Neagle v. Neagle, s. 3897

• Decision Date: 08 March 1971
• Docket Number: 3900,Nos. 3897,s. 3897
• Citation: 481 P.2d 661
• Parties: Jeannette Ann NEAGLE (now Jeannette Ann Neagle McGee), Appellant (Defendant below), v. John Richard NEAGLE, Appellee (Plaintiff below). John Richard NEAGLE, Appellant (Plaintiff below), v. Jeannette Ann NEAGLE (now Jeannette Ann Neagle McGee), Appellee (Defendant below).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

Page 661

481 P.2d 661

Jeannette Ann NEAGLE (now Jeannette Ann Neagle McGee), Appellant (Defendant below), v. John Richard NEAGLE, Appellee (Plaintiff below).

John Richard NEAGLE, Appellant (Plaintiff below), v. Jeannette Ann NEAGLE (now Jeannette Ann Neagle McGee), Appellee (Defendant below).

Nos. 3897, 3900.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

March 8, 1971.

Edward T. Lazear and Richard F. Pickett, of Loomis, Lazear, Wilson & Pickett, Cheyenne, for Jeannette Ann Neagle McGee.

Edward P. Moriarity, of McClintock, Mai & Urbigkit, Cheyenne, for John Richard Neagle.

Before McINTYRE, C. J., and PARKER, and McEWAN, JJ.

Chief Justice McINTYRE delivered the opinion of the court.

On March 17, 1970, John Richard Neagle filed a petition in district court to modify a divorce decree entered in 1963. He alleged payments of $75 per month being made by him to his former wife were alimony payments and should have terminated when she remarried May 28, 1967.

The former wife, Jeannette Ann Neagle (now McGee), took the position that the questioned award of the original decree was a property settlement and not alimony; and that petitioner was in contempt for discontinuing payments September 2, 1969. The pertinent provision of the 1963 decree reads:

'IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a property settlement be made in lieu of alimony and in accordance therewith the defendant be awarded the house located at 220 Derr Avenue, Cheyenne, Wyoming described as follows:--

Lot 6, Block 6, Leisher-Black Addition to the City of Cheyenne, Laramie County, Wyoming.

That the said property is hereby set over to the defendant, Jeannette Ann Neagle, as her sole and separate property and that the furniture located in said house is hereby awarded to and set over to the defendant; that the plaintiff pay to the defendant the sum of Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00) per month for a period of ten years and that said payments be made to the Clerk of the District Court commencing on the 3rd day of November, 1963.'

The parties agree the trial judge, after a hearing, ruled from the bench that the award in question was a property settlement rather than alimony and that the husband would be required to continue the $75 monthly payments and make up his deficiency. Prior to entering judgment, however, our court handed down its decision in Storm v. Storm, Wyo., 470 P.2d 367. Apparently that decision was interpreted as necessitating a reversal of the ruling made from the bench.

Judgment was thereupon entered in accordance with and for the reasons stated in a memorandum of decision which recited:

'It was evidently the intention of the Court when the Neagle decree was entered to consider the $75.00 per month payment as a property settlement rather than alimony. From the testimony at the hearing June 12th and the other records it is apparent that all of the property owned by the Neagles on the date the divorce action was heard was set over to Mrs. Neagle. The Storm case indicates that it is improper to base a property division on property to be acquired after the date of the divorce. Since there was no other property to be divided the $75.00 as property settlement necessarily was a charge on future earnings and was improper under the Storm opinion and must, therefore, be considered to be alimony as a matter of law. This being true the alimony payments would cease upon the remarriage or death of Mrs. Neagle.

'Payments made by Neagle after the remarriage will not be ordered to be refunded nor will payments he stopped making prior to the filing of his motion be ordered to be paid up to the date of this hearing.

'The Court will reverse the decision made at the time of the hearing and will grant plaintiff's motion that payments from and after September 2, 1969 be not required.'

Both parties have appealed-Mrs. McGee because payments after September 2, 1969, were forgiven; and Mr. Neagle because Mrs. McGee was not required to pay back $1,950 which had been paid after her remarriage.

In recognition of the difficult position trial judges are in when it comes to making just and equitable settlements between parties being divorced, we want to say this court realizes the line of demarcation between what comes under the category of a property settlement or what should be considered alimony is far from clear. Indeed, there are differences of opinion among the members of this court.

Before a decision is arrived at in a case like the Storm case, or like Warren v. Warren, Wyo., 361 P.2d 525, it sometimes requires a reconciling of varying points of view. Similarly, such has been necessary in this case. Admittedly the answer is not easy. However, we believe the...