Bullock v. Bullock, 95-CA-00636-SCT
| Decision Date | 31 July 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 95-CA-00636-SCT,95-CA-00636-SCT |
| Citation | 699 So.2d 1205 |
| Parties | Henry Clay BULLOCK, II v. Carolyn BULLOCK. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
Karen J. Young, Meadows Riley Koenenn & Teel, Gulfport, for Appellant.
Margaret Alfonso, Gulfport, for Appellee.
EN BANC.
McRAE, Justice, for the Court:
¶1 This appeal arises from an April 5, 1995 decree of the Hancock County Chancery Court granting Carolyn Bullock a divorce from Henry Clay "Hank" Bullock II on grounds of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment and ordering the equitable distribution of the couple's marital property. We find that the record supports the chancellor's determination that Carolyn was entitled to a divorce. Further, we affirm the award to Carolyn of various assets, including her State Teachers Retirement System pension plan, as well as the division between the two parties of the balance owed on her credit cards. However, in light of Hank's contribution of non-marital assets to reducing the debt on the marital dwelling, equity requires that he receive a greater share of the proceeds from its sale than that allotted by the chancellor. We therefore reverse and remand for a determination of the fair market value of the property and re-evaluation of Hank's equitable share.
¶2 Carolyn and Hank Bullock married for the first time in 1982. The marriage broke up after two years and Carolyn moved to Dallas. Succumbing to Hank's promises of a house on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, she moved back to Mississippi and the two remarried in 1986. While each has two grown children from previous marriages, no additional children were born to the couple.
¶3 At the time of the hearing, Hank was sixty-nine years old. He was retired from South Central Bell and drew pensions from South Central Bell, the State of Mississippi and Social Security totaling $2,576.38 per month. An avid golfer, Hank indicated that he was in good health except for an enlarged prostate and some arthritis.
¶4 Fifty-seven year old Carolyn has a Masters' Degree in education. She teaches sixth grade reading in Bay St. Louis, earning $32,000 per year. She recently had been diagnosed as suffering from high blood pressure and stress-related stomach problems. Since 1987, she has been treated for bouts of depression, melancholia and anxiety stemming from her relationship with Hank. She attempted suicide and was hospitalized at Gulf Oaks in 1987 for "a major depressive episode." The record indicates that she suffered no emotional problems prior to the marriage. Her psychologist testified that she suffered from feelings of worthlessness, helplessness and a lack of control over her life. She particularly noted Carolyn's fear of homelessness and Hank's use of that fear to control her.
The Marriage
¶5 The marriage was characterized by numerous demeaning little incidents which Hank made light of, writing everything off to Carolyn's "hysteria." Carolyn was particularly aggrieved by the sexual aspect of the couple's marriage and Hank's constant badgering and criticism. Hank, for example, apparently in response to his golf buddies' talk of their frequent sexual exploits, kept a calendar on the refrigerator door indicating when the couple had had intercourse. Hank contended that he put it up after reading a magazine article about how often people have sex and responded that he would have removed it if she had asked. Carolyn further testified:
It was just assumed every Friday night that I would sleep with Hank. He never came to my room. I didn't sleep with him during the week because he goes to the bathroom all night and he has alcohol and he drinks in his room and he smelled so bad. But that was mutual; that was okay as long as I slept with him on Friday night. But in the last year, I man, I hated how he treated me but I hated worse me putting up with going and climbing into his bed, feeling that way. I got to where I hated myself. But you know what's so bad, if I didn't--this is called sexual blackmail. If I didn't sleep with Hank on Saturday night, he was so ugly and hateful that I couldn't stand it so the only thing I could do was to lay down with him so he would be halfway cordial. I know that he said I ruined his social life but Hank could have, you know, cursed me out the night before and if we had guests coming over for bridge, he would put on this happy face and put his arm around me and the last year I have stopped asking people to come over to play bridge. He criticized the way I played. He wanted me to learn how--like to watch tapes on bridge. He watched tapes on bridge but people in Diamondhead don't play like the tapes. I didn't have time to do that. I had a full time job. I had to do report cards. I couldn't study bridge. I stopped going to the bridge; I stopped that.
¶6 Hank stated that he usually only had two drinks before dinner and drank only water after dinner. Carolyn and her daughter both testified, however, that Hank drank heavily and was mean when drunk. Carolyn's daughter, Cathryn Canter, testified that when visiting her mother and Hank,
... it was always needling her, little things that just added up, you know, day to day basis. My mother was always in tears I mean, if we turned the air conditioner on in the summertime when it would be sweltering and you couldn't sleep at night, he would come out of his room in an alcoholic rage saying he was going to throw us out on the street if we turned the air conditioner on.
¶7 A co-worker and friend, Marilyn Center, testified that Carolyn's self-esteem had deteriorated so markedly that the school principal had asked her and several other teachers to try to help her. Center further stated that Carolyn had been in tears very frequently about the situation at home.
Marital Assets
¶8 The couple's primary asset is the marital dwelling located at Diamondhead in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Hank purchased the lot on which the house is built in April, 1986, prior to the time of the remarriage for around $6,000. Through his bank in Rosedale, he obtained a construction loan for $72,000 in April or May of 1996. When his Rosedale house was sold in August, 1987, $30,345.90 of the proceeds were applied to the construction loan, reducing the debt to $42,292.73. In 1991, they bought the lot next door for approximately $3,000. The house note apparently was paid off in May, 1995. Hank contends that he kept track of the deposits made by both parties into their joint checking account as well as the checks that Carolyn had written and determined that all of the funds used to pay the house loan came from his money, claiming "she spent all of her money and made darned sure I didn't spend any of it."
¶9 Hank estimates that the house is valued at between $82,000 and $100,000. Carolyn testified that several years prior to the hearing, a realtor had told her that house prices in the area had increased substantially since they had built the house. She guessed that house was valued at $115,000 to $120,000.
Non-Marital Assets
¶10 Hank's major non-marital assets include his retirement and Social Security benefits, which provide him income in the amount of $2,576,86 per month. He had a Merrill Lynch annuity, which would provide him with a quarterly income of $1,350 until 1996. Although Hank apparently made an original investment of $32,000 or $37,000 in 1986 and later withdrew part of it to pay off the loan on his Subaru, the record does not indicate the cash value of the annuity or how much he would receive when it matured.
¶11 Carolyn inherited a one-third interest in her family's thirty-three acre farm outside Cleveland, Mississippi. The record does not indicate the market value of her interest in the land, but she estimated that her interest in the rental and crop revenues totaled approximately $100 per month. She owns fifty shares of RJR Nabisco common stock, which was a gift from her daughter and son-in-law. Her September 1994 brokerage statement indicated that the stock was valued at $343.75. Carolyn and her daughter, Catherine, have a joint savings account, which was shown as having a balance of $688.68.
Liabilities
¶12 At the time of the hearing, Carolyn had credit card debts totaling approximately $2,600. The chancellor ordered this to be divided equally between the parties. Hank's credit card bills totaled several hundred dollars. Carolyn owed approximately $15,000 on her 1991 Oldsmobile, for which the chancellor found she was responsible.
The Divorce
¶13 In June, 1994, Hank filed for divorce on grounds of irreconcilable differences, alleging that they had separated and that Carolyn was "guilty" of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment. Carolyn answered, admitting that irreconcilable differences had arisen between the two. She sought a dismissal of Hank's complaint and filed her cross-complaint for divorce on grounds of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment. In addition, she requested temporary relief including use of the marital dwelling in Diamondhead, Mississippi, temporary support, use of the 1991 Oldsmobile titled in her name with Hank to pay the car note, insurance and maintenance, and payment of all of her medical and counseling bills. After Hank allegedly placed a long distance block on the telephone and had a taping device installed, the chancellor entered an order on October 21, 1994 awarding Carolyn temporary, exclusive use of the marital home and restraining Hank from entering the property after noon the following day. Both parties also were enjoined from encumbering, transferring or moving any assets which could be construed as marital assets and from harassing each other in any way.
¶14 A hearing was held on October 18 and 19, 1994. At the beginning of the second day of the proceedings, Hank, through his attorney, announced that he was withdrawing his petition for divorce and wanted to reconcile with Carolyn. Carolyn, however, proceeded with her cross-claim for divorce. At the close of all testimony, the chancellor overruled Hank's ...
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