Does Reduction of Child Support Arrearage Violate Ban Against Retroactive Application of Statute?
Lillian Rivera Cruz v. Luis Cumba-Ortiz, Case no. 2006-0973 8th District Court of Appeals (Cuyahoga County) ISSUE: Did an Ohio court abuse its discretion by retroactively applying current law that recognizes single-state jurisdiction over child support disputes to a case dating back to a former legal scheme under which different states could each have enforceable child support orders in effect against the same parent? BACKGROUND: In 2003, Luis Cumba-Ortiz of Cleveland received a notice from a Puerto Rican court ordering him to pay his ex-wife, Lillian Rivera Cruz, an accrued child support arrearage of approximately $65,000, calculated at $40 per week for the 32 years since the issuance of an original 1971 support order. In June 2004, Cumba-Ortiz entered an agreement that he would pay ongoing support of $40 per week plus a processing fee to the Cleveland Child Support Enforcement Agency, and would begin making monthly payments toward the arrearage, but noted in writing that he had not w
