Atkins v. Atkins

534 N.E.2d 760, 1989 Ind. App. LEXIS 151, 1989 WL 17811
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 2, 1989
Docket29A02-8708-CV-308
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 534 N.E.2d 760 (Atkins v. Atkins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Atkins v. Atkins, 534 N.E.2d 760, 1989 Ind. App. LEXIS 151, 1989 WL 17811 (Ind. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinions

GARRARD, Presiding Judge.

This appeal arises from the trial court’s refusal to set aside its division of property in a marriage dissolution. The judgment was based upon a property settlement agreement executed by the parties.

The parties were married in 1976, and the wife sued for dissolution on October 24, 1985. She was a self-employed photographer. Her husband was employed by Smith Barney, Inc. as a stockbroker.

When the dissolution was submitted the wife was present with counsel and the husband was present without his attorney. The property settlement agreement was [761]*761presented to the court and both parties testified for its acceptance.

Pursuant to the agreement the wife received the marital residence subject to the mortgage upon it, other property, and a maintenance award for the following four years. Net value of the residence was estimated at fifty thousand dollars ($50,-000). The husband received a variety of assets together with three thousand six hundred fifty (3,650) shares of Smith Barney common stock, of which five hundred (500) shares had been purchased while the dissolution was pending. The wife had the Smith Barney stock appraised by an accountant, who had valued it at twenty-five dollars ($25) per share. She testified that the husband had a purchase money loan on the stock and acknowledged that capital gains taxes would be owed if it were sold. She considered the home and the stock a trade off.

The court accepted the agreement and granted the dissolution. In fact, the Smith Barney stock was worth $184,940 rather than the $87,500 value placed upon it by the wife.

The record discloses that the wife conducted discovery concerning the stock and secured an evaluation from an accountant; the husband placed no specific value on it during their negotiations. The stock was not traded publicly, could only be held by Smith Barney employees, and its sale was restricted to resale to Smith Barney at book value. The stock was valued at twenty-five dollars ($25) per share and it is undisputed that this was its book value in the spring of 1987.

However, on May 27th, the day before the final hearing, Smith Barney announced that it had executed a merger agreement with Primerica Corporation subject to approval by its shareholders and regulatory authorities. Pursuant to the merger, the value of a Smith Barney share increased to fifty-two dollars and eighty-four cents ($52.84). Notice of the merger was carried on the Broadtape on the 27th. Husband received a memo that morning advising of the merger and indicating an acquisition price of seven hundred fifty million dollars in cash, which, according to the memo, was “a little more than twice the company’s book value.” (Husband learned the actual per share value on an unspecified date a few days later.)

At that point the property settlement agreement was still unexecuted. Husband notified his attorneys of the proposed merger and urged the speedy completion of the proceedings. Husband apparently signed the agreement on the 27th and the wife signed it on May 28th, the day of the final hearing. Neither the husband nor his attorneys notified wife or her attorneys of the announcement.

On May 28th the Indianapolis Star reported the merger proposal in its business section. Later that day the parties appeared in court and finalized the dissolution.

The husband testified at the final hearing. He was not expressly questioned about the value of the stock and was not specifically asked whether there were any changes or unusual developments affecting the status of the parties. The following did occur during his examination:

Q. To the best of your knowledge and ability, are all of your assets, as well as all of your liabilities covered in this agreement?
A. Yes.
Q. Are you aware of anything that is not covered?
A. No, sir.
Q. Do you understand that once the Court approves this agreement that all the issues concerning division of property, both real and personal, as well as allocation of debt, will be a final decision?
A. Correct.
Q. It would be difficult to change that decision unless there’s some very strange circumstances involved, such as fraud.
A. Right.
Q. Do you have anything to say to Judge Nash?
A. No, sir.
[762]*762BY THE COURT: Mr. Atkins, do you believe there’s anything that should be presented in order to make a just decision in this matter that has not been presented?
MR. ATKINS: No, sir.
BY THE COURT: Thank you. You may step down.

At the conclusion of the hearing the court accepted and adopted the agreement and granted the dissolution. Six days later the wife moved to set aside the judgment alleging fraud and newly discovered evidence concerning the increased value of the Smith Barney stock. The court expressly elected to treat her motion as a motion to correct errors and denied relief. This appeal followed.

In his appellee’s brief the husband asserts that we should summarily affirm because the wife failed to file a motion to correct errors addressed to the court’s ruling on her motion to set aside the judgment and because the motion did not adequately state facts and grounds to support her contentions. We reject both arguments. The motion pointed out that the error relied upon was fraud arising from a near tripling in value of her husband’s stock that he had known about and failed to disclose to her. It adequately apprised the court of the facts and grounds upon which she relied, and was sufficient. In addition the court expressly elected to treat the motion as a TR 59 motion. This it was entitled to do. See, e.g., State ex rel. Indiana Fla. Realty Trust v. Howard Cir. Ct. (1970), 256 Ind. 11, 264 N.E.2d 315.

Turning to the central issue, we find that the express provisions of the parties’ own property settlement agreement are clearly dispositive. In pertinent part the agreement provided:

Section 7.10. Full Disclosure. This Agreement of Settlement has been predicated upon assurances of a full and complete disclosure of all pertinent financial and other information about the parties. Husband and Wife warrant and represent that the financial information and statements of Husband and the Wife supplied to Husband’s and Wife’s counsel as of diverse dates, past and present, have been true, accurate and complete as to any interest, direct, indirect or beneficial, that either may have.
Section 7.11. Voluntary Execution. The provisions of this Agreement and their legal effect have been fully explained and agreed to by the parties, and each party acknowledges that the Agreement is fair and equitable after full and complete disclosure of all of the assets and liabilities of the respective parties, as of the date of this Agreement, and after considerable negotiations between the parties. Each party hereby acknowledges that this Agreement is being entered into voluntarily and that it is not the result of any duress or undue influence.

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Atkins v. Atkins
534 N.E.2d 760 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
534 N.E.2d 760, 1989 Ind. App. LEXIS 151, 1989 WL 17811, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/atkins-v-atkins-indctapp-1989.