Filed Washington State Court of Appeals Division Two July 31, 2018 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION II In the Matter of the Marriage of No. 49839-1-II JOHN ARTHUR MASON, Appellant, and UNPUBLISHED OPINION TATYANA IVANOVNA MASON, Respondent. MAXA, C.J. – John Mason appeals the trial court’s order vacating a 2013 order requiring his former wife Tatyana Mason to pay him child support. The trial court vacated the child support order under CR 60(b)(11) because in the 2013 proceeding the court had not been informed that John1 had an obligation to support Tatyana based on an I-864 affidavit of support relating to Tatyana’s immigration to the United States. We hold that (1) the trial court erred in vacating the 2013 child support order because the failure of the parties to inform the court of the I-864 affidavit was not an extraordinary circumstance extraneous to the prior proceedings, (2) the trial court did not err in awarding Tatyana a portion of her expert witness fees under RCW 26.09.140, and (3) the trial court erred in imposing CR 11 sanctions against John without including specific findings supporting the award in its CR 11 order. 1 To avoid confusion, we refer to the parties by their first names. We intend no disrespect. No. 49839-1-II Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s order vacating the 2013 child support order and a related order vacating an order that prospectively modified Tatyana’s child support obligation. We affirm the trial court’s award of expert fees to Tatyana under RCW 26.09.140. And we vacate the trial court’s order imposing CR 11 sanctions on John and remand either for entry of specific findings supporting the award of CR 11 sanctions that are included or incorporated in the court’s CR 11 order or a determination that CR 11 sanctions are not warranted. FACTS Marriage and Dissolution Tatyana came to the United States in 1999 on a “fiancée visa” sponsored by John. At the time, Tatyana did not speak English, so John filled out her immigration paperwork. One of the forms that John signed was an affidavit of support, known as an I-864 affidavit, agreeing that he would provide financial support to Tatyana for a certain period of time. The parties married in 1999 and later had two children. John filed a petition for dissolution in 2007. The trial court entered a decree of dissolution in 2008, which allocated residential time evenly and included a requirement that John make child support payments to Tatyana. In 2011, John filed a petition to modify the parenting plan based on his allegation that Tatyana abused the children. The trial court held a trial on the modification, during which Tatyana was represented by counsel. The trial court granted John’s petition to modify the parenting plan and entered a finding of abuse against Tatyana under RCW 26.09.191. As part of its modification, the trial court entered an amended order of child support on November 25, 2013. The court imputed income to Tatyana ...
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