Anderson v. Anderson

• Decision Date: 24 May 1978
• Docket Number: No. 77-1407,77-1407
• Citation: 378 N.E.2d 1079,62 Ill.App.3d 468,19 Ill.Dec. 204
• Parties: , 19 Ill.Dec. 204 Frank T. ANDERSON, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. Katina L. ANDERSON, a/k/a Kathi Anderson, Defendant-Appellant, Cross-Appellee.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 1079

378 N.E.2d 1079

62 Ill.App.3d 468, 19 Ill.Dec. 204

Frank T. ANDERSON, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. Katina L. ANDERSON, a/k/a Kathi Anderson Defendant-Appellant, Cross-Appellee.

No. 77-1407.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Third Division.

May 24, 1978.

Rehearing Denied July 25, 1978.

Martin Tiersky, Chicago, for defendant-appellant, cross-appellee.

Morgan, Lanoff, Denniston & Madigan, Ltd., Chicago (Samuel M. Lanoff, A. Louis Flynn, James E. McParland, Chicago, of counsel), for plaintiff-appellee, cross-appellant.

McNAMARA, Justice.

Defendant, Katina Anderson, appeals from a judgment of sale of real property and from an order of distribution of the proceeds of that sale. The orders were entered pursuant to a decree of partition. Plaintiff, Frank Anderson, has filed a cross-appeal challenging the distribution of the proceeds of the sale.

This matter has a prior history. In Anderson v. Anderson (1976), 42 Ill.App.3d 781, 1 Ill.Dec. 506, 356 N.E.2d 788, this court affirmed the decree of partition and the appointment of a commissioner. We also determined that since plaintiff had abandoned the marital residence, his homestead rights accrued to defendant who thus was entitled to receive a net increment of $5,000 over plaintiff's share of the proceeds. At the same time we reversed an order adjudging defendant to be in contempt of court for conduct arising out of her refusal to allow an employee of the commissioner to come on the premises. (Anderson v. Anderson (1976), 42 Ill.App.3d 787, 1 Ill.Dec. 511, 356 N.E.2d 793.) In view of the prior decisions only a brief recitation of the facts is necessary.

The subject matter of the partition decree is the parties' marital home. Title to the property is held by them as tenants in common. Plaintiff ceased living in the residence in October 1971 and has never returned. Defendant was awarded a decree of separate maintenance in April 1974. Two months later plaintiff filed suit for partition.

After our affirmance of the partition decree and of the commissioner's appointment, the latter inspected the premises and, over defendant's objection, filed his report which was approved by the trial court. The report recited that the subject property was in need of both exterior and interior repairs. The nature of the recommended repairs was as follows: two coats of exterior paint, repair and painting of downspouts and gutters, and general cleaning and repair of the interior of the home. The commissioner was of the opinion that the residence in its present condition was worth $70,000 to $75,000. The report further stated that the recommended repairs would result in an increase of the fair market value of the home to approximately $120,000 to $125,000. The report contained no express finding that the property could not be divided without manifest prejudice to the parties.

An expert witness testified on behalf of defendant that the present value of the property was approximately $85,000. If the necessary repairs were made, he estimated the value would increase to $90,000. The cost of repairs, consisting primarily of interior and exterior painting, would be about $2,500.

On August 3, 1977, defendant filed a petition seeking reimbursement for expenses she had incurred in the maintenance of the subject property after February 1, 1974. Defendant's petition also requested an additional $10,000, representing the homestead interest to which she contended she was entitled under our prior ruling.

Plaintiff's answer to the petition challenged defendant's right to reimbursement for expenses incurred in the maintenance of the subject property subsequent to February 1, 1974. Plaintiff also argued that a correct interpretation of the decision in the prior appeal would result in a homestead interest of $5,000 rather than the $10,000 claimed by defendant. In a counter petition plaintiff maintained that he was entitled to the entire proceeds of the sale since, according to the commissioner's report, the permissive waste attributable to defendant caused a fifty percent reduction in the market value of the premises. Plaintiff also stated that he was entitled to an award of the reasonable rental value of the property during the period when it was occupied solely by defendant and to an award of attorney's fees.

On September 27, 1977, a decree for sale of the premises was entered. On September 28, 1977, the trial court entered its order distributing the proceeds of the sale according to the following priorities: payment of the mortgage; $10,000 to defendant as her homestead award; $13,345.24 to plaintiff representing one-half of the depreciation, as calculated by the commissioner, attributable to lack of maintenance in the home; and the balance to the defendant. The subject property was sold at sheriff's sale on September 29, 1977 for $75,000. The confirmation of the sale has been stayed pending this appeal.

Defendant first contends that the commissioner's report was insufficient to support a decree of sale because it failed to include a finding that the property could not be divided without manifest prejudice to the parties as set forth in section 16 of the Partition Act. (Ill.Rev.Stat. ch. 106, sec. 59.) Defendant, citing Peck v. Peck (1959), 16 Ill.2d 268, 157 N.E.2d 249, and Rosenbaum v. Rosenbaum (1976), 38 Ill.App.3d 1, 349 N.E.2d 73, argues that an essential prerequisite to a decree of sale is an express finding in the commissioner's report that the property is incapable of division in kind. A reading of those cases reveals, however, that the defect found in the respective decrees was not that the commissioner had failed to make an express finding as to division, but rather that no commissioner had been appointed as required by the statute. We do not read section 16 as literally mandating a written finding by the commissioner that the property cannot be divided in kind. In the present case, the commissioner's oath was made a part of the record. That oath states that if partition of the premises cannot be made without manifest prejudice to the parties in interest, an appraisal then will be made to determine the value of the property. It thus could be inferred that since the report contained an appraisal of the property, the commissioner had determined that the premises could not be divided in kind. Moreover, the trial court had before it several photographs of the single-family residence in question, introduced without objection, and from these photographs it could be determined easily that the property was not susceptible to division in kind. While an express finding in the commissioner's report that the property is incapable of division in kind would be preferable, we find that, under these circumstances, the absence of such a finding does not affect the validity of the decree of sale.

Defendant next contends that the trial court erred in allowing the commissioner to be called as a witness by the plaintiff rather than by the court. Defendant asserts that allowing the commissioner to be called by a party undermines the impartiality required for the proper execution of his duties. The commissioner's sole testimony on direct examination consisted of an affirmation of his report. We find absolutely no prejudice to defendant as a result of the commissioner being called as a witness by plaintiff.

Defendant finally contends that a portion of the order of distribution was erroneous. She refers to that part of the order which awards plaintiff $13,345.24 as compensation for the depreciation of the home due to lack of maintenance. Defendant argues that the commissioner exceeded his statutory authority when he included in his report an opinion as to the effect of deferred maintenance upon the value of the property and that his report should have been confined to an appraisal of the present value of the premises. Defendant also contests the finding in the report that the lack of maintenance resulted in a $50,000 reduction in the fair market value of the home.

We believe that both of defendant's contentions are well-taken. The ...