Willey v. Willey
| Decision Date | 30 December 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 960229,960229 |
| Citation | 951 P.2d 226 |
| Parties | 333 Utah Adv. Rep. 8 Glen P. WILLEY, Plaintiff and Petitioner, v. Rosalind Ann Johnson WILLEY, Defendant and Respondent. |
| Court | Utah Supreme Court |
Ellen Maycock, Salt Lake City, for plaintiff and petitioner.
Roger D. Sandack, Salt Lake City, for defendant and respondent.
On Certiorari to the Utah Court of Appeals
We granted Glen P. Willey's petition for a writ of certiorari to review the Utah Court of Appeals' increase of the trial court's award of alimony and attorney fees. We reverse and remand.
Glen P. Willey and Rosalind Ann Johnson Willey were married April 29, 1982. No children were born as issue of this marriage. However, Rosalind Willey had three children from a previous marriage. Before their marriage, Rosalind Willey worked in a retail clothing store, earning approximately $11,000 a year. During the marriage, she periodically worked part time, earning at most $6871 a year. Glen Willey was a stockbroker with annual earnings during their married years ranging from $73,096 to $138,052.
In 1990, after more than eight years of marriage, Glen Willey filed for divorce on the ground of irreconcilable differences. The trial court granted a decree of divorce on January 14, 1992. In doing so, it divided the marital property and awarded Rosalind Willey alimony in the amount of $1500 a month for one year and $1000 a month for the following three years, at which time alimony was to terminate. The trial court also awarded her $5000 in attorney fees.
Rosalind Willey appealed to the court of appeals, claiming that the trial court had abused its discretion in its award of alimony, in its division of marital property, and in its award of attorney fees. She also requested attorney fees for the appeal.
The court of appeals affirmed the trial court on some issues but reversed and remanded on the issues of alimony and attorney fees because of insufficient findings of fact. Willey v. Willey, 866 P.2d 547, 549 (Utah Ct.App.1993). With respect to alimony, the court of appeals held that the trial court had failed to make appropriate findings of fact in support of its determination of alimony, particularly as to the parties' financial needs, Rosalind Willey's need for rehabilitative alimony, and the division of debts. Therefore, the court of appeals reversed and remanded the issue of alimony to the trial court for further findings and for reassessment of alimony based upon those findings.
As for attorney fees, the court of appeals also reversed and remanded, stating:
[T]he trial court made no findings regarding either Mrs. Willey's ability to pay her own attorney fees or Mr. Willey's ability to pay her fees. Coupled with the court's failure to make findings as to the reasonableness of her fees, we have no explanation why the court awarded Mrs. Willey approximately twenty-five percent of her request.
Willey, 866 P.2d at 556. The court of appeals remanded for appropriate findings on the ability of each party to pay his or her own attorney fees and the reasonableness of such fees. The court of appeals stated that if the trial court again awards Rosalind Willey attorney fees based upon appropriate findings of fact, the trial court should also award her attorney fees for the appeal.
On remand, the trial court held a hearing and received additional evidence. The trial court made new findings of fact and conclusions of law based upon that evidence and the evidence already in the record from the original trial. In doing so, it acknowledged the mandate from the court of appeals, stating:
The court of appeals held that additional findings of fact were necessary with respect to the issues of alimony and attorney fees and specifically directed this court to make such findings on the following issues:
(i) the reasonable financial needs of the parties;
(ii) the division of the parties' debt as it affects the award of alimony;
(iii) the imputation of income to the defendant;
(iv) the ability of each party to pay defendant's attorney fees;
(v) the reasonableness of those fees.
The trial court then made and entered fifty-one findings of fact that addressed the parties' financial needs, the imputation of income to Rosalind Willey, the reasonableness of each party's attorney fees, and Glen Willey's ability to pay Rosalind Willey's attorney fees. The trial court based the following conclusions upon its findings of fact:
(1) The original findings of fact, conclusions of law, and decree in this matter should be amended to delete the requirement that [Rosalind Willey] pay one-half of the [loan and deficiency on the house].
(2) The alimony award of $1,500 per month for one year from the date of trial and $1,000 per month for three years thereafter was proper and is affirmed.
(3) [Glen Willey] should be ordered to pay the costs of tuition and books for [Rosalind Willey] for a period of nine quarters at the University of Utah or a comparable university, providing such education is completed within five years of January 31, 1995, to assist [Rosalind Willey] in enhancing her earning potential.
(4) [Glen Willey] should be ordered to pay [Rosalind Willey] additional alimony in the amount of $500 per month while [Rosalind Willey] is a fully matriculated student for a maximum of nine quarters to be completed within five years following the date of this order.
(5) [Glen Willey] should be ordered to pay [Rosalind Willey] additional attorney's fees in the amount of $10,000.
In short, the trial court did not alter the original alimony award but did add a rehabilitative alimony award which ordered Glen Willey to pay her education costs and an additional $500 a month while she attends school. The trial court also deleted her debt on the house and increased the award of attorney fees.
Again, Rosalind Willey appealed to the court of appeals. On the second appeal, the court of appeals was not satisfied that the trial court had fully and adequately addressed the issues remanded. It characterized the trial court as having "entered additional findings of fact on some of the issues we directed it to address by our remand order, but failed to address others." Willey v. Willey, 914 P.2d 1149, 1151 (Utah Ct.App.1996). Particularly, the court of appeals criticized the trial court's treatment of alimony based upon Rosalind Willey's claim of expenses and its award of attorney fees. As to the issue of alimony, Rosalind Willey submitted at trial an itemized statement of monthly expenses which included monthly unreimbursed medical expenses of $660. The trial court reduced this amount, finding:
[Rosalind Willey's] monthly unreimbursed medical/dental expenses of $660 per month are unreasonably high and should be reduced to $60 per month. While the record shows that defendant had major surgery in the fall of 1991, there is nothing in the record to establish why the ongoing expenses would continue on a monthly basis.
However, the court of appeals reversed the trial court in this regard, 1 stating that the "sheer absence of any evidence upon which to base factual findings regarding these adjustments makes them unacceptable." And instead of accepting the trial court's findings or remanding the matter a second time to the trial court for further action, the court of appeals, on its own, accepted at face value the statement of expenses as submitted by Rosalind Willey and increased the alimony to reflect the entire amount claimed. The court of appeals did accept the trial court's finding with respect to the imputed income for Rosalind Willey and her rehabilitative alimony award. As a result, the court of appeals increased alimony to $2240 a month and extended the term by more than four years.
As to the issue of Rosalind Willey's attorney fees, the trial court entered seven findings of fact addressing various issues related to, but not including, the reasonableness of the requested attorney fees. However, the court of appeals again held that on remand the trial court had failed to fully address the issue and make adequate findings as to the reasonableness of the attorney fees. And instead of remanding the matter a second time to the trial court for further findings and consideration, the court of appeals took it upon itself to increase the attorney fees award from $15,000 to $36,015 plus costs. The court of appeals thus made its own conclusion as to what it considered proper alimony and attorney fees and directed the trial court to amend the divorce decree accordingly.
Glen Willey appeals the court of appeals' decision to this court. He argues that the court of appeals erred in increasing the duration and amount of alimony. Specifically, he argues that the court of appeals erred in rejecting the trial court's findings as to Rosalind Willey's reasonable living expenses and erred in its own determination of alimony. He also argues that the court of appeals erred in increasing the award of attorney fees. He contends that the court of appeals awarded an amount of attorney fees not sought by Rosalind Willey and in awarding such fees did so without any findings of fact or evidence in support thereof.
On a writ of certiorari, we review the decision of the court of appeals, not that of the trial court. Butterfield v. Okubo, 831 P.2d 97, 101 (Utah 1992). When reviewing a trial court's determination of alimony and attorney fees, an appellate court reviews them for abuse of discretion. Salmon v. Davis County, 916 P.2d 890, 892, 898 (Utah 1996) (); Paffel v. Paffel, 732 P.2d 96, 100 (Utah 1986) (); Owen v. Owen, 579 P.2d 911, 913 (Utah 1978) (...
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