Taylor v. Taylor

• Decision Date: 26 December 2018
• Docket Number: No. ED 106022,ED 106022
• Parties: Elaine M. TAYLOR, Appellant, v. Michael R. TAYLOR, Respondent.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

566 S.W.3d 641

Elaine M. TAYLOR, Appellant,

v.Michael R. TAYLOR, Respondent.

No. ED 106022

Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, DIVISION FOUR.

FILED: December 26, 2018

Michelle J. Spirn, 7700 Bonhomme Avenue, Suite 325, Clayton, MO 63105, for appellant.

Jane Ellen Tomich, 309 N. Main St., Suite 210, St. Charles, MO 63301, for respondent.

KURT S. ODENWALD, Presiding Judge

Introduction

Elaine M. Taylor ("Wife") appeals from the trial court’s judgment dissolving her marriage to Michael R. Taylor ("Husband"), dividing the parties' marital property, and awarding maintenance and child support. On appeal, Wife contends that the trial court erred in awarding non-modifiable maintenance in the amount of $2500 limited to thirty-six months, quashing her motion for a subpoena duces tecum on Husband’s employer, and not dismissing Husband’s claim for tortious interference with a business expectancy. Because the record lacks substantial evidence to support the trial court’s maintenance award, the trial court erred in setting limitations on the amount, duration, and modifiability of the award. However, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in limiting Wife’s discovery given its over breadth and intrusion into confidential and proprietary business matters. Lastly, the trial court erred in not dismissing Husband’s counterclaim for tortious interference as the trial court found Husband suffered no damages, a required element of his claim. Accordingly, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Factual and Procedural History

The facts relevant to this appeal are as follows: Husband and Wife married in 1996 and had two children, aged thirteen and seventeen at the time of trial. The family resided at 60 Tahoma Drive in Foristell, Missouri ("Tahoma Drive Property"). In November 2015, Husband relocated to New York City for work without Wife. The parties separated later that month, and Husband filed for divorce in March 2016.

Wife is a licensed attorney. Wife has not worked full-time for a law firm since 1993 and has been the primary caretaker of the two children. Wife received her law degree from Washington University in 1992, During trial, Husband called a vocational rehabilitation expert, Tim Kaver ("Kaver"), who interviewed Wife and prepared a report. Kaver testified that Wife is an experienced attorney who has worked part-time as a sole practitioner since 1995 in family, traffic, and bankruptcy law. Kaver further testified that Wife’s last full-time employment was in 1993, when she worked as a tax department attorney for one year at a law firm earning between $30,000 and $40,000. In 2013, Wife’s earnings were a net loss of - $4,622. In 2014, Wife earned an income of $204. Wife had no reported income for 2015 or 2016.

Kaver testified that he conducts job placement for approximately one attorney each year and that one percent of his firm’s work involves placement for attorneys, Kaver concluded that Wife could most likely obtain a position within two to six months with a small- to mid-sized law firm earning between $70,785 and $107,910 annually. Kaver based his conclusions on labor market statistics provided by Robert Half Legal. Kaver did not interview Wife regarding her professional networking capability.

Wife testified that her monthly expenses were $38,518.50 per month, $12,650 of which went towards the care of six riding horses at the Tahoma Drive Property. The parties' daughter was engaged in equestrian training and competitions during the marriage. At trial, Wife sought maintenance of $6000 per month. Wife testified that with such maintenance she would be able to supplement her income to help meet her reasonable needs after the sale of the Tahoma Drive Property. The trial court imputed no income to Wife when calculating child support on its Form 14.

The Tahoma Drive Property is fourteen acres with a residence, barn, and animals, including the six riding horses. The trial court found the expense of maintaining the property, with the associated equestrian costs, exceeded $30,000 per month. The trial court ordered the Tahoma Drive Property be sold as soon as practicable. The net proceeds, if any, were to be divided sixty percent to Wife and forty percent to Husband, following satisfaction of the parties' 2016 tax debt. Until the parties sell the Tahoma Drive Property, the trial court ordered Husband to pay the mortgages and utilities and delegated responsibility for maintaining the animals and the grounds to Wife.

The trial court awarded Wife non-modifiable maintenance of $2500 per month, terminable upon the earliest of the following events: the death of either party, the remarriage of Wife, or Husband’s payment of monthly maintenance for thirty-six months. The trial court found that "[t]he vocational expert at trial testified that [Wife] could be employed in six months earning from $70,000 to over $100,000. Therefore, the Court finds that there is considerable and substantial evidence presented at trial that [Wife] will be self-supporting in less than the three-year term of maintenance."

Among other distributions of marital property relevant to this appeal, the parties' joint tax liability was ordered to be paid sixty percent by Husband and forty percent by Wife. The trial court also valued and distributed various IRA accounts and stocks as well as Husband’s pension plan, most of which were divided equally between the parties. The distribution of the parties' assets is not challenged in this appeal. On its Form 14, the trial court imputed to Husband a monthly gross income of $42,215.00.

Wife testified at trial that she believed Husband began an affair with Margaret Gill ("Gill"), whom he met through work, in September 2015. Husband is employed at Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc. ("A-B") as the Vice-President of Mergers and Acquisitions. Husband testified that he first met Gill in August 2015 in the course of his employment acquiring small breweries for A-B. Gill co-owned a brewery in California that intended to sell its interest to A-B. Husband stated that he only met Gill on three occasions before deciding to divorce Wife and that he did not pursue a romantic relationship with Gill until late November 2015. During cross-examination, Husband admitted that while still married to Wife, he and Gill conducted multiple telephone conversations, sometimes late at night, lasting over one hour. Husband also admitted he told Gill that he loved her in March 2016. In May 2016, Husband took a trip with Gill to pursue a business opportunity. Husband testified that he had a vasectomy

reversal in September 2016 during the time he was dating Gill, and Gill drove Husband home after the procedure.

Wife testified that she came to believe Husband and Gill were having an affair in February 2016. Wife served a subpoena duces tecum on A-B in May 2016. In the subpoena, Wife requested, among other things, all email correspondence between Husband and Gill from January 1, 2014 to the time of trial. Covering the same timeframe, Wife further requested Gill’s corporate credit cards, all of Gill’s employer-reimbursed expenses, and Gill’s flight itineraries and travel schedules. After the parties thoroughly briefed the discovery issues, the trial court granted A-B’s motion to quash the subpoena.

Husband amended his action for dissolution of marriage to include a claim for tortious interference with a business expectancy. Specifically, Husband alleged that Wife interfered with his employment at A-B, which compromised Husband’s employment, career, and business expectancy with A-B. Despite finding that Husband was not damaged as a result of Wife’s actions, the trial court did not dismiss the tortious interference claim.

The trial court entered its judgment dissolving the marriage and providing for child custody, child support, spousal maintenance, and disposition of property. The parties did not request the trial court issue findings of fact and conclusions of law. Wife now appeals.

Points on Appeal

Wife raises four points on appeal. In Point One, Wife contends that the trial court erred in awarding non-modifiable maintenance for a duration of thirty-six months because there is no substantial evidence in the record of an impending change in Wife’s financial circumstances. Point Two charges the trial court with error in limiting the amount of Wife’s maintenance to $2500 per month because, under Section 452.335.2,¹ that amount is unjust and insufficient. In Point Three, Wife alleges that the trial court erred in quashing the subpoena duces tecum on A-B, because the subpoena was reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of documents directly relevant to the amount of Wife’s maintenance award. Lastly, Wife claims in Point Four that the trial court erred by not dismissing Husband’s claim for tortious interference with a business expectancy because Husband failed to prove damages.

Discussion

I. Points One and Two—The Maintenance Award

A. Standard of Review

In reviewing a judgment for dissolution, we will sustain the trial court’s judgment unless it is not supported by substantial evidence, it is against the weight of the evidence, or it erroneously applies the law. Parciak v. Parciak, 553 S.W.3d 446, 452 (Mo. App. E.D. 2018) (citing Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30, 32 (Mo. banc 1976) ). "The trial court resolves matters such as the weight of evidence, the resolution of conflicting evidence, and witness credibility, and its rulings on these issues will not be reviewed by this Court." Sulkin v. Sulkin, 552 S.W.3d 793, 795 (Mo. App. E.D. 2018). The party challenging the divorce decree bears the burden of establishing that the trial court erred. Parciak, 553 S.W.3d at 452.

When awarding maintenance in a dissolution action, the trial court has broad discretion in determining the amount and duration of the maintenance. Sulkin, 552 S.W.3d at 795. Thus, we review the trial court’s award of maintenance for an...