Wife’s Claims of Abuse Found Not to Be Credible
Tennessee case summary on domestic violence in divorce.
Paige Wininger v. Jarred Wininger
The husband and wife in this Washington County, Tennessee, case were married in Tennessee in 2017 and had one daughter. In 2019, they moved to South Carolina, but in 2021, the wife left the marital home and returned to Tennessee with the daughter. The husband moved back to Tennessee days later. Later that year, the wife informed the husband that she was moving to Georgia with the daughter and then stopped communicating. The father then filed a motion for temporary custody, after which the wife surrendered the child to the husband. The wife then filed a motion for visitation, in which she stated that she lived in Jonesborough, Tennessee.
The next day, the wife filed a petition for an order of protection. She alleged that the husband physically and sexually abused her during the marriage. She recited eight incidents dating back to 2018. She alleged that in May 2021, the husband punched her in front of the daughter, and then threw silverware and dishes.
At the hearing, the husband’s attorney informed the court that the wife had filed another such petition in South Carolina, but the case proceeded in Tennessee.
The wife testified to the various incidents, but admitted on cross-examination that she called the husband names, kicked him in self-defense, and spit on him. The husband’s attorney played an audio recording in which the wife threatened to slit her own throat. Various texts sent by the wife were also presented to the court.
After hearing all of the evidence, the trial court dismissed the wife’s petition, finding that the wife had “uncontrolled rage” against the husband. After various post-judgment motions, the wife then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
After determining that jurisdiction was proper, the appeals court turned to the merits of the case. The wife first argued that the trial court should have admitted an audio recording she sought to present. The trial court had disallowed it because she had not previously produced it. The wife was, however, allowed to testify as to the events that took place. But the wife failed to make an offer of proof as to the contents of the tape. Therefore, the appeals court was unable to review the issue and affirmed.
The wife also objected to the husband’s audio recording. But since the wife failed to object at trial, this issue was waived.
The wife also argued that the trial court erred in throwing out the petition. But the trial court had concluded that the wife’s evidence was not credible. Since the trial court is properly the one to make credibility determinations, the Court of Appeals agreed that the evidence did not preponderate against the lower court’s findings. Therefore, it affirmed. It also taxed the costs of appeal against the wife.
No. E2021-01296-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Sep. 14, 2022).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see The Tennessee Divorce Process: How Divorces Work Start to Finish.
To learn more, see Domestic Violence in Tennessee.
