Janelle v. Janelle
| Decision Date | 06 March 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. S94A1950,S94A1950 |
| Citation | 454 S.E.2d 133,265 Ga. 116 |
| Parties | JANELLE v. JANELLE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
John R. Calhoun, Gregory N. Crawford, Calhoun & Associates, P.C., Savannah, for Jackie D. Janelle.
J. Stephen Lewis, Beckmann & Lewis, Savannah, for Romeo L. Janelle.
In this divorce action, the trial court instructed the jury that the husband's corporation and the husband's undivided one-half interest in the marital home were non-marital properties not subject to equitable division. The wife appeals the subsequent judgment entered on the jury's verdict, and we reverse.
1. It is undisputed that the corporation was the separate property of the husband before the parties married. The wife contends, however, that the corporation has appreciated in value since the marriage, and that the appreciation is a marital asset subject to division.
In general, "[w]hether a particular kind of property can ever be classified as marital property" is a question of law for a judge to decide. Bass v. Bass, 264 Ga. 506, 508-509, 448 S.E.2d 366 (1994) (Hunt, C.J., concurring) (emphasis in original). "However, whether a particular item of property actually constitutes a marital or non-marital asset may be a question of fact for the trier of fact to determine from the evidence." Id. at 507, 448 S.E.2d 366 (emphasis supplied). We specifically addressed the treatment of the appreciation in the value of a spouse's separate property in Bass, where we held that
as a matter of law, if the separate non-marital property of one spouse appreciates in value during the marriage solely as the result of market forces, that appreciation does not become a marital asset which is subject to equitable division; but, if the separate non-marital property of one spouse appreciates in value during the marriage as the result of efforts made by either or both spouses, that appreciation does become a marital asset which is subject to equitable division. Thomas v. Thomas, [259 Ga. 73, 75 (377 SE2d 666) (1989) ]; Halpern v. Halpern, 256 Ga. 639 (352 SE2d 753) (1987).
(Emphasis supplied.) Id.
Accordingly, as a matter of law, the appreciation in the value of the husband's corporation is marital property and subject to equitable division if, as a matter of fact, the appreciation was "the result of efforts made by either or both spouses." Since questions of fact are properly left up to the trier of fact, and the trier of fact in this case was the jury, the trial court erred in removing the corporation, and thus any appreciation in its value, from the jury's consideration in dividing assets without allowing the jury to resolve the factual question of the catalyst for...
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