Albinger v. Harris
| Decision Date | 06 June 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 99-611.,99-611. |
| Citation | 2002 MT 118,310 Mont. 27,48 P.3d 711 |
| Parties | Michael A. ALBINGER, Plaintiff, Respondent and Cross-Appellant, v. Michelle L. HARRIS, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | Montana Supreme Court |
For Appellant: Nathan J. Hoines, Great Falls, MT.
For Respondent and Cross-Appellant: Ward E. Taleff, Alexander, Taleff, Baucus & Paul, Great Falls, MT Justice JAMES C. NELSON delivered the Opinion of the Court.
¶ 1 Who owns a ring given in anticipation of marriage after the engagement is broken? Michelle L. Harris (Harris) appeals the disposition of an engagement ring by the Eighth Judicial District Court, Cascade County, Montana, and Michael A. Albinger (Albinger) cross-appeals the denial of reimbursement for certain telephone charges incurred by Harris and the award of damages for a prior, unlitigated assault and battery claim. We reverse the disposition of the engagement ring, affirm the denial of reimbursement for telephone charges and affirm the award for pain, suffering and emotional distress.
¶ 2 We frame the issues on appeal as follows:
¶ 3 1. Did the District Court err in determining an engagement ring is a conditional gift that may be revoked upon termination of the engagement?
¶ 4 2. Did the District Court err in denying Albinger reimbursement for telephone charges incurred by Harris during cohabitation?
¶ 5 3. Did the District Court err in awarding Harris compensation for general damages resulting from an assault and battery by Albinger?
¶ 6 Harris and Albinger met in June 1995, and began a troubled relationship that endured for the next three years, spiked by alcohol abuse, emotional turmoil and violence. Albinger presented Harris with a diamond ring and diamond earrings on December 14, 1995. The ring was purchased for $29,000. Days after accepting the ring, Harris returned it to Albinger and traveled to Kentucky for the holidays. Albinger immediately sent the ring back to Harris by mail. The couple set a tentative wedding date of June 27, 1997, but plans to marry were put on hold as Harris and Albinger separated and reconciled several times. The ring was returned to or reclaimed by Albinger upon each separation, and was re-presented to Harris after each reconciliation.
¶ 7 Albinger and Harris lived together in Albinger's home from August 1995 until April 1998. During this time, Albinger conferred upon Harris a new Ford Mustang convertible, a horse and a dog, in addition to the earrings and ring. Harris gave Albinger a Winchester hunting rifle, a necklace and a number of other small gifts. Albinger received a substantial jury award for injuries sustained in a 1991 railroad accident. He paid all household expenses and neither party was gainfully employed during their cohabitation.
¶ 8 On the night of February 23, 1997, during one of the couple's many separations, Albinger broke into the house where Harris was staying. He stood over Harris' bed, threatened her with a knife and shouted, "I'm going to chop your finger off, you better get that ring off." After severely beating Harris with a railroad lantern, Albinger forcibly removed the ring and departed. Harris sued for personal injuries and the county attorney charged Albinger by information with aggravated burglary, felony assault, and partner and family member assault. The next month, after another reconciliation, Harris requested the county attorney drop all criminal charges in exchange for Albinger's promise to seek anger management counseling and to pay restitution in the form of Harris' medical expenses and repair costs for damage to her friend's back door. Harris also directed her attorney to request the court dismiss the civil complaint without prejudice.
¶ 9 The parties separated again in late April 1998. Albinger told Harris to "take the car, the horse, the dog, and the ring and get the hell out." During their last month together, Harris ran up approximately $1,000 in telephone charges on Albinger's credit card. Harris had been free to use Albinger's telephone throughout the relationship, and Albinger paid the bills. Harris moved from Great Falls, Montana to Kentucky, where she now resides. The parties dispute who was responsible for the end of the relationship. No reconciliation followed, marriage plans evaporated and Harris refused to return the ring.
¶ 10 Albinger filed a complaint on August 31, 1998, seeking recovery of the ring or its monetary value and payment for $1,000 in telephone charges. Harris counterclaimed for damages resulting from the assault of February 23, 1997.
¶ 11 At the conclusion of the trial, both parties submitted briefs discussing how the statute barring actions for breach of promise to marry, § 27-1-602, MCA, impacts an action to recover an engagement ring. The District Court found the ring to be a gift in contemplation of marriage, and reasoned that § 27-1-602, MCA, did not bar the action because the case could be decided on common-law principles, as opposed to contract theories. The court implied the existence of a condition attached to the gift of the engagement ring. Disregarding allegations of fault for "breaking" the engagement, the court concluded that the giver is entitled to the return of the ring upon failure of the condition of marriage.
¶ 12 On September 2, 1999, the District Court awarded the engagement ring or its reasonable value and court costs to Albinger, and denied recovery for the telephone charges. Harris was awarded $2500 for pain, suffering and emotional distress. From this judgment, Harris appeals the disposition of the ring and Albinger cross-appeals the denial of telephone charges and the award of damages to Harris.
¶ 13 In reviewing a district court's findings of fact, we determine whether the findings are clearly erroneous. In re Marriage of Griffin (1996), 275 Mont. 37, 44, 909 P.2d 707, 711. The three-part test we use to determine whether findings are clearly erroneous in a non-jury case provides that: (1) the Court will determine whether the findings are supported by substantial evidence; (2) if the findings are supported by substantial evidence, the Court will determine if the district court has misapprehended the evidence; and (3) if the findings are supported by substantial evidence and that evidence has not been misapprehended, this Court may still find that a finding is "clearly erroneous when, although there is evidence to support it, a review of the record leaves the Court with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed." Griffin, 275 Mont. at 44, 909 P.2d at 711-12 (citing DeSaye v. Interstate Production Credit Assn. (1991), 250 Mont. 320, 323, 820 P.2d 1285, 1287
). The standard of review of a district court's conclusions of law is whether the court's interpretation of the law is correct. In re Estate of Kuralt, 2000 MT 359, ¶ 14, 303 Mont. 335, ¶ 14, 15 P.3d 931, ¶ 14.
¶ 14 Did the District Court err in determining an engagement ring is a conditional gift that may be revoked upon termination of the engagement?
¶ 15 Albinger and Harris gave one another numerous gifts of substantial value during their engagement. The ring is the only item now in controversy. When this Court was last presented with the question whether an antenuptial transfer of jewelry from fiancé to fiancée, which included an engagement ring, constituted consideration for the mutual promise of marriage or was an unconditional gift, we remanded the case for a new trial and factual findings on the matter. Davidson v. Stagg (1933), 94 Mont. 272, 278, 22 P.2d 152, 154. In the instant case, the parties agree that the ring was a gift. The crux of the dispute today is whether a condition of marriage attached to the gift as a matter of law at the time Albinger presented the ring to Harris.
¶ 16 Harris contends the ring lost any association with a promise to marry after the first incidence of domestic violence. The couple canceled their June 1997 nuptials and never revived explicit wedding plans. In response to a question about the ring's symbolic relationship to a promise to marry after the couple's numerous break-ups, reconciliations, and incidents of domestic violence, Harris testified, Albinger argues that the ring was presented as a gift only upon the unspoken condition that the wedding take place. ¶ 17 The District Court found the ring at issue in this action to be an engagement ring given in contemplation of marriage, and not a gift in commemoration of another occasion or as consideration for any other anticipated acts on the part of Harris. The court noted Albinger proposed marriage to Harris on December 14, 1995, and presented her with the ring at that time. Harris accepted both the marriage proposal and the ring. Although the ring was reclaimed by or returned to Albinger numerous times during the ensuing years, both Albinger and Harris referred to the ring as an "engagement ring" with some consistency. We conclude that the court's characterization of the disputed gift as an engagement ring is supported by substantial evidence and is not clearly erroneous.
¶ 18 Legal ownership of the gift of an engagement ring when marriage plans are called off is an issue of first impression in Montana. In 1963, the Legislature barred access to the courts for actions arising from breach of the promise to marry. Sec. 2, Chap. 200, L.1963. The District Court determined that this action brought to recover an antenuptial gift is maintainable, notwithstanding § 27-1-602, MCA, which states:
All causes of action for breach of contract to marry are hereby abolished. However, where a plaintiff has suffered actual damage due to fraud or deceit or a defendant has been unjustly enriched, the plaintiff may maintain an action for fraud or deceit or unjust enrichment and recover therein only the actual...
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