Hughes v. Morin

• Decision Date: 12 July 2000
• Citation: 2000 ME 135,755 A.2d 513
• Parties: Debra HUGHES v. Michael MORIN.
• Court: Maine Supreme Court

755 A.2d 513

2000 ME 135

Debra HUGHES v. Michael MORIN.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Submitted on Briefs April 14, 2000.

Decided July 12, 2000.

James A. Mitchell, Butler, Whittier, LaLiberty & Mitchell, P.A., Waterville, for plaintiff.

Robert J. Ringer Jr., Daviau, Jabar & Batten, Waterville, for defendant.

Panel: WATHEN, C.J., and CLIFFORD, RUDMAN, DANA, SAUFLEY, ALEXANDER, and CALKINS, JJ.

DANA, J.

[¶ 1] Michael Morin appeals from the judgment of the Superior Court (Kennebec County, Atwood, J.) affirming the judgment of the District Court (Waterville, French, J.) construing disputed language in the parties' divorce decree in favor of Debra Hughes, f/k/a Debra Morin, and limiting Michael's share of the equity in their marital home to half the equity the couple had in the property at the time of their divorce. On appeal, he argues that he is entitled to half of the present equity in the property and that it was error for the court to determine otherwise. We affirm.

[¶ 2] The parties were divorced pursuant to a judgment of the District Court (Studstrup, J.) dated June 18, 1986. In the judgment, the court provided for the welfare of the couple's child, ordered that neither party would be required to provide the other spousal support, and divided the couple's personal and real property. The original divorce decree provided that the couple's minor child would reside primarily with Hughes in the marital home until such time as Hughes sold it, otherwise forfeited her right to possession, or until the child reached the age of eighteen, whichever came first.

[¶ 3] After the judgment was entered, in response to a motion for relief from judgment pursuant to Rule 60(a) of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure,¹ the parties agreed and the court amended paragraph # 8 of the judgment to read as follows:

The family residence and adjoining property on East Pond Road, Oakland, Maine, as more fully described in the Kennebec County Registry of Deeds in Book 1894, Page 305 and in Book 2164, Page 108, are determined to be marital property. The real estate was held in joint tenancy and shall now be changed to tenants in common. The Plaintiff shall have exclusive possession of said property with the minor child, so long as she pays all mortgage, insurance and tax payments. This right will end when the minor child reaches age (18). At such time as the Plaintiff decides not to exercise the right of residence or that right expires, the property shall be sold and the proceeds shall be divided as follows; the current value of the property has been stipulated to be $54,500.00 and the parties' current equity is found to be $32,940.00. It is ordered that the equity is divided equally between the parties with each party receiving fifty percent (50%) of the equity after the expenses of the sale at the time the equity becomes available for distribution.

[¶ 4] After the divorce, Hughes continued to live in the residence and made all of the mortgage, tax and insurance payments. The mortgage payments made by Hughes reduced the mortgage to $9,000. In addition, Hughes spent approximately $40,000 enlarging and improving the home. As a result of these expenditures, in December of 1997, when their child turned eighteen, the property was appraised at $94,000 and the equity in the property had increased to $85,000. [¶ 5] Hughes believed that paragraph # 8 should be read to mean that on the occurrence of their child's eighteenth birthday Morin was entitled to receive one-half of the equity identified in paragraph #8, i.e., $16,470 (one-half of $32,940). Accordingly, she obtained financing for that amount and offered it to Morin. Morin rejected the offer and insisted on $42,500 (one-half of the current equity of $85,000). Hughes then filed a motion for post-judgment relief, and the parties filed opposing memoranda in support of their respective positions.

[¶ 6] The District Court interpreted paragraph #8 to mean that Morin was entitled to one-half of the equity at the time of their divorce. The court concluded that paragraph #8 stated that the parties' equity was $32,940 and Morin was to receive one-half of that amount after deducting the expenses of sale. This interpretation was affirmed on appeal to the Superior Court. Morin appeals from this judgment and argues that the only reasonable interpretation of the provision is that offered by him.

[¶ 7] Title 19-A, section 953 controls property divisions in divorce actions and provides that the court "shall divide the marital property in proportions the court considers just" after considering all the relevant factors. 19-A M.R.S.A. § 953 (1997).² "[T]here is no question that the court has the inherent and continuing authority to construe and clarify its judgment when that judgment is ambiguous." MacDonald v. MacDonald, 582 A.2d 976, 977 (Me.1990) (citations omitted). The court always has the authority to "make clear the meaning of a prior decree where necessary to guide the conduct of the parties," id. (quoting Randlett v. Randlett, 401 A.2d 1008, 1010 (Me.1979)).³

[¶ 8] We apply an objective test to determine whether a court has properly exercised its authority to construe and clarify its own judgment. To uphold the clarifying order of a court, "we must answer the following two questions in the affirmative: (1) whether the court's prior judgment was ambiguous as a matter of law . . . and (2) whether the court's construction of its prior judgment is consistent with its language read as a whole and is objectively supported by the record." MacDonald, 582 A.2d at 977 (citations omitted). "In resolving any ambiguity in a divorce judgment, it is the intent of the divorce court, as revealed in the language of the judgment, that controls." Greenwood v. Greenwood, 2000 ME 37, ¶ 9, 746 A.2d 358, 361.⁴

[¶ 9] The first question may properly be answered in the affirmative. At issue in the present case is the meaning of the amended paragraph #8 that describes how and when the equity in the real property is to be divided. Although the trial court ultimately concluded that Hughes's position was correct and that Morin was entitled only to one-half of the $32,940 minus his share of the expenses of the sale, each party set forth before the trial court a plausible interpretation of the provision. Cf. Portland Valve, Inc. v. Rockwood Systems Corp., 460 A.2d 1383, 1387 (Me.1983)

("Contract language is ambiguous when it is reasonably susceptible of different interpretations.").

[¶ 10] We next determine "whether the court's construction of its prior judgment is consistent with its language read as a whole and is objectively supported by the record." MacDonald, 582 A.2d at 977. "When the meaning of ambiguous language used in a judgment is determined by a consideration of the language in context of the judgment, that meaning also becomes a question of law for the court." Bliss, 583 A.2d at 210. We review questions of law de novo. See id.

[¶ 11] A review of the judgment as a whole demonstrates that the divorce court intended to treat Hughes and Morin equally at the time of...