New Discovered Evidence that Isn’t
August 2, 2016 § Leave a comment
In the divorce action between Paul and Laura Lacoste, the chancellor awarded Laura sole physical and legal custody of their two children, equitably divided the marital estate, and awarded Laura rehabilitative alimony.
After the final judgment was entered, Paul filed a R59 motion claiming that there was newly discovered evidence that: (1) Laura had moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, taking the children with her; (2) Laura had cashed out a retirement account, sticking him with a more than $13,000 tax bill; (3) the accounting bill for the 2013 taxes had increased; and (4) his income had decreased. The chancellor ruled that the issues raised in Paul’s motion were more properly modification issues, and denied him rehearing. Paul appealed on this and several other points.
In Lacoste v. Lacoste, decided July 19, 2016, the COA affirmed. Judge Barnes wrote for the majority:
¶55. A motion for a new trial under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 59 based on newly discovered evidence “is an extraordinary motion, and the requirements of the rule must be strictly met.” McNeese v. McNeese, 119 So. 3d 264, 272 (¶20) (Miss. 2013). Newly discovered evidence is evidence that existed at the time of trial, but was discovered after trial; it does not include “evidence that did not exist at the time of trial.” In re V.M.S., 938 So. 2d 829, 834 (¶10) (Miss. 2006) (citing Gray v. Gray, 562 So. 2d 79, 82 (Miss. 1990) (stating that authorities interpreting Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(3) “seem unanimous in holding that” newly discovered evidence “must have been in existence at the time of trial or at the time of the judgment which is allegedly in need of correcting”)).
¶56. None of Paul’s claims are newly discovered evidence. Laura’s alleged move occurred posttrial. Thus, Laura’s alleged move cannot qualify as newly discovered evidence. The additional tax burden resulting from Laura cashing out a retirement account is likewise not newly discovered evidence. Paul testified at trial that he was aware that Laura cashed out the account in 2013. He testified that he did not know if Laura had withheld taxes when she cashed out the account, but that he realized if she did not, it would “greatly” impact the parties’ tax liability if they filed jointly. Laura admitted at trial to withdrawing the money from her retirement account, and she testified there would be penalties and additional taxes as a result of her doing so. Paul had a CPA whom he typically contacted on a monthly basis who could have investigated the tax consequences of the retirement account’s liquidation. The fact that he failed to request the CPA to do so until after trial does not make this evidence newly discovered. Finally, Paul’s argument that his income had decreased in the first three months of 2014 is not newly discovered evidence, as this did not occur until after trial.
¶57. As to Paul’s arguments regarding Laura’s alleged move, the chancellor recognized his concern regarding this in her opinion, stating, “Paul was concerned about Laura moving from the Madison area to be near her family and friends in the Atlanta or Ocean Springs area.” So the chancellor was aware Laura’s moving was a possibility and was able to consider it when rendering her opinion. Regardless, none of Paul’s assertions are newly discovered evidence, and the chancellor correctly excluded them from consideration posttrial. This issue is without merit.
From this case you can take away at least the following:
- Evidence that is newly discovered must be evidence that was in existence at the time of the trial, but was unknown to or concealed from the movant so that it prevented from having been presented.
- Newly discovered evidence does not include matters which were known to the movant but, for whatever reason, were not presented at trial to the court, or which by due diligence could have been known and presented.
- Facts that arise after entry of the judgment are matters that are properly presented as a contempt or modification.
Judge Reeves on HB 1523
July 11, 2016 § 2 Comments
You may find it useful in your family practice to have a copy of U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves’s opinion in Barber, et al. v. Bryant, et al., handed down June 30, 2016. Here is a link to it.
This is the suit that asked for an injunction against enforcement or of HB 1523, also colloquially known as the “Religious Freedom Bill,” that in essence left it to individual conscience and judgment whether to follow the law. It was to have gone into effect July 1, 2016, by its terms. Judge Reeves’s ruling is that it is unconstitutional, and, therefore, unenforceable. His conclusion paragraph states:
Religious freedom was one of the building blocks of this great nation, and after the nation was torn apart, the guarantee of equal protection under law was used to stitch it back together. But HB 1523 does not honor that tradition of religion freedom, nor does it respect the equal dignity of all of Mississippi’s citizens. It must be enjoined.
As of this writing, it is unclear whether the governor, attorney general, or other defendants will appeal, or who would bear that expense, but it seems unlikely, in my opinion, that the Fifth Circuit would overturn the ruling.
[Update: Since this was written, Gov. Bryant has announced that he intends to appeal.]
Can Your Client Do What She Agreed to Do?
May 24, 2016 § Leave a comment
When Karen and Rickey Chance got an ID divorce in 2003, the parties’ PSA provided that Karen would get ownership of a home in Ocean Springs. Rickey was to be responsible to obtain a 30-year mortgage on the property, and to pay the mortgage debt and one-half of the ad valorem taxes for 96 months. Karen was responsible to pay her one-half of the ad valorem taxes, the hazard insurance, and to pay all taxes, insurance, and mortgage debt payments after Rickey’s obligation expired. Rickey also was to pay Karen alimony.
In 2004, Rickey got the mortgage, and the closing attorney suggested in a letter that Rickey simply reduce his alimony payments by the amount of Karen’s monthly obligation, but neither party acted on the recommendation.
To make a long story somewhat shorter, Karen never paid either her half of the taxes or the hazard insurance between 2003 and 2013. In 2013, Karen did send Rickey nearly $4,500 to pay her share of the 2013 expenses.
In the 10-year interim between 2003 and 2013, the parties talked about the situation. Karen steadfastly maintained that she did not have the financial ability to carry out her end of the deal.
In 2013, Rickey filed a petition for contempt against Karen, who responded with several defenses, most notably that of inability to pay. After a hearing the chancellor awarded Rickey a judgment for $38,584.90, and attorney’s fees. Karen appealed.
In the case of Chance v. Chance, decided May 10, 2016, the COA affirmed. You can read the opinion for yourself to see how the court dealt with Karen’s claims of laches, inability to pay, and error in award of attorney’s fees.
I want to focus on the agreement itself:
- I have seen several PSA’s lately in which one party agrees to refinance the home within some stated period of time. In every case, when I asked the lawyer whether the obligated party had the ability to do it, the answer was a shrug with a whimsical smile and “that’s what they agreed to do.” Yes, but if it’s your client who is on the hook, have you discussed whether he or she has the ability to do it? And if it’s the other party who has the duty, what impact will it have on your client if he or she proves incapable of doing as promised? Have you explored these things?
- One critical reason why this is so important to your client’s interest is that the property-division portions of a PSA are unmodifiable. East v. East, 493 So.2d 927, 931 (Miss. 1986). Your client does not get a do-over on the “oops” principle.
- Another important factor is that attempting to prove inability to pay is rarely successful. The burden is heavy, as I have pointed out here before.
- To avoid these swivet-inducing situations, build some alternatives into the agreement. If, say, your client ever can not pay her share of the taxes or insurance, the home could be listed for sale, the other party may reduce alimony and pay the taxes and insurance himself until sold, and he will be reimbursed from the proceeds. That’s one example; I am sure your creative legal genius can conjure up many others.
- Remember that if all you do is take your client’s notes and convert them into a legal-looking sheaf of papers, you are nothing more than a clerk-typist; you are misleading the public and fooling yourself if that’s what you do and you call yourself a lawyer.
Bluewater Again in the COA
February 17, 2016 § Leave a comment
Only last week I posted about a COA decision in which the court cited the Bluewater Logistics case for the proposition that the trial judge’s verbatim adoption of a party’s proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law no longer triggers either heightened scrutiny nor less deference on the part of the appellate court.
That mention, in Carlson v. Brabham, was merely a comment by the court.
Then, last Tuesday, the COA actually had occasion to address the same principle raised in an appellant’s assignment of error.
In Stallings v. Allen, handed down February 9, 2016, Kenneth Stallings appeared pro se in response to a R81 pleading filed by Meeka Allen charging him with contempt and requesting an upward modification of child support. The chancellor rejected his request for a continuance and let the hearing go forward. At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge ordered both sides to present proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, which they did.
The chancellor adopted Meeka’s proposed findings, and, as a result, Kenneth was: found in contempt; ordered to provide dental insurance for his child; ordered to pay medical expenses; had judgments in excess of $6,500 assessed against him; and was ordered to pay attorney’s fees; and had his child support increased. All in all, it was not a particularly good day for Kenneth in court that day.
Kenneth appealed — again pro se — raising several issues, one of which was that it was error for the chancellor to adopt the other side’s proposed findings. Judge Barnes addressed Kenneth’s homemade argument:
¶11. Kenneth cites in support of his argument Rice Researchers Inc. v. Hiter, 512 So. 2d 1259 (Miss. 1987); [Fn 1] however, this case held, and the Mississippi Supreme Court has repeatedly reiterated, that “a trial court may adopt verbatim, in whole or part, the findings of fact and conclusions of law of a party.” Id. at 1266; Chamblee v. Chamblee, 637 So. 2d 850, 858 (Miss. 1994); Omnibank v. United S. Bank, 607 So. 2d 76, 82-83 (Miss. 1992). Such action is within the trial court’s discretion and is not “reversible error in and of itself.” Hiter, 512 So. 2d at 1265 (citations omitted). The usual standard of review applies: “This Court will not disturb the findings of the chancellor when supported by substantial evidence unless the chancellor has abused his discretion, was manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous, or an erroneous legal standard was applied.” Thomas v. Scarborough, 977 So. 2d 393, 397 (¶9) (Miss. Ct. App. 2007) (quoting Sanderson v. Sanderson, 824 So. 2d 623, 625-26 (¶18) (Miss. 2002)). Further, the “heightened scrutiny” standard cited by Meeka no longer applies. The supreme court has held “our duty requires us in every case to be as careful and as sensitive to error as we can be, and we cannot condone a standard that allows us to be less sensitive to error in one case than another.” Bluewater Logistics LLC v. Williford, 55 So. 3d 148, 156 (¶27) (Miss. 2011). The trial court’s reliance on the party’s findings will not be deemed error if substantial evidence exists to support those findings. Thomas, 977 So. 2d at 396 (¶10) (citing Sanderson, 824 So. 2d at 625-26 (¶8)).
[Fn 1] Kenneth also cites in support Mississippi Code Annotated section 11-7-87 concerning “circuit court” practice, but that code section was repealed in 1991.
¶12. Here, there was no procedural error for the chancery court to adopt verbatim Meeka’s proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. As stated in the past, “[t]his Court recognizes the complexities and nuances of individual cases, which in addition to crushing trial court caseloads necessitate substantial reliance upon the on submissions of trial counsel. Id. (citing Hiter, 512 So. 2d at 1266).
Aside from the fact that proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law are more work, I wonder why more lawyers don’t offer to do them. As I have posted here before, it can be an unequalled opportunity to write the final judgment in the case.
Mopping Up After the Divorce
January 11, 2016 § 2 Comments
What do you do when the divorce trial is concluded, the final judgment has been entered, and the post-trial motions have been disposed of? If there’s not going to be an appeal, you just make sure your bill is paid, shake your client’s hand, usher him to the door, wish him luck, say farewell, and shut the door behind him, right?
Well, not exactly.
Do you know whether your client still has his ex-wife named in his will? What about as beneficiary of his life insurance, or survivor on his IRA or 401(k)? Does he still have his ex as POD or survivor on any checking or securities accounts?
I read an article written by a financial advisor recently in which she related an encounter with a newly-married couple, both of whom had been divorced several years before. Both husband and wife had wills that still named ex-spouses as beneficiaries, and the same with life insurance and retirement accounts. When she asked them why they had not been changed, both replied that no one had advised them that they should.
A case in my court recently brought up a similar problem. The wife in the divorce case insisted that she owned the marital residence because the PSA in her 2007 divorce (more than 8 years ago) provided that her ex would execute a special warranty deed conveying his interest to her. Only problem: he never did. So, since May of 2007 she has remained a joint tenant with right of survivorship with that man. If she had died before he tended to that little bit of finish-work, her estate would have to pay another lawyer to do what her divorce lawyer should have done in the first place, and it probably would have involved courtroom billable hours.
Years ago, a man hired me to obtain a QDRO to divide his 401(k) account. He had represented himself in the divorce that took place nearly ten years before. When the divorce was final, he had asked the lawyer who represented his wife how to go about getting the retirement account divided. The lawyer pointed out that he did not represent him, and virtually slammed the door in his face. When the client at last decided to get remarried, he thought that it was time to get the matter tended to, so he hired me. Here is how the PSA read:
The parties agree that wife shall receive the sum of $60,000 from Husband’s 401(k) account.
That was all it said. [For a post on what that 401(k) language should have included, click here]
So we filed a petition for the court to enter a QDRO for her to receive exactly that — $60,000. After being served with process, she went back to her divorce lawyer, who called me and pounded the table, insisting that she was entitled to ten years’ worth of interest. I pointed out that the agreement he had drafted did not have a time frame for payment, that neither party was obligated by the agreement to prepare a QDRO, that there was no interest provision, and that the only definite thing about it was the amount. He called me back a few days later and said his client was willing to settle for the $60,000, and they signed the QDRO, which was entered and the matter finalized. For ten years my client earned money using his ex’s money. Had her lawyer acted in her best interest, he would have gotten that QDRO entered immediately after the divorce judgment.
You might well ask, as I did when my client first hired me, why was his ex not screaming for her money? Well, in the ten years after the divorce she asked him about once a year if he still had her money. She was satisfied with his answers, but apparently no one ever advised her what she was losing by not getting that QDRO entered.
You might also inquire whether my client was unjustly enriched. I would agree that he was, indeed, enriched, but not unjustly so. He did not sleep on his rights. He did not draft the agreement. It was not his obligation to calculate her separate interest. She was wise to want to settle for the principal sim, because if she had wanted to obtain a court ruling that he had been unjustly enriched, and directing him to disgorge any interest received on her money, she would have had to pay the attorney to pursue it, and likely would have had to pay a CPA to calculate the interest and testify as an expert. After paying those folks, she would be lucky if she got to walk away with the $60,000.
Another nightmare scenario involves credit cards. I represented a man in a routine irreconcilable differences divorce. The PSA provided that each would pay the debts in his or her own name, as well as debts incurred in the name of or against the credit of the other. Thank goodness for that specific language, because he came in a year or so later with a letter from a credit card company reporting that an account in joint ownership was in default and making demand on him to pay more than $10,000. Turns out that shortly before the separation his wife had opened one of those accounts the company had solicited by mail, signing her husband’s name, and kept the account concealed from him. Then, after the divorce, she used it to supplement her income. We notified her that she had so many days to pay the account in full or we would sue. She borrowed money from her family, paid it off, and the account was closed. My client’s credit rating took a hit, but that and a modest legal fee were his total damages.
Lesson learned: it might not be a bad idea in the course of a divorce case to have your client run a credit check.
All of this boils down to a simple professional consideration that I have mentioned many times here: When the case is concluded, your client wants to be finally done with it, and she does not want to have to pay another attorney to clean up after you.
Actually, many of these things can be tended to before the divorce is concluded. That deed can be prepared, joint accounts closed, wills changed, bills of sale signed, agreed QDRO signed by the parties, and so on, with the originals held in the lawyer’s file until the judgment is entered.
When you are through with the divorce, help your client through the aftermath. Make sure she revokes all wills naming the ex as a beneficiary. Make sure there are no financial assets not covered by the divorce judgment that are joint, or have survivorship provisions. Make sure that there are no outstanding joint debts not addressed in the divorce. If a QDRO or deed is required for your client’s benefit, get it done ASAP. People are dying every day. You don’t want one of them to be the person you need to finish up your work.
Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say
January 4, 2016 § 2 Comments
Lee and Leslie Voulters were divorced from each other in 2004 on the sole ground of irreconcilable differences. The divorce judgment incorporated their PSA, which provided that Lee would pay Leslie lump-sum alimony in the sum of $1.08 million at the rate of $10,000 a month until paid in full. He also agreed to maintain a policy of life insurance on his life with a benefit of $1.08 million, with Leslie as beneficiary.
When Leslie filed a contempt action in 2013 charging Lee with missing some lump-sum payments and with failing to provide proof of life insurance, Lee counterclaimed, asking the court to interpret the PSA that the purpose of the life insurance was to protect Lee’s payment of lump-sum alimony, and that the obligation would terminate when the lump-sum alimony was paid in full.
Spoiler alert: There is no provision in the PSA that links the life insurance requirement to the lump-sum-alimony requirement.
Here are the pertinent parts of the agreement:
LUMP SUM ALIMONY/SPOUSAL SUPPORT
Lee shall pay spousal support to Leslie, in the form of lump sum alimony, the total sum of $1,080,000.00, payable in monthly installments of $10,000.00 each for a period of nine years. Such payments for support shall be due and payable by automatic bank transfer from Lee’s checking or other account directly into Leslie’s checking account, commencing on the fifth day of April, 2004, and shall so continue for one hundred and seven consecutive months thereafter. Lee’s obligation to pay such support to Leslie shall be fully vested upon the entry of a Final Judgment of Divorce in this cause, and shall not be modifiable. Lee’s obligation to pay such support shall not terminate upon Leslie’s death or remarriage, nor shall it terminate upon Lee’s death. However, despite the conventional definition of lump sum alimony[,] . . . these payments by Lee to Leslie under this Agreement shall be taxable to Leslie, and deductible by Lee, for state and federal income tax purposes.
LIFE INSURANCE
Lee agrees to maintain life insurance on his own life in an amount not less than one million, eighty thousand dollars ($1,080,000.00), naming Leslie as primary beneficiary thereon. Proof of such insurance coverage shall be furnished to Leslie within fifteen (15) days following the date of execution of this Agreement. Furthermore, Lee shall direct his insurance carrier to provide coverage information to Leslie at least twice a year if requested by Leslie.
. . . .
EFFECT OF AGREEMENT
. . . .
The respective rights and obligations of the parties hereunder are deemed independent and may be enforced independently irrespective of any of the other rights and obligations set forth herein. This Agreement contains the entire understanding of the parties, who hereby acknowledge that there have been and are no representations, warranties, covenants, or understandings other than those expressly set forth herein.
RELEASE AND WAIVER
Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, each party has released and forever discharged . . . his or her heirs, legal representatives, Executors, Administrators, and assigns . . . from all causes of action, claims, right or demands . . . in law or in equity . . . except . . . causes of action for divorce or separation action now pending . . . . Each party releases, waives, and relinquishes any and all rights . . . to share in the estate of the other party upon the latter’s death . . . . (Emphasis added.)
Both parties offered testimony about their intent in negotiating the language into the agreement. Lee argued that the agreement was ambiguous because it had no termination date. Leslie argued that she negotiated it for support, which she needed because her estate was meager in comparison to Lee’s.
One question before I tell you how the chancellor ruled: do you see anywhere in that language quoted above any link between the life insurance obligation and the lump-sum alimony?
The chancellor ruled that the agreement was unambiguous, and that it did require Lee to maintain the life insurance regardless of the status of the lump-sum payments. Lee appealed.
On December 8, 2015, the COA affirmed in Voulters v. Voulters. The opinion by Judge Barnes includes a nice recitation of the law of contract interpretation, life insurance and insurable interests, and even attorneys fees in contempt actions and on appeal. I definitely commend it to your reading.
What I want to focus on here is this: If you want your agreement to mean a particular thing, then make sure there is language in it that says that particular thing. Remember that when the judge is called on to interpret a contract, she is bound by the language within the four corners of the document, and she may not accept parol evidence to vary or “explain what the parties meant” by those terms unless she first finds the agreement to be ambiguous. Just because Lee did not include a termination date for his life insurance obligation, that did not render the agreement ambiguous. It rendered instead the meaning that it had no termination date. In other words, it meant exactly what it did and did not say.
Be careful in your draftsmanship. Take time to make sure it says exactly what your client needs it to say. I think I was saved a hundred times or more by the simple practice of drafting the agreement and setting it aside for at least a day. I would then pick it up and read it afresh, often catching something that could be read two ways, or was simply not clear enough to do the job. Sometimes I would imagine myself to be another person altogether, looking at it as an outside observer. Anything to get an objective perspective.
Remember that some day someone entirely unconnected with the negotiations and the emotion of the divorce case is going to be reading your work with absolutely none of the knowledge that you had when you drafted it. It may be a judge, or it may be another lawyer having to represent your client, or — heaven forbid — a lawyer looking for a cause of action against you. That’s why it’s critical when you draft an agreement to give some thought and care to the words, phrases, and language construction that you use. That’s what your client is paying you for: to have absolutely no more trouble out of this matter after the final judgment is entered.
When Separate Maintenance Morphs into Alimony
December 8, 2015 § 2 Comments
After William Lane’s wife, Stella, obtained a Mississippi separate maintenance judgment, William moved to Texas and obtained a divorce from Stella there. He then petitioned the Mississippi court to terminate alimony because he was no longer married to Stella.
The chancellor refused William’s request, ruling apparently that the separate maintenance would continue as alimony, and William appealed. In Lane v. Lane, decided December 1, 2015, the COA affirmed. Judge Fair, writing for the majority, laid out the rationale:
¶8. “[A] divorce action involving one resident party and one foreign party may or may not be able to adjudicate personal rights, though it can sever a marriage as long as at least one party is a resident of that state.” [Lofton v. Lofton, 924 So.2d 596, 601 (Miss. App. 2006)]. William personally appeared before the Texas court. At the time the suit was filed, he had been a domiciliary of Texas for six months. Stella entered a general appearance through local counsel, ultimately signing the divorce decree along with William as to “form and substance.” The divorce decree specifically did not litigate the issues of support and property division. In fact, the decree declined jurisdiction over all but the divorce itself, deferring to the chancery court and its separate-maintenance judgment for “all issues involving the division of the property and debt of the parties.”
¶9. In Weiss v. Weiss, 579 So. 2d 539, 540-41 (Miss. 1991), the Mississippi Supreme Court reaffirmed that Mississippi law allows for separate litigation of divorce and alimony. Thomas and Barbara Weiss married in Mississippi. Id. at 540. Thomas later moved to Louisiana and filed for divorce. Id. That same year, Barbara filed a request for separate maintenance in Mississippi. Id. The Louisiana court granted the divorce but reserved the issue of alimony for the Mississippi court. Fn2 Id. Our supreme court held that the Mississippi court had jurisdiction to determine alimony because the parties’ foreign divorce decree did not litigate the issue of alimony. Id. at 541.
Fn2 Barbara’s claim for separate maintenance was no longer proper since a divorce had been granted but was convertible to a claim for alimony. Weiss, 579 So. 2d at 541. Separate maintenance and alimony may both result in payments for a short period of time or an extended period of time (the period of time for separate maintenance is more uncertain). Id. at 542.
¶10. The supreme court dealt with a similar issue in [Chapel v. Chapel, 876 So.2d 290 (Miss. 2004)]. In that case, the Jackson County Chancery Court awarded Grace Chapel separate maintenance in 1996. Id. at 292 (¶5). Mr. Chapel was granted a divorce in Virginia in 1997. Chapel, 876 So. 2d at 292 (¶6). The Mississippi chancellor modified the separate-maintenance agreement in 1998 and 2001. Id. at 294 (¶13). Grace argued that the chancellor lacked subject-matter jurisdiction because the Virginia divorce decree terminated the original separate-maintenance agreement. Id. at 293 (¶10). The supreme court held that “the . . . chancery court continues to have jurisdiction in what originally was the separate-maintenance case, but which converted to one for alimony and other claims compatible with divorce actions[] after the date of the foreign divorce.” Id. at 295 (¶15). Fn3 In her treatise, Bell on Mississippi Family Law (2d Edition 2011), Professor Deborah Bell refers to this as a “recharacterization” of separate maintenance as alimony.
Fn3 The supreme court also stated that because “neither party . . . made formal objections to the chancellor’s authority to modify the original separate-maintenance judgment after the Virginia divorce was granted, it is not necessary for the Court to reach the issue of whether . . . a foreign divorce decree[] terminates a domestic court’s order of separate maintenance.” Chapel, 876 So. 2d at 294 (¶11).
¶11. Like the divorce decree in Weiss, the Texas divorce decree in the present case expressly reserved Stella’s rights to enforce the separate-maintenance order. And, similar to the wife in Chapel, Stella was awarded separate maintenance prior to the entry of a foreign divorce decree, and the foreign decree did not address the issue of separate maintenance. We do not find, like the dissent, that Stella’s failure to expressly petition for alimony prohibits the chancellor’s sua sponte “recharacterization” of separate maintenance as alimony. As stated in Weiss, “‘[a]limony’ and ‘maintenance’ are merely different words used in differing situations to describe the same thing.” 579 So. 2d at 541 (citation and quotation omitted) (emphasis added). Mississippi law clearly provides that the chancery court retained jurisdiction over William and Stella’s separate-maintenance agreement, as acknowledged by the Texas court with the consent and agreement of the parties. [Emphasis in original]
It did not help William’s cause that the parties’ divorce agreement in Texas included language specifically acknowledging the continuing jurisdiction of the Mississippi court, and the Texas judgment afforded the Mississippi judgment full faith and credit and recognized its continuing jurisdiction. Any different language in Texas, however, would not have changed the outcome. Once Mississippi’s courts have acquired jurisdiction over the property and support (maintenance) issues, a subsequent divorce in another state is not effective to deprive the Mississippi court of jurisdiction over those issues.
The dissent would have held that by failing to request “recharacterization” of the separate maintenance award as alimony Stella deprived the chancellor of authority, making it erroneous for him to do so. The majority rejected that approach.
The MSSC dealt with a similar set of issues last year in Pierce v. Pierce, about which I posted here.
Oh, and before I leave the subject, here are three quotes you might find helpful next time you have to deal with an alimony case:
- “Alimony — the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.” — H.L. Mencken
- “Alimony is like buying oats for a dead horse.” — Arthur Baer
- “Judges, as a class, display, in the matter of arranging alimony, that reckless generosity which is found only in men who are giving away someone else’s cash.” — P.G. Wodehouse
When to Appeal from Denial of a Probated Claim
September 28, 2015 § Leave a comment
We should all know by now that a judgment that disposes of fewer than all of the contested issues in a case, or as to fewer than all of the parties, is not final and appealable, per MRCP 54(b).
So, consider this case …
You represent a creditor who has timely probated a claim against an estate. The executor files a contest to your client’s claim and notices it for hearing. At the close of the hearing the chancellor renders a bench opinion denying your client’s claim and enters a judgment to that effect. Now your client wants to appeal.
… what is your appeal time?
On one hand, the judgment denying the probated claim obviously disposes of fewer than all of the contested issues in the case, and fewer than all of the other parties are finally affected (i.e., other creditors, heirs or beneficiaries, etc.). So is an appeal barred by R54(b)?
On the other hand, your client’s involvement in the case is most assuredly concluded. The estate will proceed on its merry way without your client’s further involvement. And it could take months or even years for the court to wind up the estate and enter a final judgment closing it. Why should your client have to wait.
The question did arise in the recent COA case, Estate of Holmes: Holmes v. Turner, decided September 1, 2015. In that case, Becky Turner and her nephew, Brett Holmes, were in a dispute over a claim that Brett probated against the estate of Frances B. Holmes. The chancellor denied the claim and Brett appealed. Becky asserted on appeal that the court’s order or judgment overruling the claim was not a final, appealable judgment, and that, therefore, Brett’s appeal was untimely. In footnote 3, at ¶16, Justice Maxwell, writing for the court, disagreed with Becky’s position:
Becky asserts this order was not final and appealable, comparing it to the interlocutory order in the lawsuit-within-an-estate case In re Estate of Drake, 134 So. 3d 328 (Miss. Ct. App. 2013). But in contrast to the order in that case, the chancellor’s order here finally resolved the probate claim by Jimmy’s estate that Brett lodged against Frances’s estate. Further, both the Mississippi Supreme Court and this court have exercised appellate jurisdiction over timely appeals from orders either allowing or disallowing claims against still-open estates. E.g., In re Estate of Petrick, 635 So. 2d 1389 (Miss. 1994); In re Estate of Ladner, 911 So. 2d 673 (Miss. Ct. App. 2005).
That sort of obliquely says that the time to appeal is within thirty days of the order or judgment denying the claim, but it does not come right out and say so.
There actually is a case, however, that directly answers the question. In Estate of Philyaw: Braxton v. Johnson, 514 So.2d 1232, 1236-7 (Miss. 1987), Braxton contested Johnson’s claim. Johnson prevailed, and Braxton did not immediately file an appeal, but rather waited until the judgment closing the estate was entered. The MSSC said this:
The question therefore is whether the time for an appeal for an administrator or executor unhappy with a decree allowing a contested claim runs from the date of such decree or from the date of the decree finally closing the estate. Darryl has not seen fit to cite this Court with any apposite authority supporting his response to Johnson.
We agree with Johnson, that the time for any appeal from a chancellor’s decision on the claim started on the date of the decree allowing it.
Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-165 is the statutory procedure for contested creditors’ claims. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-51-9 recognizes final decrees include “matters testamentary and of administration …” Miss. Code Ann. § 11-51-99 specifically authorizes executors or administrators to appeal from any decree affecting them in their fiduciary capacity.
While the specific jurisdictional question raised by Johnson has never been addressed by this Court, it appears that appeals by administrators or executors unhappy with a decree allowing a contested claim have generally been taken from that decree. See: McKellar’s Estate v. Brown, 404 So.2d 550 (Miss.1981); Wooley v. Wooley, 194 Miss. 751, 12 So.2d 539 (1943); Ellis v. Berry, 145 Miss. 652, 110 So. 211 (1926).
That the administrator or executor’s time to appeal begins to run from date of the decree allowing the claim is supported by most of the authorities from other states which have addressed this question. See: Parsons v. M.E. McCabe & Son, 127 Kan. 847, 275 P. 173 (1929); In re Swanson’s Estate, 239 Iowa 294, 31 N.W.2d 385 (1948); In re Hildreth’s Estate, 113 Vt. 26, 28 A.2d 633 (1942).
There is, however, some contrary authority. See: In re Naegely’s Estate, 31 Cal.App.2d 470, 88 P.2d 715 (1939); In re Gooder’s Estate, 68 S.D. 415, 3 N.W.2d 478 (1942); In re Allen’s Estate, 175 Wash. 65, 26 P.2d 396 (1933).
We find the better view is that time for an appeal should run from the date of the decree on the claim.
The efficient and orderly administration of estates and payment of all just debts without unjustified delay compels our conclusion. To permit an administrator to wait until an estate is otherwise ready for closing before deciding whether or not to appeal a decree allowing a claim would countenance outrageous postponements in paying the indebtednesses due by the estate. Moreover, an administrator cannot close an estate until there has been a final adjudication as to precisely what debtors are due by the estate, which he has a duty to pay. See: Miss.Code Ann. § 91-7-291; Fidelity & Deposit Co. v. Doughtry, 181 Miss. 586, 179 So. 846 (1938); Walker v. Woods, 166 Miss. 471, 148 So. 354 (1933).
The time for taking an appeal from the November 8, 1982, decree having long since expired, this Court is without jurisdiction to hear any defense to Johnson’s claim against the Philyaw estate. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-51-5.
Philyaw deals with the time for an administrator or executor to appeal from a ruling adverse to the estate, but there is no logical reason why the same rationale should not apply to a creditor appealing from an adverse ruling. It’s that goose-and-gander thing.
Even a Blind Squirrel …
September 15, 2015 § Leave a comment
I was going to do a post here on the COA’s decision in Norris v. Norris, decided September 8, 2015.
It’s a case in which the court reversed a chancellor who awarded a wife $5,000 in equitable distribution without supporting evidence in the record. The appellant, Dwayne Norris, had failed to appear at trial because he was confused about the court date. He filed a pro se appeal, and — Voila! — he got the trial court reversed and will get a do-over on remand.
As I said, I was going to do a post on the subject, but Randy Wallace on his blog said everything that needs to be said about it. You can read his post here.
SOL and the PSA
September 2, 2015 § 7 Comments
We visited the COA decision in Moseley v. Smith here before. It’s the 2014 case in which the importance of a hold-harmless agreement in a PSA was underscored when the COA held that, although the husband’s underlying debt obligation may have been discharged in bankruptcy, his obligation to his ex-wife based on a hold-harmless clause was not.
There’s another aspect of that case that merits your attention.
On appeal the ex-husband argued that his ex-wife’s claim against him was barred by the three-year statute of limitations (SOL) applicable to contract claims. His position was supported by the case of D’Avignon v. D’Avignon, 945 So.2d 401 (Miss. App. 2006), which held that property division matters in a property settlement agreement (PSA) are governed by the three-year SOL that applies to contracts.
In Moseley, however, the COA changed its position and held that all PSA provisions are incorporated into the court’s final judgment of divorce and, therefore, the seven-year SOL governing enforcement of judgments applies.
Two thoughts:
- Remember that SOL is an affirmative defense that must be asserted by the party who claims it. It is not an automatic bar to the action, but rather a defense that must be affirmatively pled. In a recent case in my court the parties litigated the issue whether the ex-husband was in contempt for non-payment of installment lump-sum alimony. Some of the early payments were due more than seven years before suit was brought. No one raised a SOL issue; therefore there was no bar to obtaining a judgment on those unpaid amounts.
- Before a judgment expires, you can renew the judgment per MCA 15-1-43. The extension is for a period of seven additional years. Most property provisions of PSA’s are resolved before that initial seven-year period expires, but some do not.
The Better Chancery Practice Blog 