McIntyre v. McIntyre

• Citation: 654 S.E.2d 798
• Decision Date: 15 January 2008
• Docket Number: No. COA07-235.,COA07-235.
• Court: Court of Appeal of North Carolina (US)
• Parties: Steve McINTYRE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Vicki McINTYRE, Defendant-Appellee.

654 S.E.2d 798

Steve McINTYRE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Vicki McINTYRE, Defendant-Appellee.

No. COA07-235.

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

January 15, 2008.

Appeal by Plaintiff from order entered 27 June 2000 by Judge Victoria L. Roemer in District Court, Forsyth County; and from order entered 31 July 2001 and judgment entered 3 December 2004 by Judge Chester C. Davis in District Court, Forsyth County. Heard in the Court of Appeals 19 September 2007.

Tash & Kurtz, PLLC, by Jon B. Kurtz, Winston-Salem, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Bell, Davis & Pitt, P.A., by Robin J. Stinson, Winston-Salem, for Defendant-Appellee.

McGEE, Judge.

Steve McIntyre (Plaintiff) and Vicki McIntyre (Defendant) were married on 17 July 1986. A number of hours before their wedding, Plaintiff and Defendant executed a prenuptial agreement (the Agreement) that provided, in pertinent part:

THAT WHEREAS, said parties have agreed to be married, each to the other; and WHEREAS said parties each own property; and WHEREAS said parties, deeming the same to be just and fair to the other party, have mutually agreed as herein set out:

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of said contemplated marriage and of the covenants hereby entered into, the parties mutually agree as follows:

FIRST: STEVE A. McINTYRE hereby releases, renounces and forever quitclaims to VICKIE [sic] GAIL TRUELL all right, title, interest, claim and demand whatsoever including all marital rights in the real estate and personal property of VICKIE [sic] GAIL TRUELL and agrees that VICKIE [sic] GAIL TRUELL may at all times hereafter purchase, acquire, own[,] hold, possess, encumber, dispose of and convey any and all kinds and classes of property, both real and personal, as though still unmarried and without the consent, joinder or interference of the party of STEVE A. McINTYRE.

SECOND: VICKIE [sic] GAIL TRUELL hereby releases, renounces and forever quitclaims to STEVE A. McINTYRE all right, title, interest, claim and demand whatsoever including all marital rights in the real estate and personal property of STEVE A. McINTYRE and agrees that STEVE A. McINTYRE may at all times hereafter purchase, acquire, own, hold, possess, encumber, dispose of and convey any and all kinds and classes of property, both real and personal, as though still unmarried and without the consent, joinder or interference of VICKIE [sic] GAIL TRUELL.

Plaintiff filed a complaint in Forsyth County District Court on 24 August 1999 seeking a divorce from bed and board and equitable distribution of the marital estate. Defendant filed an answer and counterclaim on 25 October 1999 seeking post-separation support, alimony, equitable distribution of the marital estate, and other relief. Plaintiff replied on 4 November 1999 and pled the Agreement as an affirmative defense to Defendant's counterclaim for equitable distribution.

Plaintiff moved for partial summary judgment as to Defendant's counterclaim for equitable distribution on 27 April 2000, arguing that the Agreement barred Defendant's claim. Defendant responded to Plaintiff's motion and claimed that the Agreement was invalid for reasons of undue influence, duress, unconscionability, and lack of adequate disclosure. The trial court denied Plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment on 27 June 2000. Plaintiff dismissed his own claim for equitable distribution on 1 March 2001. Defendant amended her answer and counterclaim on 20 April 2001 to address certain issues regarding the validity and enforceability of the Agreement.

The case proceeded to trial on 6 July 2001 on the issues of the validity of the Agreement and its effect on Defendant's claim for equitable distribution. The trial court entered an order on 31 July 2001 concluding, inter alia, that: (1) Defendant was not unduly influenced, coerced, or under duress when she executed the Agreement; (2) the Agreement was valid as between the parties; and (3) the terms of the Agreement did not waive either party's right to equitable distribution of marital property. The trial court held equitable distribution hearings on 20 April 2004, 17-18 May 2004, and 21 June 2004, and entered an equitable distribution judgment and order on 3 December 2004. Both parties appealed various orders of the trial court, but our Court dismissed the appeals as interlocutory due to an outstanding issue concerning alimony. See McIntyre v. McIntyre, 175 N.C.App. 558, 623 S.E.2d 828 (2006).

The trial court entered an alimony order on 6 October 2006. With no issues remaining before the trial court, Plaintiff now appeals: (1) the trial court's order of 27 June 2000 denying Plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment; (2) the trial court's order of 31 July 2001 finding the Agreement valid but not preclusive with respect to Defendant's request for equitable distribution; and (3) the trial court's order of 3 December 2004 ordering equitable distribution of the parties' marital property. For the reasons stated below, we affirm.

I.

Plaintiff first argues that the trial court erred by denying his motion for partial summary judgment to dismiss Defendant's claim for equitable distribution. This Court is unable to review Plaintiff's argument. Our Supreme Court has previously held:

Improper denial of a motion for summary judgment is not reversible error when the case has proceeded to trial and has been determined on the merits by the trier of the facts, either judge or jury.

. . . To grant a review of the denial of the summary judgment motion after a final judgment on the merits . . . would mean that a party who prevailed at trial after a complete presentation of evidence by both sides with cross-examination could be deprived of a favorable verdict. This would allow a verdict reached after the presentation of all the evidence to be overcome by a limited forecast of the evidence. In order to avoid such an anomalous result, we hold that the denial of a motion for summary judgment is not reviewable during appeal from a final judgment rendered in a trial on the merits.

Harris v. Walden, 314 N.C. 284, 286, 333 S.E.2d 254, 256 (1985). See also WRI/Raleigh, L.P. v. Shaikh, ___ N.C.App. ___, ___, 644 S.E.2d 245, 246-47 (2007) (citing Harris for the proposition that "[t]his Court cannot consider an appeal of denial of [a] summary judgment motion [once] a final judgment on the merits has been made"). Therefore, we do not address Plaintiff's first argument.

II.

Plaintiff next argues the trial court erred by allowing the equitable distribution of property acquired by the parties during their marriage. Plaintiff argues that the Agreement waived the parties' rights to equitable distribution, and that the trial court erred by interpreting the Agreement to the contrary. We disagree.

North Carolina law provides that upon divorce, a party to a marriage may institute an action for equitable distribution of the marital estate. See N.C. Gen.Stat. § 50-20 (2005) (providing procedures governing equitable distribution of marital and divisible property). However, "parties to a marriage may forego equitable distribution and decide themselves how their marital estate will be divided upon divorce." Hagler v. Hagler, 319 N.C. 287, 290, 354 S.E.2d 228, 232 (1987). Under N.C. Gen.Stat. § 50-20(d) (2005), "[b]efore, during or after marriage the parties may by written agreement . . . provide for distribution of the marital property or divisible property, or both, in a manner deemed by the parties to be equitable and the agreement shall be binding on the parties." Likewise, under N.C. Gen.Stat. § 52-10(a) (2005):

Contracts between husband and wife not inconsistent with public policy are valid, and any persons of full age about to be married and married persons may, with or without a valuable consideration, release and quitclaim such rights which they might respectively acquire or may have acquired by marriage in the property of each other; and such releases may be pleaded in bar of any action or proceeding for the recovery of the rights and estate so released.

Our Court has previously noted that "[a]ntenuptial contracts are not against public policy and should be enforced as written." Harden v. First Union National Bank of N.C., 28 N.C.App. 75, 78, 220 S.E.2d 136, 138 (1975).¹

Premarital agreements are contracts, and thus are to be construed in the same manner as other contracts. See Howell v. Landry, 96 N.C.App. 516, 525, 386 S.E.2d 610, 615 (1989), disc. review denied, 326 N.C. 482, 392 S.E.2d 90 (1990) ("principles of construction applicable to contracts also apply to premarital agreements"). Under well-settled principles of legal construction, if "the language of a contract is clear and unambiguous, construction of the contract is a matter of law for the court." Hagler, 319 N.C. at 294, 354 S.E.2d at 234. Further, "[i]t must be presumed the parties intended what the language used clearly expresses, and the contract must be construed to mean what on its face it purports to mean." Hartford Acc. & Indemnity Co. v. Hood, 226 N.C. 706, 710, 40 S.E.2d 198, 201 (1946) (internal citations omitted). However, if the language of a contract "is ambiguous and the intention of the parties is unclear, interpretation of the contract is for the jury." Glover v. First Union National Bank, 109 N.C.App. 451, 456, 428 S.E.2d 206, 209 (1993).

A.

In the present case, Plaintiff argues that the Agreement constitutes a clear and unambiguous waiver of the parties' rights to equitable distribution. In support of this contention, Plaintiff first notes that our Supreme Court has previously recognized that "the very existence of [a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement] evinces an intention by the parties to determine for themselves what their property division should be and what their future relationship is to be, rather than to leave these decisions to a court of law." Hagler, 319 N.C. at 293, 354 S.E.2d at 233. Against this backdrop, Plaintiff relies on Hagler to demonstrate that the...