Glenn v. Snider
| Decision Date | 25 May 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 75289,75289 |
| Citation | 852 S.W.2d 841 |
| Parties | Jo Etta (Snider) GLENN, Respondent, v. Jerry Francis SNIDER, Appellant. |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
Samuel J. Short, Jr., Stockton, for appellant.
William G. McCaffree, Nevada, for respondent.
Jerry Francis Snider appeals an order of contempt entered against him for failure to comply with the requirements of a decree of dissolution of his marriage to Jo Etta Snider (now Glenn), and, in a consolidated case, he appeals a judgment entered against him and in favor of Jo Etta in a suit on a promissory note. The cases were certified for transfer by the court of appeals; this Court has jurisdiction under article V, section 10, of the Missouri Constitution. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.
In this appeal, we consider whether a former spouse remains obligated to pay maintenance of fixed duration and amount where the payee spouse remarries and where both the decree of dissolution and the separation agreement are silent on the effect of remarriage.
On April 7, 1989, the Circuit Court of Cedar County dissolved the marriage of Jerry Francis Snider and Jo Etta Snider, now Jo Etta Glenn. In the decree of dissolution, the court ordered Jerry to pay maintenance to Jo Etta. The decree contained language that was essentially identical to that in the parties' separation agreement, completed on the morning of the hearing. The decree provided:
Wife is awarded alimony in the amount of $600 per month for a period of nine years, beginning May 1, 1989. This provision is contractual and not decretal and is not subject to modification. This provision is made by way of support of the wife and not by way of property settlement. Payments shall be in cash (not property) under this decree, will not extend beyond the death of the payee spouse, and the spouses will not file joint returns, nor be members of the same household. Payments will be reported as taxable income by wife and will be deductible by husband. Said installments shall be payable through the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cedar County, Missouri. The obligation created by this decree is as reinforcement of the separation agreement incident to divorce concluded between the parties. The Court contemplates that this obligation shall not be dischargeable in bankruptcy and is to provide for wife's living expenses in view of the inadequacy of wife's assets, the conveyance of family business to husband, wife's physical and emotional condition, and wife's questionable earning capacity.
Neither the decree nor the separation agreement made any express reference to termination or continuation of the maintenance payments upon the contingency of Jo Etta's remarriage.
The dissolution court also awarded the family home to Jo Etta and charged the indebtedness on the home to Jerry. Under the decree, if Jo Etta were to sell the home and if Jerry were unable to discharge the indebtedness in full at the time of sale, Jo Etta could purchase the promissory note that secured the original purchase of the home from the Farmers Home Administration. Jerry would then make the balance of payments directly to Jo Etta.
On November 29, 1989, Jo Etta remarried.
The family home was sold in May of 1990, but Jerry was unable to discharge the principal on the note. As provided in the decree of dissolution, Jo Etta purchased the note from the Farmers Home Administration. Jerry then became obligated to Jo Etta to pay monthly payments of $131 on the note. In January of 1991, however, Jerry ceased making the payments.
On May 3, 1991, Jo Etta filed suit against Jerry in the Circuit Court of Cedar County, alleging that Jerry had failed to make installment payments on the note. Jerry answered, stating that he was no longer obligated to pay maintenance to Jo Etta after her remarriage and that his $600 monthly payments should have been applied against his indebtedness on the note. Additionally, Jerry counterclaimed for abuse of process.
On July 16, 1991, Jo Etta filed an "Application for Order to Show Cause and Motion for Contempt Citation" in which she claimed that Jerry was in violation of the provisions of the divorce decree either because he failed to make note payments or because he failed to make maintenance payments. Jerry filed an answer in which he denied any obligation to provide continuing maintenance to Jo Etta after her remarriage.
The court consolidated the suit on the note and the contempt action for purposes of a hearing. The court heard evidence concerning the intent of the parties in entering into the maintenance agreement. Jerry testified that the provision for maintenance was not meant to survive remarriage and that his $600 monthly payments were accelerated payments on the note.
The court held that the parties had intended for the maintenance provision to survive remarriage and, therefore, entered judgment against Jerry in the suit on the note and ordered him to pay arrearages. The court also adjudged Jerry to be in contempt for violation of the maintenance provision of the decree. Finally, the court entered judgment in favor of Jo Etta on the counterclaim for abuse of process. 1
On appeal, Jerry's sole argument is that the trial court erred in determining that his obligation to pay maintenance did not terminate upon Jo Etta's remarriage because § 452.370.2, RSMo Supp.1988, 2 mandates termination of payments where the decree or settlement is silent on the effect of remarriage. Obviously, resolution of this issue is dispositive of both cases.
Section 452.370.2 provides:
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