Hjortaas v. McCabe, 94-00034
| Citation | 656 So.2d 168 |
| Decision Date | 07 April 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 94-00034,94-00034 |
| Parties | 20 Fla. L. Weekly D881 Gayle HJORTAAS, Appellant, v. Philip Joseph McCABE, Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
Cynthia L. Greene, Law Offices of Elser, Greene, Hodor & Fabar, Miami, and Law Offices of Long, Tuminello, Besso & Quinlan, Naples, for appellant.
Robert A. Harper, Jr., Robert Augustus Harper Law Firm, P.A., Tallahassee, for appellee.
Gayle Hjortaas, the former wife of Philip Joseph McCabe, has appealed from the final judgment of dissolution of marriage in which the trial judge found the parties' prenuptial agreement binding and valid. Because Philip's disclosure of his assets was insufficient as a matter of law, we reverse the final judgment and remand for the trial court again to consider an equitable distribution.
When Gayle Hjortaas met Philip McCabe in 1984, she was a real estate office secretary who occasionally handled rentals. Philip was the owner of a "bed and breakfast" in Maine but he leased a villa in Naples, Florida, through Gayle's real estate firm. They dated briefly in November of 1984, and ultimately they spent a short New Year's holiday together in Canada. In the spring of 1985 Gayle stayed at the Maine inn. Philip spent the following winter season in Florida, during which he purchased some land in Naples with the idea of constructing a hotel.
Gayle and Philip became engaged in the spring of 1986. The couple lived together in an apartment while Philip pursued his hotel construction plans. In March of 1987, he opened the Inn of Naples. In November of 1986 Gayle left her real estate job and began to work for Philip at the construction site.
In early April of 1987 Philip proposed that he and Gayle marry on his fortieth birthday--May 1. He also told Gayle that he wanted her to execute a prenuptial agreement. She was opposed to the idea because she did not contemplate divorce. Philip, however, met with his attorney and provided him with the terms of a prenuptial agreement he desired. This conversation occurred in early April, and although Gayle knew the purpose of the meeting, she was not a party to any discussions involving either the terms of an agreement or Philip's net worth. The agreement was actually drafted on April 28, 1987, and was executed in identical form two days later, the day before the scheduled wedding. At that time no financial disclosure documents were appended as exhibits, and in fact Philip did not create such a form until a month later. His statement reflected a net worth of almost two million dollars. Gayle's net worth was zero.
Six years later, when the marriage had disintegrated, Philip sought enforcement of the prenuptial agreement, which according to a schedule provided Gayle with a lump sum payment of $48,000. The agreement had been structured so that Gayle would receive a payment of between zero and $98,000, the specific amount being determined pursuant to a sliding scale depending upon the length of the marriage. Gayle attempted to have the agreement set aside, alleging that it was unfair, unreasonable, inequitable and the product of Philip's coercion, undue influence, and duress.
We agree with Gayle. The contract should have been nullified by the trial court and we expressly find that the trial court incorrectly applied the test set out in Casto v. Casto, 508 So.2d 330, 333 (Fla.1987):
First, a spouse may set aside or modify an agreement by establishing that it was reached under fraud, deceit, duress, coercion, misrepresentation, or overreaching.
The second ground to vacate a settlement agreement contains multiple elements. Initially, the challenging spouse must establish that the agreement makes an unfair or unreasonable provision for that spouse, given the circumstances of the parties....
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