LYDIA PELLERITO V FILIPPO PELLERITO
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
LYDIA PELLERITO,
UNPUBLISHED
March 4, 1997
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 182442
Macomb Circuit Court
LC No. 92-004184 DO
FILIPPO PELLERITO,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Corrigan, C.J., and Doctoroff and R.R. Lamb,* JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Defendant appeals as of right from the trial court’s August 29, 1994, judgment of divorce.
Defendant contends that he should be awarded $49,500 in funds allegedly concealed by plaintiff. We
affirm.
Defendant first argues that the trial court erred in finding that the evidence was not sufficient to
support defendant’s contention that plaintiff concealed assets. However, defendant has waived this
issue by failing to provide this Court with a complete lower court record. The appellant must provide
this Court with the lower court record by filing all transcripts and all exhibits unless excused by order or
stipulation from providing the complete record. MCR 7.210(B)(1)(a); MCR 7.210(C); Admiral
Insurance Company v Columbia Casualty Insurance Company, 194 Mich App 300, 305; 486
NW2d 351 (1992). In the instant case, defendant failed to file certain bank records that were admitted
into evidence at trial as defendant’s exhibit five and defendant’s exhibit nine, and thereafter failed to
respond to this Court’s explicit request for the missing exhibits. Defendant also failed to provide this
Court with the transcript of the second day of trial. The missing bank records are necessary for this
Court to meaningfully review this issue. Thus, this issue is waived because appellant did not provide this
Court with the record necessary for review. Baker v Wayne Co Rd Comm’rs, 185 Mich App 82, 85;
460 NW2d 566 (1990).
Defendant next argues that the trial court erred in refusing to sanction plaintiff for failing to
comply with the court’s discovery orders. We disagree. A trial court’s decision to impose discovery
* Circuit judge, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment.
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sanctions is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. Richardson v Ryder Truck Rental, Inc, 213 Mich
App 447, 450-451; 540 NW2d 696 (1995). An abuse of discretion only exists if a result so violates
fact and logic that it constitutes a perversity of will, a defiance of judgment, or an exercise of passion or
bias. Wojas v Rosati, 182 Mich App 477, 480; 452 NW2d 864 (1990). To determine whether to
impose sanctions for violation of a discovery order, the court should consider: 1) whether the violation
was willful or accidental, 2) the party’s history of refusing to comply with discovery requests, 3) the
prejudice to the defendant, 4) whether the party has a history of engaging in deliberate delay, 5) the
degree of compliance by the party with other provisions of the court’s order, and 6) an attempt by the
party to cure the defect. Richardson, supra.
The record does not clearly establish whether plaintiff’s failure to comply with discovery
requests was willful or whether her evasiveness resulted, at least in part, from her apparent difficulty with
the English language. Furthermore, plaintiff eventually submitted several bank statements, which
defendant presented at trial to support his case. Under these circumstances, we cannot conclude that
the trial court’s decision not to impose discovery sanctions on plaintiff constituted an abuse of discretion.
Affirmed.
/s/ Maura D. Corrigan
/s/ Martin M. Doctoroff
/s/ Richard R. Lamb
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