In re Taber-McCarthy
Decision Date | 09 April 2010 |
Docket Number | No. 2009–180.,2009–180. |
Court | New Hampshire Supreme Court |
Parties | In the Matter of Pamela TABER–McCARTHY and Ricky C. McCarthy. |
Mosca Law Office, of Manchester (Edward C. Mosca, on the brief and orally), for the petitioner.
Walker & Buchholz, P.A., of Manchester (Kevin E. Buchholz, on the brief and orally), for the respondent.
The respondent, Ricky C. McCarthy, appeals an order recommended by a Marital Master (Green, M.) and approved by the Superior Court (Abramson, J.) that adopted the qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) proposed by the petitioner, Pamela Taber–McCarthy. We affirm.
The record reveals the following facts. The parties married in 1998. On January 16, 2006, the petitioner filed for divorce. Their final divorce decree, entered in April 2007, provided, in pertinent part:
The parties' divorce decree became effective July 13, 2007. In August 2007, the parties stipulated to a QDRO. The stipulated QDRO gave the date of marriage as September 26, 1998; the date of filing of the divorce petition as January 16, 2006; and the date of the divorce as July 13, 2007. The stipulated QDRO assigned to the petitioner "an amount equal to 50% of the [respondent's] ‘vested benefit’ under [his employer's 401(k) plan] which was earned during the period of the marriage only from September 26, 1998 to January 16, 2006." "This amount," the stipulated QDRO provided,
The stipulated QDRO further provided:
The stipulated QDRO was never entered as a court order, however, because the administrator of the respondent's retirement plan expressed concerns about it, which the parties were unable to resolve. Specifically, the plan administrator noted that the stipulated QDRO was "unclear [as] to whether or not gains (losses) should be applied from January 16, 2006 until the date of distribution or transfer or if the $33,979.96 is a lump sum payment." The parties attempted to negotiate an addendum to the stipulated QDRO that would address this concern, but were unable to agree.
In December 2008, following numerous hearings on the issue, the court adopted the petitioner's proposed QDRO, which provided, in pertinent part, that the net amount due her ($33,979.96) "shall be a lump sum amount payable without any gains or losses thereon."
On appeal, the respondent argues that the QDRO the court ultimately adopted caused him to suffer the "loss of approximately $12,000 ... out of his portion of the funds in order to pay the petitioner the original amount agreed to, which in effect awarded [her] more than what the parties' agreement called for [her] to receive." He contends that the QDRO, therefore, effected an unequal division of property and that the trial court could not have reasonably found any special circumstances to warrant such a division. He further contends that the division of property, as effected by the QDRO, is inequitable, particularly given the petitioner's delay in getting the stipulated QDRO approved. He argues that given the delay caused by the petitioner, the trial court unsustainably exercised its discretion by failing to award her the original amount agreed to less the losses incurred in the interim. He also asserts that the trial court improperly applied the Hodgins formula. See Hodgins v. Hodgins, 126 N.H. 711, 716, 497 A.2d 1187 (1985), superseded by statute on other grounds by RSA 458:16–a, I (2004). Finally, he argues that the trial court erred when it failed to grant his motion to compel. We address each of his arguments in turn.
We first address whether the QDRO the court ultimately ordered awarded the petitioner more than the parties' agreement called for her to receive. A stipulated agreement is contractual in nature and, therefore, is governed by contract rules. Czumak v. N.H. Div. of Developmental Servs., 155 N.H. 368, 373, 923 A.2d 208 (2007). The interpretation of a contract is a question of law, which we review de novo. Id. When interpreting a written agreement, we give the language used by the parties its reasonable meaning, considering the circumstances and the context in which the agreement was negotiated, and reading the document as a whole. Id. Absent ambiguity, the parties' intent will be determined from the plain meaning of the language used in the contract. Id.
"The language of a contract is ambiguous if the parties to the contract could reasonably disagree as to the meaning of that language." N.A.P.P. Realty Trust v. CC Enterprises, 147 N.H. 137, 139, 784 A.2d 1166 (2001) (quotation and brackets omitted). "If the agreement's language is ambiguous, it must be determined, under an objective standard, what the parties, as reasonable people, mutually understood the ambiguous language to mean." Behrens v. S.P. Constr. Co., 153 N.H. 498, 503, 904 A.2d 676 (2006). In applying the objective standard, a court should examine the contract as a whole, the circumstances surrounding execution and the object intended by the agreement, while keeping in mind the goal of giving effect to the intention of the parties. N.A.P.P. Realty Trust, 147 N.H. at 141, 784 A.2d 1166.
According to the parties' final divorce decree, "[t]he parties agreed on the amount of the retirement and the effective date" for valuing the parties' retirement benefits. The parties agreed that the valuation date was January 16, 2006. As of that date, the respondent's retirement plan was valued at $105,070.65, however, the parties' decree stated that "[i]f it turns out that ... [this figure] ... is not accurate, the amount to be transferred can be adjusted either up or down reflecting the accurate figure."
Thereafter, the parties entered into a stipulated QDRO. Consistent with the parties' agreement, as reflected in their divorce decree, the stipulated QDRO valued the parties' retirement benefits as of January 16, 2006. The stipulated QDRO stated that "[t]he net amount due [the petitioner] is $33,979.96" based upon the values of the parties' retirement benefits as of the agreed-upon valuation date.
The plain meaning of the stipulated QDRO was that the petitioner was to receive a net amount equal to $33,979.96. As the respondent concedes: "Nothing in the QDRO called for the application of any gains and losses on [the petitioner's] distribution from the date of calculation to the date of segregation or distribution." The QDRO is not ambiguous in this respect, however. See Dow Associates, Inc. v. Gulf Oil Corp., 114 N.H. 381, 383, 321 A.2d 579 (1974). It is simply silent on this issue. See id.
We first articulated this principle in Dow, which concerned the interpretation of a lease. In that case, a dispute between the parties arose regarding whether the tenant or landlord was responsible for the cost of sewer rental. Id. at 382–83, 321 A.2d 579. The parties' lease, "while detailed in many respects, did not state which party was responsible for payment of water, sewer, and electricity bills." Id. at 383, 321 A.2d 579 (quotation omitted). We held that because the agreement was silent upon this issue, the trial court properly ruled that the tenant's refusal to pay the sewer rental did not breach the lease. Id. The trial court could not "supply the deficiency by writing into the lease a provision for the payment of sewer rental, when the parties did not." Id. The agreement was not ambiguous with regard to who was responsible for paying the sewer rental; it was silent. Id.
Although Dow arose in a different context, we find its reasoning to be applicable here. In this case, while the parties' stipulation regarding the QDRO was detailed in many respects, "[w]hether by accident or design," the parties failed to state in their agreement that the amount the petitioner was to receive under the QDRO included gains and/or losses. Id. The stipulated QDRO was "not ambiguous in this respect; it [was] simply silent." Id. Thus, the trial court did not err by applying the plain language of the stipulation awarding the...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
Great Am. Dining, Inc. v. Phila. Indem. Ins. Co.
...Co. v. Armstrong, 144 N.H. 170, 172, 738 A.2d 1280 (1999). We review questions of law de novo. In the Matter of Taber–McCarthy & McCarthy, 160 N.H. 112, 115, 993 A.2d 240 (2010).On appeal, Philadelphia argues that: (1) GAD was not an additional insured because it was not a manager, landlord......
-
Bae Sys. Info. & Elecs. Sys. Integration v. Spacekey Components, Inc.
...the circumstances and the context in which the agreement was negotiated, and reading the document as a whole.” In re Taber–McCarthy, 160 N.H. 112, 115, 993 A.2d 240 (2010) (citing Czumak v. N.H. Div. of Devt'l Servs., 155 N.H. 368, 373, 923 A.2d 208 (2007)). Here, Section 6 of the 2007 TOS ......
-
Hansa Consult of North America, LLC v. HansaConsult Ingenieurgesellschaft MBH
...such as the scope and application of a forum selection clause, our review is de novo. See In the Matter of Taber–McCarthy & McCarthy, 160 N.H. 112, 115, 993 A.2d 240 (2010). Disposition of this case requires a precise recitation of the legal claims HCNA has asserted in this action and the u......
- Motorsports Holdings, LLC v. Town of Tamworth
-
§ 7.10 Pensions
...854 S.W.2d 489 (Mo. App. 1993).[461] Paulone v. Paulone, 437 Pa. Super. 130, 649 A.2d 691 (1994). See also, Marriage of Taber-McCarthy, 160 N.H. 112, 993 A.2d 240 (2010). Cf., N. 93 infra. [462] Barkley v. Barkley, 119 Ohio App.3d 155, 694 N.E.2d 989 (1997).[463] See: Illinois: In re Marria......