Pelayo v. Pelayo

• Decision Date: 21 June 2013
• Docket Number: No. 39789.,39789.
• Citation: 303 P.3d 214,154 Idaho 855
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court
• Parties: Pedro A. PELAYO, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Bertha Alicia PELAYO, Defendant–Respondent.

154 Idaho 855

303 P.3d 214

Pedro A. PELAYO, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.Bertha Alicia PELAYO, Defendant–Respondent.

No. 39789.

Supreme Court of Idaho, Idaho Falls, May 2013 Term.

June 21, 2013.

Jonathan W. Harris, Blackfoot, for appellant.

David N. Parmenter, Blackfoot, for respondent.

J. JONES, Justice.

Pedro Pelayo appealed certain rulings of the magistrate court in his divorce action, including the award of spousal maintenance to his wife, Bertha. The district court upheld the challenged rulings and Pedro appealed to this Court.

I.FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Pedro and Bertha were married in Mexico on May 7, 1984. During the course of their marriage they had three children. However, at the time of their divorce proceedings, only one of their children, A.P., born in 1992, was a minor. While married, Pedro and Bertha acquired three pieces of real property: (1) a home in Blackfoot, located on Airport Road (the Airport Road Property); (2) land on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation (the Fort Hall Property); and, (3) property purchased in Mexico. Their primary residence before the divorce was the Airport Road Property.

On June 18, 2009, Pedro filed a complaint for divorce, alleging that irreconcilable differences prevented continuation of the marriage. Bertha filed a counterclaim along with her answer, seeking divorce on grounds of adultery.

Prior to trial, the parties entered into a stipulation. The stipulation provided in relevant part: (1) Bertha would have actual physical custody of A.P.; (2) Pedro would take the Fort Hall Property with an assigned value of $125,000; (3) the Airport Road Property would be listed and sold as soon as possible, but that in the meantime Bertha could continue to reside there; (4) Pedro would continue to make payments on the Airport Road Property until it sold; and (5) after the sale of the Airport Road Property, Pedro would pay Bertha $62,500, representing her one-half interest in the Fort Hall Property.

The magistrate court accepted the parties' stipulation and the matter proceeded to a court trial. On May 18, 2010, the magistrate court issued its Memorandum Decision and Judgment Regarding Divorce, Custody and Child Support. The Memorandum Decision provides that: (1) irreconcilable differences warranted granting the divorce; (2) Bertha is entitled to the Mexico Property without an offset; (3) Pedro's average gross income is $49,000¹ and his monthly child support payment is $558; (4) Pedro must pay Bertha $800 per month in spousal maintenance for seven years and $400 per month thereafter until Bertha is age sixty-two (six additional years); and (5) Pedro must pay a portion of Bertha's attorney fees, not to exceed $2,500.

The Memorandum Decision noted that evidence was provided by Bertha that "gave the court high suspicion of adulterous behavior on the part of Pedro," and that "neither party had been particularly kind to one another for a significant period." Ultimately, the magistrate court found that "the marriage [was] irretrievably broken and the differences between the parties appear as the primary ‘cause’ " for the divorce. Accordingly, on September 1, 2010, the magistrate court issued a Decree of Divorce, citing irreconcilable differences as the grounds for divorce.

Pedro appealed the magistrate's decision to district court. In his appeal brief, Pedro argued that the magistrate court erred by: (1) awarding the Mexico Property to Bertha without an offset or credit in his favor; (2) considering his alleged adultery in making a spousal maintenance award; (3) awarding Bertha spousal maintenance that was punitive and amounted to permanent support; (4) setting his annual income for the purposes of child support at $49,000; and (5) awarding Bertha attorney fees.

The district court held oral argument on November 28, 2011, and issued its Decision and Order on Appeal on January 23, 2012. The district court affirmed the magistrate court on all counts except its disposition of the Mexico Property, which is not at issue in this appeal. Following the decision of the district court, Pedro timely filed a notice of appeal to this Court.

II.ISSUES ON REVIEW

I. Did the district court abuse its discretion by affirming the magistrate's award of spousal maintenance to Bertha?

II. Did the district court err in affirming the magistrate court's finding that Pedro's annual income was $49,000 for the purposes of calculating his child support payments?

III. Did the district court abuse its discretion by affirming the magistrate court's award of attorney fees to Bertha under I.C. § 32–704(3) ?

IV. Is either party entitled to attorney fees on appeal?

III.DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review.

When this Court reviews the decision of a district court sitting in its capacity as an appellate court, the standard of review is as follows:

The Supreme Court reviews the trial court (magistrate) record to determine whether there is substantial and competent evidence to support the magistrate's findings of fact and whether the magistrate's conclusions of law follow from those findings. If those findings are so supported and the conclusions follow therefrom and if the district court affirmed the magistrate's decision, we affirm the district court's decision as a matter of procedure.

Bailey v. Bailey, 153 Idaho 526, 529, 284 P.3d 970, 973 (2012) (quoting Losser v. Bradstreet, 145 Idaho 670, 672, 183 P.3d 758, 760 (2008) ). Thus, this Court does not review the decision of the magistrate court. Id. "Rather, we are ‘procedurally bound to affirm or reverse the decisions of the district court.’ " Id. (quoting State v. Korn, 148 Idaho 413, 415 n. 1, 224 P.3d 480, 482 n. 1 (2009) ).

Prior to Losser, when this Court reviewed a district court acting in its appellate capacity the standard of review was: "when reviewing a decision of the district court acting in its appellate capacity, this Court will review the record and the magistrate court's decision independently of, but with due regard for, the district court's decision." Losser, 145 Idaho at 672, 183 P.3d at 760. After Losser, this Court does not directly review a magistrate court's decision. Id. Rather, it is bound to affirm or reverse the district court's decision. See Bailey, 153 Idaho at 529, 284 P.3d at 973; Korn, 148 Idaho at 415 n. 1, 224 P.3d at 482 n. 1.

In this case, both Pedro and Bertha have misstated the standard of review that this Court applies to appeals from the district court acting in its appellate capacity. Both parties' arguments on appeal ask this court to directly review the decisions of the "trial court," which was the magistrate court in this case. This presents a potential problem because under Losser we are procedurally bound to focus our review on the decision of the district court. However, since the issues raised on appeal are primarily based on factual determinations made by the magistrate court and because under Losser we still review the magistrate record to determine whether substantial, competent evidence supports the challenged factual determinations of the magistrate, we will proceed to consider the appeal. Litigants who fail to properly comprehend the standard of review for an appeal from the district court should not assume that this will always be the case.

B. The district court did not err in affirming the magistrate court's spousal maintenance award.

In its Memorandum Decision, the magistrate court ordered Pedro to pay Bertha spousal maintenance of $800 per month for seven years, commencing July 1, 2010, and $400 per month until Bertha reaches age sixty-two, an additional six years. The magistrate court found that spousal maintenance was warranted because even with an unequal distribution of the marital assets, Bertha would have a cash flow problem due to lack of employment, lack of English speaking skills, and limited employment history. The magistrate court stated that "Pedro, on the other hand, will have ongoing income around $50,000 per year plus benefits, a paid-for piece of real property and virtually no consumer debt."

The district court upheld the magistrate court's spousal maintenance award. The district court determined that the magistrate court had considered the relevant factors for awarding spousal maintenance, acted consistently with the legal standards, and reached its decision through an exercise of reason. Furthermore, the district court found that the magistrate's Memorandum Decision "was supported by substantial, competent evidence in the record and his conclusions follow from his findings."

Pedro argues on appeal that the magistrate court erred in making a spousal maintenance award because: (1) Pedro's alleged adultery should not have been considered in making the award; (2) the court abused its discretion by awarding Bertha spousal maintenance when she can support herself; and, (3) the spousal maintenance award was punitive rather than rehabilitative. Although Pedro argues that magistrate court erred in granting the award, we must review the district court's affirmance.

1. A trial court may consider fault, including alleged adultery, in making an award of spousal maintenance.

Based on the factors in I.C. § 32–705, the magistrate court found that Bertha lacked sufficient income to support herself even with full time employment available to her. Specifically, the court considered Bertha's "lack of employment, lack of English speaking skills and limited recent employment history" before ordering that Pedro pay Bertha monthly spousal support. Additionally, in an unrelated portion of the Memorandum Decision addressing the "Grounds for Divorce," the magistrate judge stated " [c]ertainly, evidence was provided that gives the court high suspicion of adulterous behavior on the part of Pedro, which the court has considered when addressing spousal support."

On appeal to this Court, Pedro argues that the magistrate court erred as a matter of law by improperly considering his alleged adultery in making the maintenance award. Pedro argues that where a...