Wold v. Wold

• Decision Date: 23 January 2008
• Docket Number: No. 20060342.,20060342.
• Citation: 744 N.W.2d 541,2008 ND 14
• Parties: Kandas K. WOLD, Plaintiff, Appellee, and Cross-Appellant v. Kirk R. WOLD, Defendant, Appellant, and Cross-Appellee.
• Court: North Dakota Supreme Court

744 N.W.2d 541

2008 ND 14

Kandas K. WOLD, Plaintiff, Appellee, and Cross-Appellant v. Kirk R. WOLD, Defendant, Appellant, and Cross-Appellee.

No. 20060342.

Supreme Court of North Dakota.

January 23, 2008.

H. Malcolm Pippin, Nilles, Ilvedson, Plambeck & Selbo, Ltd., Williston, N.D., for plaintiff, appellee, and cross-appellant.

Dann E. Greenwood, Greenwood & Ramsey, PLLP, Dickinson, N.D., for defendant, appellant, and cross-appellee.

VANDE WALLE, Chief Justice.

[¶ 1] Kirk Wold appealed from a judgment granting his spouse, Kandas Wold, a decree of divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences, asserting the district court erred in dividing the marital property and in awarding Kandas Wold spousal support. Kandas Wold filed a cross-appeal, asserting the court erred in dividing the marital property and erred in failing to provide security for her spousal support payments. Kandas Wold also requests attorney fees on appeal. We hold the district court's division of the marital property and award of spousal support are not clearly erroneous. We further hold the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to provide security for the spousal support payments. We deny Kandas Wold's request for attorney fees on appeal, and we affirm the judgment.

I Facts

[¶ 2] Kirk and Kandas Wold were married on July 28, 1990, and their son was born September 6, 1991. At the time of the marriage, Kandas Wold was employed as a waitress and Kirk Wold was employed as an oil field laborer. In 1991, the parties purchased Panther. Pressure Testers ("Panther"), an oil field service business involved in pressure testing oil field equipment. Kirk Wold operated the oil field business and Kandas Wold performed office work for the business. In early June 2003, Kirk Wold moved out of the marital home. He continued to operate the business and another person was hired to do most of the office work previously performed by Kandas Wold.

[¶ 3] Upon granting a decree of divorce, the district court awarded custody of the parties' son to Kandas Wold with reasonable visitation for Kirk Wold and ordered Kirk Wold to pay child support of $2,102 per month. The court determined the parties had a total net worth of $952,484.90. Of that amount the court awarded $485,165.31 to Kandas Wold and $467,319.59 to. Kirk Wold. The court also ordered Kirk Wold to pay spousal support to Kandas Wold of $3,000 per month for 20 years.

II Property Division

[¶ 4] Kirk Wold asserts the district court did not make an equitable division of the marital property. He asserts the court erred when it awarded the business to him while awarding some of the business property to Kandas Wold without making appropriate adjustments to the value of the business. Kandas Wold, in her cross-appeal, also asserts the trial court failed to make an equitable division of the property. She asserts the district court valued the business too low and erred in failing to include Cheetah Rentals as part of the marital assets. Kandas Wold asserts Cheetah Rentals "is simply Panther Pressure Testers with a different name and now attempted to be hidden" by Kirk Wold and his girlfriend, who now owns that part of the business.

[¶ 5] Under N.D.C.C. § 14-05-24(1), the district court, upon granting a divorce, must make an equitable' distribution of the marital property. The court must ascertain the value of the marital estate and then apply the Ruff-Fischer guidelines to equitably distribute the property. Lorenz v. Lorenz, 2007 ND 49, ¶ 6, 729 N.W.2d 692. Factors for consideration under those guidelines include:

The respective ages of the parties, their earning ability, the duration of the marriage and conduct of the parties during the marriage, their station in life, the circumstances and necessities of each, their health and physical condition, their financial circumstances as shown by the property owned at the time, its value at the time, its income-producing capacity, if any, whether accumulated before or after the marriage, and such other matters as may be material. The [district] court is not required to make specific findings, but it must specify a rationale for its determination.

Id. at ¶ 6; Fischer v. Fischer, 139 N.W.2d 845, 852 (N.D.1966); Ruff v. Ruff, 78 N.D. 775, 52 N.W.2d 107, 111 (N.D.1952). The district court is not required to make specific findings on each Ruff-Fischer factor, but must explain the rationale for its decision. Wagner v. Wagner, 2007 ND. 101, ¶ 10, 733 N.W.2d 593.

[¶ 6] We review a district court's determination regarding the distribution of property as a finding of fact, and we will not reverse unless the district court's findings are clearly erroneous. Donlin v. Donlin, 2007 ND 5, ¶ 10, 725 N.W.2d 905. A finding of fact is clearly erroneous if it is induced by an erroneous view of the law, there is no evidence to support it, or if, although there is some evidence to support it, on the entire evidence a reviewing court is left with a definite and firm conviction a mistake has been made. Id. (quoting Kautzman v. Kautzman, 1998 ND 192, ¶ 8, 585 N.W.2d 561). A property division need not be equal to be equitable, but a substantial disparity must be explained. Amsbaugh v. Amsbaugh, 2004 ND 11, ¶ 23, 673 N.W.2d 601.

[¶ 7] The parties claim the district court committed several mathematical and accounting errors in valuing the marital estate. Kirk Wold asserts the court erred in using an asset valuation methodology for determining the value of the business and then awarding the building out of which the business was operating and other business property to Kandas Wold without making an appropriate reduction to the value of the business awarded to him. Kandas Wold asserts the court erred by not including in the marital estate the value of rental Operations which were originally part of Panther, but which she asserts Kirk Wold unilaterally transferred to Cheetah Rentals, owned and operated by his girlfriend.

[¶ 8] The district court addressed these valuation matters in its November 18, 2005 memorandum opinion, in its order regarding motions for reconsideration, dated May 22, 2006, and in its corrected findings of fact, conclusions of law, and order for judgment, dated September 19, 2006. The following statements by the court in those documents highlight and explain the court's reasoning in valuing and distributing the marital property:

Two competing experts valued the business. [Kandas Wold's] expert [Donald] Kainz used the income approach to come up with market value, and [Kirk Wold's] expert [Leonard] Sliwoski used the asset approach to come up with market value. . . .

Interestingly, the approach utilized by Kainz valued the business at $640,000.00, whereas the approach utilized by Sliwoski found the value to be $168,000.00.

. . . .

As concerns the valuation of the parties' business, Panther Pressure Testers, the Court finds the asset approach utilized by [Kirk Wold's] expert, Leonard J. Sliwoski, Ph. D., is much more logical as it relates to these facts and this business. This is an oilfield service company which gets most of its success from entrepreneurial activities of the owner-operator. Those include extremely hard work, long and irregular hours, dependability, and most importantly, the trust and contacts in the oilfield of the other persons who can be characterized as "good old oilfield boys." That trust and network is not easily transferrable, and without tremendous assistance from the seller over a long Period of time would dissipate. The Court finds that no knowledgeable buyer would pay much for the business when he could obtain all the "hard assets" for prices close to Sliwoski's figures.

. . . .

Thus, based upon Sliwoski's methodology, the Court finds that the current value of Panther is . . . $235,929.00.

. . . .

In the context of [Kirk Wold's] Motion for Reconsideration, insofar as it requests reconsideration of the valuation of Panther Pressure Testers based upon claims that certain items of property awarded to [Kandas Wold] were business assets, the Court finds that the values and distributions set forth above are fair and equitable under all the circumstances. . . .

In effect, [Kirk Wold] asks that a company which annually nets hundreds of thousands of dollars have a valuation of $34,000. Although the Court does not accept the income approach recommended by [Kandas Wold], the Court will not depart from reality to the point of finding that income of that amount can come from an empty bag.

. . . .

[Kandas Wold] suggests that assets and/or income stream from Cheetah Sales and Rentals, the rental business owned by Ms. Wilson which was formed with assistance of [Kirk Wold], is somehow available for the Court's distribution in this action. The Court finds that it clearly is not.

. . . .

The business and profitability of Panther Pressure Testers has increased significantly since [Kirk Wold] got out of the rental business which was subsequently taken over by Cheetah . . . .

[T]he Court does find that [Kirk Wold] engaged in more outrageous conduct toward [Kandas Wold] during the latter stages of the marriage than that exhibited by [Kandas Wold]. The blatant affair, the exclusion of [Kandas Wold] from involvement in what had been a joint family business, the modification of business involvement without notice to [Kandas Wold] (abandoning the rental business and assistance of Cheetah to step into the void) are all items of fault which the Court can look to as a basis of unequal distribution.

. . . .

[T]he Court believes the values and distributions set forth in the earlier Order are fair and equitable under all the circumstances and declines to modify the same in piecemeal fashion.

[¶ 9] A district court's property valuation is a finding of fact subject to the clearly erroneous standard of review. Holden v. Holden, 2007 ND 29, ¶ 9, 728 N.W.2d 312. We presume a district court's property valuations are correct, and we will not reverse...