Dawn Calabrese Missouri Cases

Kelly Dwyer appealed the trial court's judgment regarding the partition of real estate proceeds, child custody, child support, and the allocation of attorney and guardian ad litem (GAL) fees, stemming from a dispute with her former partner, Dawn Calabrese. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's division of partition proceeds, its order for Dwyer to reimburse Calabrese for certain expenses, and its rulings on non-partition-related attorney fees and GAL fees. However, the court reversed and remanded the award of partition-related attorney fees, finding the trial court abused its discretion by ordering Dwyer to pay the full amount without limiting it to work benefiting both parties and by not deducting it from the escrowed proceeds.