Ingram v. Ingram
| Decision Date | 27 March 1992 |
| Citation | 602 So.2d 418 |
| Parties | Dorothy B. INGRAM v. Charles R. INGRAM. 2900592. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Civil Appeals |
M. Wayne Wheeler, Birmingham, for appellant.
Stephen R. Arnold of Durward & Arnold, Birmingham, for appellee.
After an ore tenus proceeding, the trial court entered a judgment of divorce dissolving the marriage of Dorothy and Charles Ingram.
The judgment contained a property division awarding Mrs. Ingram (wife), inter alia, certain rental and residential properties, furniture, two cars, two insurance policies, a membership to "The Club," 1,200 shares of Central Bank stock, Royal Trust stock, and jewelry. Mr. Ingram (husband) was awarded, inter alia, all the interest in Homewood Chiropractic Clinic, P.C., two cars, a boat, all rights and interest in C.R.I. Holding, Inc., 1000 shares of Octel stock, title to a Merrill-Lynch CMA account, an individual retirement account, a Keough plan, silver coins and medallions, furniture, guns and weapons, and all cameras and camera equipment. The husband was ordered to pay the wife alimony in the amount of $1000 per month.
This is both parties' second marriage, and there were no children born of this marriage. At the time of trial, the wife was 63 years of age, and the husband was 53 years of age. The husband is a chiropractor, and the wife worked as a bookkeeper for the husband before the marriage and continued to work with him during the marriage.
Both parties filed post-judgment motions, and the trial court subsequently amended its order providing that the wife's attorney fees be paid by the husband in the amount of $17,000 instead of the original $14,000 provided for in the order of February 25, 1991. All other relief was denied. The wife appeals.
First the wife argues on appeal that she was denied due process of law because the hearing was trifurcated with six days of trial spread out over a period of fourteen months. The wife contends that over this period of time, the trial judge failed to remember certain testimony which affected the award of property to the wife.
The parties separated on April 27, 1986. The wife filed her complaint on October 15, 1987. Discovery followed, and this case was initially set for trial on January 16, 1989. A review of the record reveals that the hearing was continued several times by motions from both the wife and the husband. The trial court rescheduled the hearing due to the unavailability of the court on two occasions because the trial judge was engaged in other trials. The first hearing began on November 29, 1989, and was finally concluded on January 22, 1991. There is nothing in the record to indicate that the attorney for the wife raised this issue before the trial court at any of the hearings nor was it raised in her motion for a new trial. It is well settled that the judgment below will not be reversed on grounds not raised and presented to the trial court and upon which the trial court did not have an opportunity to rule. Tucker v. Nichols, 431 So.2d 1263 (Ala.1983); McGugin v. McGugin, 357 So.2d 347 (Ala.Civ.App.1978). Also, it has long been the law in Alabama that constitutional issues not raised in the trial court below will not be considered for the first time on appeal. Caylor v. Caylor, 344 So.2d 173 (Ala.Civ.App.1977).
The wife's next argument is that the trial court erred in allowing the husband to testify as to his opinion of the fair market value of the house that he and the wife lived in up until the time of separation. The wife argues that he was not qualified as an expert nor did he have legal title to the house.
Section 12-21-114, Code 1975, regarding market value testimony provides:
"Direct testimony as to the market value is in the nature of opinion evidence; one need not be an expert or dealer in the article, but may testify as to value if he has had an opportunity for forming a correct opinion." (Emphasis added.)
In this case, the house was purchased during the marriage, and the husband lived in the house for a number of years. The record reflects that during the marriage improvements were made on the house enhancing its value. During this period of time, the husband had an opportunity to form an opinion as to the value of the house.
The wife further argues that by allowing the husband to testify as to his opinion concerning the market value of the residence, the trial court enhanced the value of the wife's assets and, thereby, caused an increase in the husband's award of marital assets in the division of the property. We note that the record also contains opinion testimony of the wife and a qualified real estate appraiser concerning the market value of the residence. We find no evidence in the record to indicate that the trial court used the husband's testimony as to the market value of the residence to enhance the value of the wife's assets. Consequently, we cannot find that the trial court committed error in allowing the husband to testify as to his opinion of the market value of the residence.
Next, the wife contends that the...
To continue reading
Request your trial