On September 28, 2014 Aaron Weems posted a blog in which he reported on a panel Decision of the Superior Court holding that a Father’s contractual undertaking to pay $10,000 to a Mother each time he sought to modify an agreed custody arrangement was enforceable. When the Mother sued to enforce the contract term and the Father filed objections stating that the contract was in derogation of public policy.  The Trial Court sustained his objections and Mother appealed.  The three judge panel decision reversed the trial court but the ruling was later withdrawn so that it could be considered by a full bench; nine of the fifteen commissioned judges.  The matter was argued in the Fall, 2015 and a new decision was issued on February 5.

The crux of the issue remains the same. The parties indeed made a contract containing this $10,000 modification “honorarium.”  When Mother sought to enforce Father (a lawyer) claimed that while he did sign the contract, the provision could not be enforced.  The law of contracts has long held that some provisions are against public policy and that those are unenforceable.  The typical examples are contracts involving illegal activities.  But Pennsylvania also has a long history of cases holding that agreements that limit child support are subject to being set aside where the Court determines that the arrangement does not promote the best interests of the child.  The Granddaddy of these cases is one where a Mother agreed to $5 a month in child support because she felt confident that helping the Father afford medical school would ultimately benefit their child.

The defendant in Huss v. Weaver 2016 Pa. Super. 24 tried to argue his way into the tent affording protection from his own agreement on the basis that paying the $10,000 charge was in some way bargaining the rights of the subject child.  The Superior Court was not buying that; noting that this was not money coming from support or a fund for the child, but Husband’s own resources.  The Court also found that the agreement in controversy contained a statement that Father was an attorney capable of earning “a large salary.”  It also distinguished a case where the Court voided an agreement that provided for one parent to pay the other parent’s legal fees if she later sought to modify the support agreement formed by the parties. Kraisinger v. Kraisinger 928, A.2d 333, 345 (Pa. Super, 2007).

There is language in this opinion which suggests that at hearing on this claim, the Defendant may be able to assert that he should be absolved of his contractual undertaking if he could show that the $10,000 payment was an impediment to his seeking modification of custody. See Slip opinion at p. 12. That, however, is not a basis to hold the agreement as violating public policy on the basis of the pleadings.  The case was remanded for hearing.

Four of the judges joined in a concurring opinion that cautioned the trial court that if the Defendant develops the right record, he might win. Penalty provisions that do not relate to actual damages are not favored in law.  The concurring opinion also notes that if facts were established that the $10,000 payment was impeding a bona fide action to protect the interests of the child, the court might come out with a different result.  So in the end, all we really know is that this kind of payment clause is not per se a violation of public policy but that its invocation will be viewed with suspicion even when agreed.