Richards v. Brown

• Decision Date: 29 October 2009
• Docket Number: No. 20080682-CA.,20080682-CA.
• Citation: 2009 UT App 315,222 P.3d 69
• Parties: Steve RICHARDS, Petitioner and Appellant, v. Diana BROWN, Respondent and Appellee.
• Court: Utah Court of Appeals

222 P.3d 69

2009 UT App 315

Steve RICHARDS, Petitioner and Appellant, v. Diana BROWN, Respondent and Appellee.

No. 20080682-CA.

Court of Appeals of Utah.

October 29, 2009.

Suzanne Marelius and Tracey M. Watson, Salt Lake City, for Appellant.

Tineke Van Dijk, Midvale, for Appellee.

Before Judges GREENWOOD, THORNE, and McHUGH.

OPINION

McHUGH, Judge:

¶ 1 Steve Richards appeals the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Diana Brown on Richards's claim that the parties had an unsolemnized marriage pursuant to Utah Code section 30-1-4.5. Richards next challenges the trial court's order, which denied him an interest in the equity in Brown's home and reimbursement for home maintenance expenses Richards incurred while living with Brown. Finally, Richards contends that the trial court improperly denied him the opportunity to conduct adequate discovery by allowing Brown's motion for a protective order. We reverse the order of partial summary judgment on the unsolemnized marriage claim. We affirm the trial court's decision in favor of Brown on the equitable claims and its entry of a protective order.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 Richards and Brown lived together in Brown's home¹ from May 1995 to September 2005.² Although Richards proposed several times, Brown never accepted, and thus, the parties never married. They have one child (Daughter), who was born in 1996.

¶ 3 Throughout the relationship, the parties maintained separate banking accounts but shared living expenses and costs associated with Daughter. Over the ten-year period, Richards contributed $71,100 to Brown's mortgage, initially paying $400 per month, voluntarily increasing his monthly payment to $550 following the birth of Daughter, and again voluntarily increasing his payment to $650 in 2003. Brown's monthly mortgage payments varied, starting at $1187 when Richards moved in and increasing to $1516 in 2003.³ Brown promised to treat Richards fairly and to give him an interest in the home equity. Richards also testified that Brown promised to put his name on the title to the home. Brown conceded that she made these promises but maintained that they were always conditional upon Richards first paying her one-half of the existing equity and contributing to the mortgage and other expenses. Brown never indicated that she thought of Richards as a tenant, and she did not report his monthly payments as rental income on her tax returns.⁴ The trial court found Richards's testimony to be more credible than Brown's.

¶ 4 The parties' remaining household and child expenses were divided evenly. For most expenses, Brown tallied the expenditures bimonthly and presented Richards with a bill for one-half the costs, which he always "paid without question." Occasionally, expenditures were not included in the bimonthly tally, but the parties shared these expenses by alternating who would pay for them. For example, Richards contributed over $10,000 toward significant home improvements, including replacing the deck, installing a swamp cooler and ceiling fan, and setting up a sprinkler system. Richards also owned the only car, which he used for his personal transportation, Daughter's transportation, and family outings and errands. Brown did not have a driver license and did not drive during the relationship.

¶ 5 After Richards moved out of Brown's home in September 2005, the parties continued to socialize together through December 2005, including celebrating Brown's and Richards's birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas as a family. In October 2005, the parties engaged in mediation to resolve custody issues. The parties also attended an education class for divorcing parents and mailed a letter announcing their "divorce" to family and friends.⁵ Although they initially intended to mediate the property distribution, Brown later canceled that mediation. Richards testified that he delayed filing a petition for adjudication of unsolemnized marriage because he believed the parties would either resolve the property dispute through mediation or reconcile.⁶ By early 2006, Richards realized that reconciliation was no longer a possibility.

¶ 6 In December 2006, Richards filed a Verified Petition for Paternity and Related Matters, in which he asked the court to either recognize the parties as married pursuant to the unsolemnized marriage statute, see Utah Code Ann. § 30-1-4.5 (2007),⁷ or award him an equitable interest in Brown's home. Brown filed a motion for partial summary judgment on the unsolemnized marriage claim, arguing that Richards filed his petition outside the one-year statute of repose. Following a hearing, the domestic commissioner recommended that Brown's motion for partial summary judgment be granted. The trial court accepted the commissioner's recommendation because a "relationship [for purposes of unsolemnized marriage] is terminated by cessation of the [required element of] cohabitation." The trial court concluded that there was no factual dispute that cohabitation had ended by September 2005, and Richards's petition was filed over a year later.

¶ 7 The equitable claims were reserved for a bench trial. At trial, Richards testified that Brown promised as early as September 1996 to put his name on the title of the home. Richards also indicated that at various points during the relationship he "felt insecure about [his] financial position . . . in the family" and that Brown "recognized that [insecurity] . . . and she assured [him] on several occasions that [he could] just take her word for it"—that she would treat him like she did her ex-husband. Yet when Brown twice refinanced the house during the relationship, she did not add Richards to the title. Nevertheless, Richards failed to take any steps to ensure that he was given legal interest in the home.⁸

¶ 8 Richards also presented evidence that he contributed over $12,000 to home improvements and an additional $2000 to home maintenance over the ten-year period. The trial court concluded that Brown had received a benefit equal to the cost of the purchase and installation of the deck, swamp cooler, sprinkler system, and ceiling fan. Accordingly, it ordered Brown to reimburse Richards $10,136 under an unjust enrichment theory. The trial court rejected, however, Richards's additional expenses because it concluded that these expenses were more appropriately categorized as home maintenance expenditures. The trial court declined to reimburse Richards for his home maintenance contributions because these expenses did not enhance the value of the home in such a manner that it conferred "a specific benefit upon [Brown] which in fairness she should be required to repay." Brown asserts that she has paid Richards on that judgment.⁹

¶ 9 With respect to Richards's contributions to the mortgage, the trial court concluded that Richards failed to establish the amount of the benefit conferred upon Brown, leaving the trial court unable to calculate the appropriate amount Richards should be reimbursed under a theory of unjust enrichment. The trial court likewise concluded that Richards failed to demonstrate the reasonable reliance necessary to support a claim of promissory estoppel. In addition, the trial court denied Richards's claim of promissory estoppel on the grounds that he did not meet his burden of proving the fact and amount of damages. Richards appeals.

ISSUES AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW

¶ 10 The first question before us is whether the trial court erred in determining that the relationship between Richards and Brown terminated, and the statute of repose under the unsolemnized marriage statute was triggered, as of the time that Richards moved out of Brown's home in September 2005. We review questions of statutory interpretation for correctness. See Jeffs v. Stubbs, 970 P.2d 1234, 1241 (Utah 1998). We also review the grant of summary judgment for correctness. See Forsberg v. Bovis Lend Lease, Inc., 2008 UT App 146, ¶ 7, 184 P.3d 610, cert. denied, 199 P.3d 367 (Utah 2008).

¶ 11 Richards next claims that even in the absence of an unsolemnized marriage, he is entitled to recover his contributions to the mortgage under the equitable theories of unjust enrichment and promissory estoppel. Claims based on equitable doctrines "are mixed questions of fact and law." U.S. Realty 86 Assocs. v. Security Inv., Ltd., 2002 UT 14, ¶ 11, 40 P.3d 586. Accordingly, we defer to a trial court's factual findings unless there is clear error but review its legal conclusions for correctness. See Jeffs, 970 P.2d at 1244. However, because of the fact-intensive nature of equitable doctrines, we grant the trial court broader discretion in applying the law to the facts. See id. at 1245 (giving trial court broad deference when reviewing claim of unjust enrichment); Department of Human Servs. ex rel. Parker v. Irizarry, 945 P.2d 676, 678 (Utah 1997) (same for estoppel claim).

¶ 12 We review for an abuse of discretion the trial court's determination that Richards failed to introduce sufficient evidence to establish damages, and we will not overturn the trial court's decision unless there was no reasonable basis for the decision. See Lefavi v. Bertoch, 2000 UT App 5, ¶ 16, 994 P.2d 817 ("When a reasonable basis exists for the trial court's [determination of] damages, this court will affirm the [trial court's decision] on appeal."); Stevenett v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 1999 UT App 80, ¶ 11, 977 P.2d 508 ("We review a court's decision to remit a damages award based upon insufficiency of evidence . . . for an abuse of discretion.").

¶ 13 Finally, Richards asserts that the trial court improperly granted Brown's request for a protective order, which limited his ability to conduct discovery. "We review a district court's ruling on a discovery issue for abuse of discretion." Menzies v. Galetka, 2006 UT 81, ¶ 59, 150 P.3d 480.

ANALYSIS

I. Unsolemnized Marriage

¶ 14 Utah law recognizes an unsolemnized marriage as a legal and valid marriage if a court determines that ...