhood. And defendant admitted to
having sufficient funds to cover her necessities and still spend several thousand dollars per year
on things such as vacations, a housecleaner, Botox, pedicures, cosmetics, blowouts, and hair
treatments. Defendant has not shown clear error in any of the trial court’s findings in this regard.

On remand, defendant submitted additional evidence in support of her fee request, which
documented the parties’ respective incomes and the actual fees she had incurred. As discussed,
however, she failed to provide such evidence when she initially made her request pre-remand, and
so its post-remand submission does not betray any error in the court’s assessment of the request’s
adequacy at the time it was made. In any event, while this evidence helped to fill certain gaps in
defendant’s proofs, it did not meaningfully address the evidentiary deficiencies discussed above
regarding the parties’ respective abilities to pay.8

As noted, our review of the trial court’s decision regarding defendant’s fee request is
limited. We review the court’s factual findings for clear error, which requires “a definite and firm
conviction that a mistake has been made.” Richards, 310 Mich App at 700 (quotation marks and
citation omitted). The trial court’s findings as to this issue do not leave us with any such definite
and firm conviction. And we review the court’s ultimate decision on the fee request for an abuse
of discretion, which only “occurs when the result falls outside the range of principled outcomes.”
Id. at 699. As our Supreme Court recently reiterated:

At its core, an abuse of discretion standard acknowledges that there will be
circumstances in which there will be no single correct outcome; rather, there will
be more than one reasonable and principled outcome. When the trial court selects
one of these principled outcomes, the trial court has not abused its discretion and,
thus, it is proper for the reviewing court to defer to the trial court’s judgment.

8
In addition, the evidence defendant submitted on remand indicated that defendant had already
paid the requested fees. Defendant stated in her verified brief that she “was forced to borrow
money from family” to do so and “ha[d] been unable to repay said loans to date,” but she did not
provide further details to that effect through either her brief or supporting documentation.

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[Webster v Osguthorpe, ___ Mich ___; ___ NW3d ___ (2025) (Docket Nos.
166627; 166628); slip op at 19, quoting People v Babcock, 469 Mich 247, 269; 666
NW2d 231 (2003) (ellipsis omitted).]

Accordingly, to secure relief, defendant must do more than simply show that an award of fees in
her favor would have been a reasonable and principled outcome; she must show that the court’s
decision to deny her request was outside the range of such outcomes. See, e.g., Webster, ___ Mich
at ___; slip op at 19 (“Merely because a denial of sanctions may have been supportable does not
mean that the trial court abused its discretion by allowing sanctions.”). For the reasons discussed
above, she has not done so. The trial court’s findings regarding this issue were not clearly
erroneous, and the court did not abuse its discretion by denying defendant’s request for attorney
fees under MCR 3.206(D).9

Affirmed.

/s/ Philip P. Mariani
/s/ Christopher M. Murray
/s/ Christopher M. Trebilcock

9
Defendant also argues the trial court erred by concluding the attorney-fees issue was not properly
presented in 2020, but because the trial court complied with this Court’s directive in Rosin I by
expressly considering on remand the merits of whether defendant was entitled to attorney fees
under MCR 3.206(D), this issue is moot, and we decline to substantively address it. See Barretta,
348 Mich App at 561-562 (noting that this Court “will generally not review moot issues” because
doing so “would be a purposeless proceeding”) (quotation marks and citations omitted).

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11108108. Public record. Not legal advice.