Davidson v. Davidson

• Docket Number: 2022-CA-00372-COA
• Decision Date: 08 August 2023
• Parties: TIFFANY ELLEN TURPIN DAVIDSON APPELLANT v. TIMOTHY CHARLES DAVIDSON APPELLEE
• Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals

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TIFFANY ELLEN TURPIN DAVIDSON APPELLANT v. TIMOTHY CHARLES DAVIDSON APPELLEE

No. 2022-CA-00372-COA

Court of Appeals of Mississippi

August 8, 2023

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 04/04/2022

HINDS COUNTY CHANCERY COURT, FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT HON. CRYSTAL WISE MARTIN TRIAL JUDGE

H BYRON CARTER III ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT

WILLIAM CHARLES BELL ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE

DATE OF JUDGMENT: TRIAL JUDGE: COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: NATURE OF THE CASE DISPOSITION: MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:

BEFORE BARNES, C.J., WESTBROOKS AND McDONALD, JJ.

WESTBROOKS, J.

¶1. Tiffany Turpin Davidson and Timothy “Bo” Davidson agreed to an irreconcilable differences divorce and requested the Hinds County Chancery Court to decide their property division and debt division. The chancellor ultimately determined in her judgment that the marital home was marital property and that Bo was entitled to a portion of the equity in the home. The chancellor's judgment also ordered each party to pay half of a contested credit card debt. Tiffany appeals only these rulings in the judgment. Finding no error in the classification of marital assets and award of equity in the marital home, we affirm on these matters. But the order dividing the marital debt incurred on the Capital One credit card was not sufficiently clear regarding the amount to divide. This part of the chancery court's judgment alone is reversed, and the issue is remanded so that the chancellor may make a proper finding on this amount.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2. Tiffany and Bo were married on January 2, 2017, in Hinds County, Mississippi. The parties separated on May 20, 2018. The couple had no children from the marriage, although both had custody of minor children from previous relationships. Tiffany had two minor children from a prior marriage, and Bo had custody of one minor child from a prior marriage. On August 14, 2018, the parties filed a joint complaint for an irreconcilable-differences divorce. The complaint anticipated that the parties would enter into an agreement for the settlement of their property and debts. But on July 22, 2019 Tiffany filed a motion requesting that the chancery court "decide the issues of the division of marital assets and liabilities" because the "parties ha[d] not been able to reach an adequate and sufficient agreement." One point of contention was the marital home. Prior to the marriage, Tiffany purchased a home at 500 Bellepointe Cove in Byram, Mississippi. The home was paid for before Bo moved in. During the separation, Bo had stopped paying on a $53,000 home equity loan from Trustmark National Bank that used the Bellepointe Cove home as security. When Bo stopped repaying this loan, Trustmark began foreclosure proceedings against the house.

¶3. On September 4, 2019, Tiffany filed an emergency motion regarding the debt. Tiffany had obtained a contract for the sale of her home and needed Bo to authorize Trustmark to release information to her so that the sale could be completed and foreclosure avoided. Bo's reply to Tiffany's emergency motion stated that he had already authorized Tiffany to access the Trustmark loan. He also alleged that the home had become marital property and requested that $30,000 of the equity in the home be placed in escrow after the completed sale until the chancery court could determine the property division. On September 10, 2019, the chancellor ordered Bo to execute all documents necessary to sell the home at Bellepointe Cove and ordered Tiffany to place $30,000 of the proceeds of the sale into a trust to be held by her attorney.

¶4. On September 16, 2020, Bo and Tiffany filed a consent to divorce on the ground of irreconcilable differences that divided all their assets and debts with the exception of (1) the equity in the former marital home; (2) the credit card debt with Capital One; and (3) other marital debt. A trial on the irreconcilable-differences divorce took place the same day.

¶5. Bo was the first to testify. He testified that he moved out of the house in May 2018.^[1]But he stated that while he lived at the Bellepointe Cove home, he performed a significant amount of work on the property. He cleared land and landscaped. He cleared sprinkler heads and replaced lines and an air pump for the system. He fixed a leaky air conditioner and repaired damage it had caused to the drywall. He enclosed the garage as a bedroom for one of Tiffany's children, and he closed off a wall to create a bedroom for his child at Tiffany's request. He also testified that he did the little things around the house that required repair, such as fixing toilets and ceiling fans.

¶6. Bo and Tiffany also built a workshop behind the house. Bo had built a concrete pad and then anchored and framed a portable structure to form the walls of the workshop. The workshop had sheetrock, insulation, electricity, heat, air conditioning, and a roll-up garage door. Bo's uncontested testimony was that he spent $28,000 of his own money from a prior divorce settlement to build this workshop.

¶7. Bo also testified about the $53,000 Trustmark loan. The loan was actually a home equity line of credit. He testified that both he and Tiffany took out the loan when they were married. Tiffany and Bo both signed the mortgage paperwork. But Bo testified he was the only one listed on the loan itself because Tiffany's credit was so bad the bank would not add her to the loan. Bo also testified that the proceeds from the loan were used to pay for (1) private school tuition for the couple's three children; (2) home repairs; and (3) over $17,000 in property taxes that Tiffany had failed to pay on the Bellepointe house for the years 2015 through 2017 (years that preceded the marriage). Bo testified that when the house was about to be lost for unpaid property taxes, he intervened by negotiating with the tax collector to keep the house. Both parties testified that Bo only paid the interest payment on the loan and that he did not make payments toward the principal.

¶8. Finally, Bo testified about the debt that had accumulated on the Capital One credit card. Bo's testimony was that the credit card had a $13,000 balance when he moved out of the house. He testified that at the time of the trial, the current balance was $9,970 because he had paid off approximately $3,000. Bo's undisputed testimony was that the card had a zero balance at the beginning of the marriage and that the charges on the card were incurred during the marriage. Bo testified that the charges on the Capital One credit card were all family expenses. He submitted a year-end summary for 2017 to support his testimony. The charges shown were for expenses such as gas, dining, entertainment, utility bills, and homeowner's insurance. On cross-examination Bo admitted that a $1,131.20 charge on the credit card was for a cruise his son took after his senior graduation. The charge for his son's cruise occurred after the parties' separation date.

¶9. Tiffany was the second and final witness. Tiffany testified that the final sale price for the Bellepointe home was $227,000. She testified that she had paid $240,000 for the house in 2003. According to Tiffany, the enclosed garage and other repairs, along with the sale taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic, contributed to the lower sales price. Of the $227,000 sales price, $68,295.90 was paid for closing costs, property taxes for 2018 and 2019 that Tiffany had not paid, and the money ($30,000.00) to be held in escrow for Bo. Trustmark received $53,000 for the home equity loan and $21,076.99 for attorney's fees related to the foreclosure action. A "seller credit" of $5,000 was given for repairs, and $1,937.07 was listed for county taxes for the nine months prior to the month in which the home was sold. Tiffany received $77,690.04 after the sale of the home.

¶10. Tiffany testified that Bo's home repairs required additional repairs after the couple separated and that his work did not add to the value of the home. When asked, "[Do] you agree with me that after you and Mr. Davidson married, y'all used this house for family purposes, right?" Tiffany's answer was "[y]es." Tiffany also confirmed Bo's testimony that the $53,000 Trustmark loan was used for the children's "tuition and their band fees for that year, and we paid the land taxes [and for] . . . [m]iscellaneous maintenance on the house[,] . . . paying off bills[,] . . . and enclosing the garage for a room for her son." She echoed Bo's testimony that her name was not on the Trustmark loan only because the Trustmark representative advised the couple that they could get a better interest rate if only Bo's name was listed on the loan.

¶11. Tiffany also testified that the expenses on the Capital One credit card were incurred by both. According to Tiffany, the "regular bills" were added to the credit card. "Date nights" were also charged to the card. She testified she gave Bo approximately $2,000 per month to apply to the credit card bill. She also testified that she sold some property rights to pay for her son's major car repair that had been charged on the card. When asked whether the current balance of $9,970 was related to her, she replied, "I have no idea."

¶12. On April 4, 2022, the chancery court issued its opinion and final judgment of divorce. The divorce was granted on the ground of irreconcilable differences. The chancellor, in her analysis, determined that the property at 500 Bellepointe Cove was marital property because it had been transformed into marital property. The chancellor then conducted a thorough Ferguson^[2] analysis, listing and weighing each of the eight factors. In considering the primary factor related to the equity in the house (substantial contribution to the...