State ex rel. Gray v. Daugherty (Tennessee 2020)

A motion to alter or amend a judgment must be supported with evidence at trial. The State filed a motion for relief from an arrears judgment alleging that the father had been given credit for a payment made to the mother by an NCP on a different case. At the hearing, the State argued in support of its motion but didn’t put on any evidence. The trial court granted the State’s motion and amended the judgement amount. The father appealed arguing that the State failed to prove its motion. The appellate court reversed the order. To be successful on its motion, the State had to prove its motion by clear and convincing evidence. While the State had attached various documents to its motion, it didn’t lay foundation for the documents or offer them into evidence at the hearing. Attaching a document to a pleading doesn’t mean it is in evidence. Without more, the State didn’t meet its burden.