Cox v. Cox
| Docket Number | 20210455-CA |
| Decision Date | 08 June 2023 |
| Citation | 2023 UT App 62 |
| Parties | Blanche Cox, Appellee, v. James A. Cox, Appellant. |
| Court | Utah Court of Appeals |
Fourth District Court, Provo Department The Honorable Lynn W. Davis The Honorable Robert C. Lunnen No. 124402230
Brett D. Cragun, Attorney for Appellant
Jarrod H. Jennings, Attorney for Appellee
¶1 James and Blanche Cox were married for over 20 years, during which time they had 10 children and acquired a large number of marital assets. In September 2012, Blanche filed for divorce.[1] After 4 years of pretrial litigation and then 14 days of trial, the district court issued a 35-page divorce ruling that settled various issues relating to child custody, child support, alimony, and the division of the marital estate.
¶2 James now appeals, arguing that many of the court's rulings were not supported by adequate findings. We agree with James with respect to each challenged ruling. We accordingly vacate those rulings and remand for further proceedings.
¶3 James and Blanche Cox were married in 1990. During their marriage, they had 10 children and acquired a large number of assets. In September 2012, Blanche filed for divorce. After 4 years of litigation, the case went to trial, and that trial occurred over the course of 14 days between December 2016 and May 2017. In January 2017 (while the trial was proceeding) the court issued a bifurcated divorce decree granting Blanche's request for a divorce and reserving other issues for further hearings and determinations.
¶4 In October 2017, the court issued a 35-page Ruling and Memorandum Decision (the Ruling) that entered findings of fact and legal determinations regarding many issues related to child custody, child support, alimony, and the valuation and division of the marital estate. This appeal implicates the court's findings and determinations regarding essentially three groups of issues: the parties' marital properties, alimony and child support, and marital debts.[2]
¶5 The court found that James and Blanche "enjoyed the benefit or acquired" five properties during their marriage: (1) the Hildale Home, (2) the Henderson Home, (3) the Eagle Mountain Home, (4) the Rockville Property, and (5) the Cedar Highlands Lots. The court then entered findings and made rulings regarding how to divide the parties' marital interest in each property.
¶6 The Hildale Home: The court found that James built this home (located, as our reference would suggest, in Hildale, Utah) before his marriage to Blanche. The court found that James, Blanche, and their children lived in this property until 2010, after which they moved to a different residence. The court heard testimony that title to the Hildale Home was held by the United Effort Plan Trust (the Trust). But the court then concluded that no evidence had been presented of the value of James's interest in the Trust and that "establishing the value of a beneficial interest in property of the [Trust]" would be "practically and legally impossible." The court acknowledged that Blanche had submitted an appraisal of the Hildale Home at trial (which, according to the record on appeal, estimated its value as being around $200,000), but the court concluded that the appraisal was deficient because it failed to account for costs and fees associated with the Trust ownership. From all this-and without any further explanation- the court then ruled that Blanche was "entitled to an award of $100,000" based on the home's value.[3]
¶7 The Henderson Home: The court found that this home was purchased by James in 2004 for $420,000. It found that after the parties fell behind on mortgage payments, at which point they still owed around $288,000, the house was "lost in a short sale in 2013 for $225,000." The court made a finding that the fair market value of the home at the time, according to Zillow, was $323,861.
¶8 But the court also heard competing testimony from the parties about whether the loss of the home could have been avoided. From Blanche, the court heard testimony that the home "could have been rented out" but that James refused to sign papers that would have modified the loan and theoretically, allowed the parties to avoid losing it. From James, however, the court heard testimony that maintaining or leasing the home wasn't actually possible for several different reasons.
¶9 From this, the court found that "[t]he parties would likely have had at least $100,000 in equity to split if they had kept" the Henderson Home and "rented it as suggested by [Blanche] numerous times." The court then ruled that James "should be responsible to, and give [Blanche] credit for, $50,000 in equity representing her share of the lost asset dissipated by him."
¶10 The Eagle Mountain Home: The court found that James and Blanche bought this home in 2009 and made a $120,000 down payment on it, $80,000 of which was borrowed from James's mother. The court found that they moved into the home sometime in 2010 and began using it as their primary residence. James testified that he had at one point intended to sell the Eagle Mountain Home in an effort "to cover all the debts" on the parties' credit cards but that Blanche refused to cooperate with him on the sale. Evidence presented at trial suggested that the home was sold in 2015 by a bankruptcy trustee for $520,000, with the parties still owing $292,000 at that time. Without citing any specific piece of evidence, the court found that if the Eagle Mountain Home had "not been lost to a forced sale, [Blanche] would have been able to receive at least another $25,000 today because of the current market value of $606,000," and the court then ruled that she was "entitled to that sum."
¶11 The Rockville Property: The court described this as a "7.5 acre parcel of farm property" located near Rockville, Utah. In its ruling on how to divide the marital interest in this property, the court referred to evidence it had received indicating that the parties were "forced to sell" the property for $270,000 after falling behind on the mortgage payments, as well as evidence showing that the parties still owed around $190,000 on the property when it was sold.
¶12 But the court then referred to several sources of evidence it had received that suggested that this property had a higher value and could have been sold for more. For example, it referred to evidence that a realtor had listed what the court thought was a similar 11.4 acre parcel for $1,195,000 (though the court then acknowledged that it was "debatable" whether this comparison provided an accurate valuation for the Rockville Property). The court also noted testimony that a realtor had valued the property at "approximately $900,000" due to "28 [shares of] water rights [that were] attached to it." And the court referred to an "analysis from Zillow" that suggested the property's value was $1,195,000.
¶13 From all this, the court then found that the forced sale of the property for $270,000 was a loss that "cost the parties at least $450,000 each," and the court awarded Blanche "damages of $450,000 offset by monies she did receive in the amount of $42,000."
¶14 The Cedar Highlands Lots: The Cedar Highlands Lots were "two lots down by Cedar City," one of which was around 2 acres and the other around 2.5 acres. The court found that the lots were purchased for $40,000 each sometime in 2003 but that they were later "lost" through a forced sale because of the parties' ongoing failure to pay various taxes and fees.
¶15 At trial, there was conflicting evidence and argument about the amount of the loss suffered by the parties because of the sale of these lots. James testified that the parties lost $60,000, while Blanche claimed that they lost somewhere between $153,000 and $280,000 (with her estimate being largely based on the lots' appreciation in value since the time that the parties had purchased them-and, thus, the parties' loss of potential equity by virtue of the forced sale). The court ultimately found that the parties' inability to "pay the property taxes and Homeowners Association fees . . . resulted in [an] $80,000 loss to the parties." The court did not explain how it had arrived at the $80,000 amount, nor did it explain how this loss was to be distributed between the parties.
¶16 Blanche's Income: Under an initial subheading of the Ruling that was entitled "The Parties['] Income," the court found that Blanche is "an experienced bookkeeper with QuickBooks who has elected to be employed by About Faceology," but that she was currently a "self employed Uber/Lift driver and has been so since 2015." Under a subsequent subheading entitled "Income of the Parties," however, the court then determined that "[f]or child support purposes [Blanche's] income cannot be imputed at more than [the] minimum wage of $1,257 per month." Elsewhere in the Ruling, and without explanation for the discrepancy, the court found that Blanche's imputed minimum wage income was actually $1,260 per month (rather than $1,257). The court included no explanation for its conclusion that Blanche's income could not be imputed at more than the minimum wage.
¶17 Child Support: At the time of the Ruling, the parties had five minor children. The court initially ordered James to pay $3,781 per month in child support. Elsewhere in the Ruling, however, and again without explanation, the court stated that it was ordering James to pay $3,336 per month in child support.
¶18 Alimony: Turning to alimony, the court noted that under the controlling statute, it should consider a number of factors. One...
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