Porter v. Porter, S-16-0273

• Decision Date: 27 June 2017
• Docket Number: S-16-0273
• Citation: 397 P.3d 196
• Parties: Jeanne PORTER, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. David Wayne PORTER, Appellee (Defendant).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

397 P.3d 196

Jeanne PORTER, Appellant (Plaintiff),
v.
David Wayne PORTER, Appellee (Defendant).

S-16-0273

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

June 27, 2017

Representing Appellant: Zenith S. Ward of Buchhammer & Ward, P.C., Cheyenne, Wyoming

Representing Appellee: Linda J. Steiner and Abigail E. Fournier of Steiner Law, LLC, Cheyenne, Wyoming

Before BURKE, C.J., and HILL, DAVIS, FOX, and KAUTZ, JJ.

DAVIS, Justice.

¶1] Appellant Jeanne Porter (Wife) challenges a divorce decree, asserting that the district court abused its discretion in the division of marital assets, and in denying her alimony. We affirm.

ISSUES

[¶2] 1. Did the district court abuse its discretion in its division of the marital property?

2. Was it an abuse of discretion for the district court to deny Wife's request for alimony?

FACTS

[¶3] Considering only the evidence in favor of the successful party, ignoring the evidence of the unsuccessful party, and granting the successful party every reasonable inference that can be drawn from the record, see Kamm v. Kamm, 2016 WY 8, ¶ 3, 365 P.3d 779, 780-81 (Wyo. 2016), the facts established at trial are as follows. Wife and Appellee David Porter (Husband) married in 1997. They did not have any children together, although Wife had children from a previous relationship.

[¶4] Husband worked for the Air National Guard for twenty-three years, and then began working for the Union Pacific Railroad in 2004, where he is still employed. During the marriage he inherited a home from his grandparents, which he then sold. This allowed him to purchase another property on County Road 215A near Cheyenne in 2003. The property, which was titled solely in his name, has a house and a heated shop for car restoration. At the time the divorce complaint was filed, the County Road 215A home was assessed for property tax purposes at approximately $259,000.00. Husband testified that the mortgage and HELOC on that property totaled roughly $220,000.00, leaving about $39,000 in equity.

[¶5] Wife worked for a respite care company for much of the marriage, but in 2013, she underwent numerous back surgeries and has not worked since.¹ She brought $20,000.00 into the marriage, and later received a gift of approximately $50,000.00 from her mother while the parties were still married. Wife used that gift to buy a home titled solely in her name on 18^th Street in Cheyenne, and she resided there at the time of the divorce trial. When Wife filed for divorce, she owed approximately $89,000.00 on the 18^th Street property, but by the time of trial she had taken out a Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC) on the place and owed a total of $163,000.000. Consequently, by the time of trial there was little to no equity in this property.

[¶6] Husband and Wife each owned a number of vehicles, including a 1959 Chevrolet El Camino that both wanted though there was debt associated with it. Wife also had an outstanding credit card balance of $11,600,

[397 P.3d 198

and Husband had a truck loan of $72,000.00 and a credit card balance of $8,000.

¶7] Wife filed for divorce in January of 2015. A few months later she filed a motion for temporary alimony and for funds to pay her attorney fees under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-2-111. After a hearing, the district court denied both motions, finding that Wife could work. A bench trial was conducted roughly a year later, in July 2016.

[¶8] The district court awarded Wife the 18^th Street home and Husband the County Road 215A property. It found little to no equity in the 18^th Street home. The court noted that at the time of filing for divorce, Wife owed roughly $89,000 on the house, but that by the time of trial Wife owed a total of $163,000 because she borrowed heavily against the equity. As for the property on County Road 215A, the district court determined there was $39,000 in equity, which it awarded to Husband.

[¶9] The district court awarded Wife half of Husband's railroad retirement for the years he worked there during the marriage. She also received the 1959 El Camino and the debt associated with it.

[¶10] The district court denied Wife's request for post-decree alimony of $2,000.00 per month for ten years. It determined that Wife was not reliant on Husband's income during the marriage because she had worked, and that the...