In re Marriage of Mease
| Citation | 92 P.3d 1148,320 Mont. 229,2004 MT 59 |
| Decision Date | 11 March 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 02-580.,02-580. |
| Court | Montana Supreme Court |
| Parties | In re the MARRIAGE of Robert MEASE, Petitioner and Appellant, and Brenda Mease, Respondent and Respondent. |
For Appellant: E. Lee LeVeque, Lee LeVeque Law Offices, PLLC, Great Falls, Montana.
For Respondent: Robyn L. Weber, Weber Law Firm, PLLC, Helena, Montana.
¶ 1 Robert Mease (Robert) appeals from an order of the Eighth Judicial District Court, Cascade County, regarding his maintenance obligations to his ex-wife Brenda Mease (Brenda). We affirm in part and reverse in part.
¶ 2 We address the following issues on appeal:
¶ 3 1. Did the District Court err in holding Brenda was entitled to pre-dissolution, temporary maintenance and child support payments given the later settlement agreement between the parties?
¶ 4 2. Did the District Court err in holding Robert's maintenance obligation was based on his before tax income instead of his after tax income?
¶ 5 3. Did the District Court err when it failed to credit Robert's maintenance obligation with expenses he incurred?
¶ 6 4. Did the District Court err in subjecting Robert's salary to automatic wage withholding in order to satisfy his maintenance obligation?
¶ 7 5. Did the District Court err in awarding Brenda attorney fees?
¶ 8 Robert and Brenda married in 1968. They had two daughters. During the majority of their marriage, Brenda worked in the home. By 1996, the parties lived in a house in Great Falls and retained ownership of another residence in Connecticut.
¶ 9 In February 1996, Robert petitioned to dissolve the marriage. At the time of his petition, one of the daughters had already reached the age of majority. During the pending dissolution proceedings, the parties stipulated to temporary maintenance and child support to provide for Brenda and the minor daughter. This agreement provided that Robert pay $3,000 per month to Brenda for maintenance and child support through entry of a final decree. The stipulation was adopted as an order by the court effective as of the date of signing by the parties in May 1996. Brenda made the mortgage payments on both the Great Falls residence and the Connecticut residence out of this payment.
¶ 10 While the dissolution proceedings were still pending, Robert ceased making the temporary payments. In March 1997, Brenda brought a motion to hold Robert in contempt for failure to make the temporary payments. In June, the court denied the motion for contempt but ordered Robert to make the payments. Robert then brought his payments current. However, in July he ceased making the payments again. Brenda did not make another motion to enforce the temporary payments. During this same time period, the parties agreed to put the Connecticut residence up for sale. Towards that goal, Robert gave Brenda $12,000 to pay for repairs needed to make the property marketable. However, in September he informed Brenda that he would consider that money as fulfilling his temporary maintenance obligation because she had not given him receipts for the repairs and he believed she did not make any repairs.
¶ 11 In October 1997, the parties entered into a settlement agreement regarding maintenance, child support, and the division of their debts and assets. This agreement provided among other things that Robert would pay $825 monthly child support until their youngest daughter reached majority. It also provided Robert would pay maintenance to Brenda until she turned 62 or remarried, calculated as a percentage of his income minus any income Brenda earned. The settlement agreement also released each party from past and current claims and provided for attorney fees. The agreement was incorporated into the dissolution decree entered by the court later that month. ¶ 12 After the decree was entered, Robert paid the first maintenance payment but then failed to make any additional maintenance payments. Robert continued to make child support payments until their youngest daughter graduated from high school in June 2000.
¶ 13 In 2001, Brenda filed a motion to force Robert to comply with his maintenance obligations. Brenda sought the temporary maintenance due from before the settlement agreement was signed, the regular monthly maintenance payments due under the settlement agreement, and attorney fees. Robert asserted that he was not obligated to pay the temporary maintenance because he was released from such claims by the settlement agreement and because he had already paid Brenda. He also asserted that he did not pay the regular maintenance payments because Brenda did not give him proof of her wages to subtract from his payment and because of expenses he incurred due to her actions. Finally, he disputed how the maintenance obligation was to be calculated under the wording of the settlement agreement. While Brenda believed the amount was to be 15% of before tax income, Robert argued the amount was to be 15% of after tax income. In support of her position, Brenda introduced expert testimony by a certified public accountant regarding the meaning of certain terms in the settlement agreement.
¶ 14 After receiving testimony and evidence from the parties, the court found in Brenda's favor on all points and awarded her all the maintenance she sought. Although the court did not enter a judgment for the appropriate amounts, its order indicated Brenda was entitled to the temporary maintenance and the maintenance due through July 2002 and all attorney fees and costs. The court also held that due to his repeated resistance to fulfilling his maintenance responsibility, Robert's wages were to be subject to wage withholding starting in August 2002. Robert now appeals. Further details are discussed below.
¶ 15 Robert asserts that the District Court erred in adopting Brenda's proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law verbatim. However, we have often noted such an action is not error in and of itself. In re Marriage of Stufft (1996), 276 Mont. 454, 457, 916 P.2d 767, 769. Rather, the party disputing the order on appeal must show that the court's findings were not supported by substantial evidence or that the court made a conclusion of law that was incorrect. Stufft, 276 Mont. at 457, 916 P.2d at 769. Therefore, Robert's argument must be considered in relation to his specific disputes with those findings and conclusions. Accordingly, we turn to the specific arguments Robert makes on appeal.
¶ 16 Did the District Court err in holding Brenda was entitled to pre-dissolution, temporary maintenance and child support payments given the later settlement agreement between the parties?
¶ 17 Robert asserts the District Court erred in awarding Brenda $9,000 in temporary maintenance payments for July, August, and September 1997 because the parties released each other from such claims in the settlement agreement. He also argues he already paid her through the $12,000 check.
¶ 18 Brenda asserts the plain language of the release did not apply to the temporary maintenance payments. She cites In re Marriage of Halverson (1988), 230 Mont. 226, 749 P.2d 518, in support of her argument that the settlement agreement must mention the stipulation previously entered regarding temporary maintenance in order for the temporary maintenance to be waived. She also argues that a trial court has discretion to award retroactive temporary maintenance payments under In re Marriage of Spence (1993), 257 Mont. 188, 849 P.2d 161. In addition, Brenda asserts she made $12,000 in repairs to the Connecticut house and that she cannot prove these repairs because she and Robert agreed to make cash payments to contractors without receipts "under the table."
¶ 19 In its final order, the District Court held that the release language in the settlement agreement did not excuse Robert from liability for the temporary maintenance payments because the agreement did not mention the stipulation or that it required payments until a final decree was entered. The court simply held that the stipulation provided that Robert was to pay temporary maintenance, that the order entered pursuant to the stipulation had never been vacated, and that Robert had not paid the required maintenance.
¶ 20 After reviewing the language of the release, we agree with Robert. Whether the settlement agreement released Robert from his obligation to make up unpaid temporary maintenance payments is a matter of interpretation of the language of the contract. Heath v. Heath (1995), 272 Mont. 522, 527, 901 P.2d 590, 593; § 40-4-201(5), MCA. Such agreements are interpreted the same as any other contract in that plain language controls. Heath, 272 Mont. at 527, 901 P.2d at 593. If the release language bars Brenda's claim to the unpaid temporary maintenance, we do not need to consider the disputed factual issue of whether Robert already paid the temporary maintenance by virtue of the $12,000.
¶ 21 The settlement agreement between the parties states:
MUTUAL RELEASE. Subject to the provisions of this agreement, each party has released and discharged, and by this agreement does for himself or herself, ... release and discharge the other of and from all causes of action, claims, rights, or demands whatsoever, in law or in equity, which either of the parties ever had or now has against the other, except any or all cause or causes of action for dissolution of marriage and except for periodic child support payments as provided for herein.
This language clearly released Robert from any claims for prior, unpaid temporary payments. Contrary to the District Court's emphasis on the fact that the stipulation was not mentioned or vacated, the words "all causes of action, claims, rights, or demands whatsoever [emphasis added], in law or in equity, which either of the parties ever had or now has" by...
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