Banko v. Malanecki

435 A.2d 194, 291 Pa. Super. 11, 1981 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3431
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 18, 1981
DocketNo. 313
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 435 A.2d 194 (Banko v. Malanecki) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Banko v. Malanecki, 435 A.2d 194, 291 Pa. Super. 11, 1981 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3431 (Pa. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinions

HESTER, Judge:

Presently before the court is appellant’s appeal from the order of the lower court dated March 31, 1980, wherein the court en banc dismissed all exceptions 1 to the Decree Nisi previously filed and entered the same as a final decree.

During a non-jury trial, only the appellant testified. The salient facts may briefly be summarized as follows: In 1969, appellant’s first wife of over twenty (20) years died. Thereafter appellant developed a serious drinking problem. In 1972, appellant met appellee and they dated until the later part of 1973 when it was agreed that appellant would move in with the appellee. They held a “wedding reception” in January of 1974 to convince people they had married (although in actuality they had not). Appellant listed his house for sale in November, 1973 and closed on it on April 23, 1974.

Trusting her “all the way,” following the closing on his house (on the same day), appellant out of the proceeds of the closing (a) paid off appellee’s mortgage in the exact amount of $2,195.18 and (b) paid off appellee’s auto loan in the exact amount of $3,782.86. With respect to the mortgage:

[14]*14Q Why did you pay that off for Gail?
A Because I loved Gail and like I said, I thought that we were going to live together and things were eventually going to work out and we were getting married.
Q Did she actually ask you however to pay that bill?
A No, she didn’t.
(R 47a)
And in regard to the satisfaction of the auto loan:
Q And again why did you make that payment?
A Same as with the other payment. I wanted to pay off because I felt that someday we would get married. (R 47a)

In addition to (a) and (b) above, appellant also purchased new furnishings and furniture from Grant’s in the approximate amount of $2,500.00 and contributed additional miscellaneous personalty from his recently sold home of a minimum value of $1,500.00 (total $4,000.00).

Within a week following the closing, the parties opened a joint savings account in the names “ William Banko and Gail Banko”—husband and wife, as tenants by the entireties (Trial Exhibit # 3, both parties being signatories thereto. The original deposit was $3,300.00 (from the proceeds of the sale of the house), which subsequently grew by $300.00 (appellant’s IRS refund check) and by $1,600.00 (appellant’s six week vacation check), to a total of $5,200.00 by June 21, 1974.

During the period of time the parties lived together (January to July, 1974), both were gainfully employed; when appellant received his pay check he would turn it over to the appellee, retaining only $10.00 per week as spending money. Appellee in turn paid all normal monthly bills and expenses.

In July, things started to change, “pressure” started to build, and appellant started to drink. Three or four days later, following an argument, appellee told appellant to leave—to get out—and he did. Subsequently, appellant was hospitalized, and then spent 28 days at Serenity West. Following discharge, appellant moved to the Penn Motel. Appellee corresponded and visited infrequently.

[15]*15In November, 1974, appellee (with William Malanecki) visited appellant and told him they were married. “She wanted me to wish them good luck, which I did, and not to bother them.” (R 56a).

On July 9, 1974, appellee, signing as “Gail Banko”, withdrew all of the funds from the entireties savings account ($5,232.21 consisting of $5,200.00 principal and $32.21 accumulated interest).

Appellant brought suit in equity against the appellee for the full return of the monies expended on alternate equitable theories of breach of a confidential relationship, breach of an implied covenant agreement between the parties, and on the theory of unjust enrichment. In an effort to reach equity, appellant requested monetary damages, the imposition of an equitable lien, a constructive trust, and a full accounting.

The Chancellor decreed:

(a) Appellant is not entitled to recover the monies spent to pay off either the mortgage or the auto loan;
(b) Appellant is entitled to one-half the furniture or one-half its value; and
(c) Appellant is entitled to one-half the savings account funds.

We affirm in part and reverse in part.

We affirm the final order of the lower court which found that appellant is not entitled to recover the monies spent to pay off either the mortgage or the auto loan. The record is barren of any evidence which rebuts the presumption that said payments were intended as inter vivos gifts. Nor was evidence produced demonstrating that the relationship, at that time, was such that said “presumption of inter vivos gifts” was inapplicable, thus shifting the burden to the donee/appellee to prove that said payments were the voluntary acts of the donor/appellant.

We also affirm that portion of the appealed-from order which founded on the rationale of DiFlorido v. DiFlorido, 459 Pa. 641, 331 A.2d 174 (1975), concluded that appel [16]*16lant is entitled to one-half the furniture, or one-half its value in the instant case. Because of the time lapse involved, the expected normal depreciation of personal property, and the fact that appellee has had the exclusive and beneficial use of same since 1974 (excepting the parties’ joint use from January to July, 1974), we direct that this portion of the order be molded to reflect an award of $2,000.00 plus interest from July of 1974.

However, we reverse that portion of the appealed-from order which concludes that appellant is entitled to one-half of the savings account funds. We conclude that appellant is entitled to all of the proceeds from the savings account ($5,232.21) plus interest from July, 1974.

It is undisputed that the parties were never formally married. However, marriage is an indispensible element of the existence of an estate by the entireties. See Masgai v. Masgai, 460 Pa. 453, 333 A.2d 861 (1975); Simpson v. Simpson, 404 Pa. 247, 172 A.2d 168 (1961); Pa. Bank and Trust Co. v. Thompson, 432 Pa. 262, 247 A.2d 771 (1968).

The Union Bank savings account was opened (on April 26, 1974) by the parties as husband and wife—as tenants by the entireties. Additionally, appellee affirmed this status by affixing her signature on the line where the words signature of wife appeared by signing “Gail Banko.”

Appellant testified that he “trusted” the appellee; that she handled the parties’ financial affairs, and that he thought they eventually would marry.

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Related

Miller v. United States
561 F. Supp. 1129 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1983)
Banko v. Malanecki
451 A.2d 1008 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1982)

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Bluebook (online)
435 A.2d 194, 291 Pa. Super. 11, 1981 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3431, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/banko-v-malanecki-pasuperct-1981.