Collins v. Guggenheim
| Decision Date | 28 April 1994 |
| Citation | 417 Mass. 615,631 N.E.2d 1016 |
| Parties | Charles D. COLLINS, v. Bethany GUGGENHEIM. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
Alan S. Geismer, Jr., Boston, for plaintiff.
Stephen M.A. Woodworth, South Easton (Peter E. Heppner with him), for defendant.
Before LIACOS, C.J., and ABRAMS, NOLAN, O'CONNOR and GREANEY, JJ.
From findings of fact (derived largely from a stipulation of facts) made by the trial judge, we learn that the plaintiff (Collins) and defendant (Guggenheim) began to cohabit in 1977 in Belmont, though they never were married to each other. Guggenheim had been married earlier and divorced and had two daughters from that marriage.
In 1979, they decided to move to a farm in Templeton, which Guggenheim had received in 1976 as part of her divorce settlement. They planned to restore and develop this sixty-eight acre farm which at that time had a fair market value of $10,670. The Eighteenth Century house (c. 1740) was quite primitive with no indoor plumbing, no central heating and no insulation.
In 1979, Collins and Guggenheim received a bank mortgage loan of $68,000 and an unsecured loan of $4,000 for renovation of the farm. Collins and Guggenheim became jointly liable for the loans and jointly paid principal and interest as well as real estate taxes and insurance. They moved to the farm permanently in August of 1979 with Guggenheim's children. They maintained a joint checking account from which they paid all the expenses of the farm. Each maintained a separate and individual checking account from which funds were transferred to the joint account.
With the proceeds from the loans, the parties also built a second house connected to the farm house and a barn. Just prior to opening the joint account, the parties purchased a tractor and accessories for $3,000, of which Guggenheim contributed $900 and Collins contributed $2100. Collins also paid from his own funds for certain improvements and equipment to the extent of $8000 which are still at the farm in Guggenheim's possession. They jointly developed part of the farm (approximately four acres) into a "pick-your-own" raspberry patch, which they operated at no profit for several years.
Their decisions concerning the farm, its financing and operation were jointly made "in an atmosphere of mutual trust." However, at no time was there any agreement promise, or contract to transfer title to the farm to their joint names.
In 1985, tensions between the parties began to arise. As a result, Collins left the farm in 1985 and did not return to live there until the spring of 1986. While away from the farm, Collins continued to make his monthly contributions to the joint account. An attempt to reconcile their personal difficulties failed and they mutually agreed to separate when Collins left the farm in December, 1986. Thereafter, he made no further contributions to the joint account. Guggenheim has since that time paid all the expenses of the farm. Total contributions to the farm between June, 1979, and December, 1986, by Collins were $55,100, and by Guggenheim $44,570.
Collins brought a complaint against Guggenheim in September, 1989, seeking, among things, a declaration that Guggenheim was a constructive trustee of the farm, and an order compelling Guggenheim to convey title to him and to her as tenants in common. In the alternative, Collins seeks an amount equal to his equitable interest in the farm and an accounting of all monies received by Guggenheim from the farm since 1986. 1
The trial judge dismissed the complaint, ruling that there was no constructive trust, no...
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...cases have made clear distinctions between the legal rights of marital and nonmarital partners. See, e.g., Collins v. Guggenheim, 417 Mass. 615, 617-618, 631 N.E.2d 1016 (1994) (long-term cohabitants not entitled to equitable distribution of property); Reep v. Commissioner of the Dep't of E......
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...(as found by the jury), the 400 shares of DSM stock could be made subject to a constructive trust. See Collins v. Guggenheim, 417 Mass. 615, 618, 631 N.E.2d 1016 (1994); Massachusetts Wholesalers of Malt Beverages, Inc. v. Attorney Gen., 409 Mass. 336, 342, 567 N.E.2d 183 (1991). This remed......
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...the assets of the other which unmarried cohabitants do not have." Wilcox v. Trautz, 427 Mass. 326, 334 (1998). See Collins v. Guggenheim, 417 Mass. 615, 618 (1994) (rejecting claim for equitable distribution of property where plaintiff cohabited with but did not marry defendant); Feliciano ......
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