Matajek v. Skowronska

• Decision Date: 31 March 2006
• Docket Number: No. 5D04-2783.,5D04-2783.
• Citation: 927 So.2d 981
• Parties: Stanislaw MATAJEK, a/k/a Stanley Matajek, Appellant, v. Leokadia SKOWRONSKA, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

927 So.2d 981

Stanislaw MATAJEK, a/k/a Stanley Matajek, Appellant, v. Leokadia SKOWRONSKA, Appellee.

No. 5D04-2783.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

March 31, 2006.

Rehearing Denied May 5, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Leonard R. Ross, Daytona Beach, for Appellant.

Louis Ossinsky, Jr., Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

THOMPSON, J.

Stanislaw Matajek ("Former Husband") appeals the trial court's equitable distribution of marital assets, award of permanent periodic alimony, and determination of entitlement to attorney's fees in a final judgment of dissolution. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

Leokadia Skowronska ("Former Wife") and the Former Husband were married in Poland in August 1983 and separated in Florida in May 2003. They had no children together. At the time of trial, the Former Wife was 54 and the Former Husband was 55.

The Former Wife moved to New York in August 1983, but the Former Husband did not move there until December 1985. She was a registered nurse in Poland and worked as a phlebotomist and an EKG technician in New York. He worked as an unlicensed contractor performing renovations. The Former Husband and his son were partners in a renovation company in New York.

The parties moved to Volusia County in April 2003 and separated shortly after arrival. She remained in the marital home, and he moved into a house with his son and his son's wife.

For support, the Former Wife sought $3,883.88 monthly and alleged no income. At trial, she testified that she had received $28,000 or $35,000 from the Former Husband through an agreement for temporary support, but that no money was left because she had to pay bills. The precise amount she received cannot be determined from the record.

The Former Wife has been unemployed since arriving in Florida. She advertised in two newspapers and telephoned employers for work in phlebotomy, with medical records, or at living facilities, but no one called her back. She did not sign up with an employment service. She testified that she had been under a doctor's care for depression and anxiety.

The Former Husband manages an apartment complex that he owns jointly with his son. The Former Husband stated that he lacked income and borrowed money to pay temporary support. His income cannot be determined from the record, and his financial affidavit was incomplete and inconsistent. He testified that the apartments grossed between $10,868 and $11,780 monthly between January and May 2004, but that apartment expenses were deducted from that income, resulting in a monthly net ranging from a deficit of $2,218 to an income of $1,928. He testified that he lived with and was supported by his son because he has no money.

There are three types of assets or liabilities pertinent to the equitable distribution on appeal. The most significant asset is the apartment complex that the Former Husband owns jointly with his son, who was not joined and did not appear before the court. The Former Husband and son purchased the complex after the parties separated, but before the Former Wife petitioned for dissolution. According to the Former Husband's financial affidavit the apartments were valued at $1,150,000, subject to an $800,000 mortgage for which the Former Husband and his son were responsible. The Former Wife did not dispute these figures.

The Former Husband testified that he and his son bought the apartments, and that his son had put money into the complex. The Former Husband stated that the apartments cost $350,000 above the $800,000 mortgage. A substantial portion of the purchase price came from the parties' sale of the New York home where they previously lived, for which they received $178,074.15. He further testified that he had used money from the New York sale to purchase the Tampa house in which he lived with his son. The Former Husband testified that other money came from his family in Poland and his son. He also testified that he and his son had no formal written partnership agreement, but that everything between them was split equally.

The second category of assets the Former Husband addresses is the court's valuation of three cars it equitably distributed—the Former Wife's inoperative 1991 Plymouth and the Former Husband's 1993 Ford van and 1996 Chrysler. His financial affidavit alleged that each was worth $2,500, but he testified that he guessed at values. The Former Wife estimated that her car was worth $500, but that his Chrysler was worth approximately $10,000. The trial court accepted the Former Husband's valuation of his two cars, but found that the Former Wife's car was worth $1,000.

Finally, the Former Husband alleges that the trial court erred by not finding that a $63,475 transaction between the husband and his family was a marital liability. The Former Husband received $63,475 from his family in Poland while he and the Former Wife were still married. He testified that this transaction was a loan and that he sent his family a note promising to pay the money back, but he had no copy of the note. The Former Wife testified that the money the family sent the Former Husband was money that he had previously sent them. The Former Husband did not enter any written evidence of the loan or its remaining balance at the time of trial.

The court's final judgment awarded the Former Wife the Port Orange marital home, and equitably divided the Tampa house and apartment complex through an imposition of a lien in favor of the Former Wife. It granted the wife the car she had, valued at $1,000. The court ordered the apartment complex, "presently titled in the joint names of the husband and his son ... equitably divided by the imposition of a lien in favor of the wife." Accordingly, it placed the apartment's $350,000 equity in the husband's column. The court concluded that the Former Wife was entitled to half of the $340,850 of property in the Former Husband's possession. Therefore, she was entitled to $170,425 with 3% interest, payable in five installments of $34,085. This amount was secured by a lien providing that, upon the Former Husband's non-payment, the Former Wife could "accelerate all remaining payments and seek a judgment after notice ordering the husband's interest in the properties [both the apartments and the Tampa house] sold." The court made no written findings regarding the parties' needs or ability to pay. Nevertheless, the court awarded permanent alimony to the Former Wife of $1,500 monthly and awarded her attorney's fees.

The court's statements at trial offer little additional detail. It found the apartment complex was a marital asset because "the bulk of the money, it looks like, that comes down for the [houses] ... and the apartment building in the Clearwater/Tampa area come from the proceeds of that New York sale." The Former Wife requested sale of the properties, but the court noted that it had no jurisdiction to make the son sign a mortgage. Rather, the court elected to impose a time limit on payment, after which the Former Wife could proceed with foreclosure.

With respect to alimony, the court stated: "Now, on the question of alimony, there's been a real cash flow problem here, and I—I think she is entitled to alimony with a 20-year marriage and the fact that she's unable to find employment at this time. I'm going to award her $1,500 a month going forward." It also held that the wife was entitled to recover some attorney's fees, "probably the majority of them," but reserved for determining the amount on a subsequent hearing.

The appropriate standard of review in a dissolution of marriage is abuse of discretion. Johnson v. Johnson, 847 So.2d 1157, 1158 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003) (citing Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So.2d 1197 (Fla.1980)). The trial court abuses its discretion only where no reasonable person would take the view it adopts based upon the evidence before it. Canakaris, 382 So.2d at 1203. This court must determine whether the trial court's order is supported by substantial, competent evidence. Johnson, 847 So.2d at 1158 (citing Kuvin v. Kuvin, 442 So.2d 203 (Fla.1983)).

The Former Husband contends that the trial court erred with respect to equitable distribution of the apartment complex, the family loan, and parties' cars.

The apartment complex is titled in the names of the Former Husband and his son. However, the Former Wife neglected to join the son as a party to the dissolution. The Former Husband contends that the trial court erred by determining that his interest in the apartments was a marital asset.

We find the trial court did not have jurisdiction to adjudicate property rights of non-parties. Minsky v. Minsky, 779 So.2d 375, 377 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000); Schiller v. Schiller, 625 So.2d 856 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993); Ray v. Ray, 624 So.2d 1146, 1148 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993). The trial court recognized this when acknowledging it could not make the son sign a mortgage to enforce the Former Husband's obligation. There is competent, substantial evidence to support the court's finding that the Former Husband used marital funds from the sale of the New York home to acquire his interest in the apartments. Nevertheless, the trial court could not order the distribution to be secured through a lien on the husband's interest in the property. This was precisely the action deemed reversible error by the First District in Ray. Ray, 624 So.2d at 1148. On remand, the court may consider the establishment of an equitable lien only if the Former Husband's son is noticed and joined.

Furthermore, the court committed a mathematical error by placing the apartments' entire $350,000 equity in the husband's column. The Former Husband testified that he and his son worked "half and half." Moreover, he presented unrebutted evidence that the son put money into the property. The Former Husband appears to hold a 50% interest as a tenant in common that he acquired through investing marital assets. Thus, his interest in the apartments' equity would be...