Douglass v. Douglass

• Decision Date: 05 March 2019
• Docket Number: WD 81633
• Citation: 570 S.W.3d 130
• Parties: Michael DOUGLASS, Respondent, v. Phillip DOUGLASS, Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

570 S.W.3d 130

Michael DOUGLASS, Respondent,

v.Phillip DOUGLASS, Appellant.

WD 81633

Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District.

OPINION FILED: March 5, 2019

Tyler B. Whitham, Liberty, MO, for appellant.

David M. Halphin, Independence, MO, for respondent.

Before Division One: Cynthia L. Martin, Presiding Judge, Victor C. Howard, Judge and Thomas H. Newton, Judge

Cynthia L. Martin, Judge

Phillip Douglass ("Phillip")¹ appeals a judgment imposing a constructive trust on insurance proceeds in favor of Michael Douglass ("Michael"). Phillip argues the trial court erred in imposing the constructive trust because some of the trial court's factual findings were not supported by substantial evidence. Finding no prejudicial error, we affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background²

In 1996, Michael bought a home located at 1208 Ward Parkway in Blue Springs ("Ward Parkway property"). Michael bought the home so his brother, Phillip, would have a place to live. In 1999, Michael encountered legal problems, and conveyed the Ward Parkway property to other family members, with the expectation that they would hold title on his behalf. In 2001, those family members conveyed the Ward Parkway property to Phillip. In 2004, Phillip sold the Ward Parkway property for $77,854.46. Michael claimed the proceeds of the sale of the Ward Parkway property were being held by Phillip for Michael's benefit.

In 2005, Michael decided to buy another home so Phillip would have a place to live. At an auction in April of 2005, Michael was the high bidder for a home located at 1003 NW B Street in Blue Springs ("NW B Street property"), for which he agreed to pay $108,000. Michael paid a $3,000 down-payment on the day of the auction. Between the date of the auction and closing, Michael amended the purchase contract to add Phillip as an additional buyer. At closing, the $77,854.46 sale proceeds from the Ward Parkway property were applied against the purchase price for the NW B Street property. In addition, $20,000 was paid from a joint account owned by Michael and Phillip. Phillip contributed the remaining balance of the purchase price. Title to the NW B Street property was conveyed to Michael and Phillip as joint tenants with rights of survivorship.

Phillip lived at the NW B Street property. Phillip was responsible for maintaining homeowners' insurance for the property, and for paying real estate taxes on the property.

Unbeknownst to Michael, Phillip executed a quitclaim deed in 2012 transferring title to the NW B Street property to ASTI Corporation ("ASTI"). Phillip signed a quitclaim deed for himself and for Michael as Michael's purported power of attorney. In 2013, ASTI executed a quitclaim deed transferring title to the property back to Phillip. As a result, Michael's name was no longer on the title to the NW B Street Property.

In early August 2016, Phillip borrowed $12,887.43 from Lyle Odo ("Odo") to pay back-due real estate taxes on the NW B Street property. In exchange, Odo recorded a deed of trust against the NW B Street property. As a result of this loan, a tax sale for the property was averted. Odo later learned that homeowners' insurance premiums were due and unpaid. Odo advanced $1,642 pursuant to the terms of the deed of trust to ensure that the NW B Street property remained insured.

In 2016, Phillip executed a beneficiary deed naming his girlfriend, Jennifer Gaulter ("Gaulter") the beneficiary grantee of the NW B Street property on Phillip's death. Gaulter was living with Phillip in the home.

On November 1, 2016, Michael filed a petition seeking to quiet title in the NW B Street property or in the alternative, awarding him a first lien on the property to the extent of his interest in the property. Michael's lawsuit named Odo and Gaulter as additional defendants. Odo filed counterclaims and crossclaims asserting his right to collect the amounts loaned to Phillip, along with interest.

Two days before trial, a fire destroyed the home on the NW B Street property. The homeowners' insurer issued two checks in the total amount of $140,000. The first, a check in the amount of $107,271.75, was made payable to Phillip and Odo. The second, a check in the amount of $32,728.25, was made payable to the City of Blue Springs.³ Michael secured an order requiring the check payable to Phillip and Odo to be deposited into the court registry.

Michael thereafter filed an amended petition. The amended petition again sought to quiet title in the NW B Street property, but also asserted a right to share in the homeowners' insurance proceeds issued as a result of the fire loss, and sought to partition the property.

The dispute was set for trial to the court on January 10, 2018. Prior to trial, Gaulter was dismissed as a defendant, having disclaimed any interest in the NW B Street property. In addition, Odo dismissed his counterclaims and crossclaims, and was dismissed as a defendant, based on a settlement wherein he was paid $22,500 from the funds held in the court registry in exchange for release of his deed of trust. As a result of this settlement, $84,771.75 remained on deposit in the court registry, and $32,728.25 remained held by the City of Blue Springs.

At trial, Phillip stipulated that the conveyance of the NW B Street Property to ASTI was void, and agreed Michael should be restored to title in the property as a joint tenant with right of survivorship. Other evidence was presented, and the case was taken under advisement. On March 2, 2018, the trial court entered judgment in favor of Michael and against Phillip ("Judgment"). The Judgment imposed a constructive trust in favor of Michael in the amount of 50% of the remaining homeowners' insurance proceeds, and ordered that the homeowners' insurance proceeds on deposit in the court registry and held by the City of Blue Springs be paid in equal shares to Michael and Phillip. The trial court ordered Michael's name restored to title for the NW B Street property; declared that no other person or entity had an interest in the property; and ordered a partition sale of the property with the net proceeds of sale to be divided equally between Michael and Phillip.

Phillip timely appealed.

Standard of Review

"On review of a court-tried case, an appellate court will affirm the circuit court's judgment unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, it is against the weight of evidence, or it erroneously declares or applies the law." Ivie v. Smith , 439 S.W.3d 189, 198-99 (Mo. banc 2014) (citing Murphy v. Carron , 536 S.W.2d 30, 32 (Mo. banc 1976) ). "Claims that there is no substantial evidence to support the judgment or that the judgment is against the weight of evidence necessarily involve review of the trial court's factual determinations." Winston v. Winston , 449 S.W.3d 1, 6 (Mo. App. W.D. 2014). Under these fact-based standards of review, a reviewing court defers to the trial court's assessment of the evidence because the trial court is "in a better position not only to judge the credibility of witnesses directly but also their sincerity and character and other trial intangibles that may not be revealed by the record." Id. "A reviewing court will overturn a trial court's judgment under these fact-based standards of review only when the court has a firm belief that the judgment is wrong." Id.

Analysis

In Phillip's sole point on appeal, he argues that the trial court erred by imposing a constructive trust on the homeowners' insurance proceeds and ordering those proceeds to be split evenly with Michael because "crucial" factual findings in the Judgment "were completely unsupported by the evidence and the record,"⁴ and as a result, clear, cogent, and convincing evidence did not support the imposition of a constructive trust.⁵ Specifically, Phillip challenges the trial court's factual findings in paragraphs 10, 12, and 23 of the Judgment,⁶ as follows:

10. It was not disputed that Plaintiff Michael Douglass contributed a down payment of $3,000 at the time of signing the contract to purchase the Property.

12. The parties do not dispute that Plaintiff Michael Douglass contributed and paid an additional $10,000.00, representing one-half of $20,000.00 paid from a joint business checking account with the Defendant Phillip Douglass, towards the purchase at the time of closing.

23. Defendant Lyle Odo, as a lender, paid the premium to State Farm Fire and Casualty Company to keep the Dwelling insured. The policy was in the name of the Defendant alone, although at the time of the purchase of the property the policy was purchased in the name of both parties.

To prevail on appeal, Phillip must not only demonstrate that these challenged factual findings are "completely unsupported by the evidence and the record" as alleged in his point relied on, but as well that the findings, if erroneous, were essential to the imposition of a constructive trust. See In re Estate of Gangloff , 743 S.W.2d 498, 502 (Mo. App. E.D. 1987) (holding that a trial court's erroneous factual finding was harmless error under Rule 84.13(b) when it was not essential to the trial court's ultimate conclusion); see Rule 84.13(b)⁷ ("No appellate court shall reverse any judgment unless it finds that error was committed by the trial court against the appellant materially affecting the merits of the action."). Phillip cannot sustain this burden.

Our courts have long recognized the constructive trust as a "fluid, flexible device" that may "be employed to remedy many different types of injustice." Brown v. Brown , 152 S.W.3d 911, 918 (Mo.App. W.D.2005) (relying on Durwood v. Dubinsky , 361 S.W.2d 779, 790 (Mo. 1962) ; Musser v. Gen. Realty Co. , 313 S.W.2d 5, 9 (Mo 1958) ; Wier v. Kansas City , 356 Mo. 882, 204 S.W.2d 268, 270 (Mo. 1947) ). "Technically, constructive trusts are not trusts at all but equitable devices employed by courts ... ‘regardless and independently of any actual or presumed intention of the parties to create a trust.’ " Id. at 916 (quoting Schultz v. Schultz , 637 S.W.2d...