Temporary Relief

I recently talked about the Frazier case here that was recently decided by the Mississippi Court of Appeals and the potential need for temporary relief.  I came across some language in the same opinion that is helpful to know.  In Paragraph 17 of the opinion, the Court of Appeals noted:

"¶17. The Supreme Court of Mississippi, in Bailey v. Bailey, 724 So. 2d 335, 339 (¶12) (Miss. 1998), held that temporary reduction in child support, as occurred in this case, is not only within the power of a chancellor – it is required under appropriate circumstances. In Bailey it was held:

Where the reason for modification is temporary in nature, the trial court should order a temporary reduction in child support. See Nichols v. Tedder, 547 So. 2d 766, 781-82 (Miss. 1989). The chancellor’s order permanently reducing Sandra’s child support obligation is reversed, and this case is remanded for further findings on a reasonable temporary reduction in child support.

Id. (emphasis added)."

I started thinking about this.  If temporary relief is required in certain circumstances, it stands to reason that errors in the temporary order are appealable with the entry of the Final Order in the case.  Mississippi has long held that temporary orders are not appealable.  Michael v. Michael, 650 So.2d 469, 471 (Miss. 1995).  See also Miss. Code Ann. § 11-51-3 (Supp. 2006).  However, the reason they have been held unappealable is that there is no final judgment on the case in accordance with Rule 54 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.  As such, if you raise the issues regarding errors at the Final trial on the merits and potentially in a post trial motion, it stands to reason that the errors would ultimately be able to be corrected on appeal.  The biggest issue is making an adequate record of any errors on a temporary basis as many times there is no court reporter.