Browning & Herdrich Oil Co., Inc. v. Hall

489 N.E.2d 988, 1986 Ind. App. LEXIS 2398
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 12, 1986
Docket1-785A173
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 489 N.E.2d 988 (Browning & Herdrich Oil Co., Inc. v. Hall) 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
Browning & Herdrich Oil Co., Inc. v. Hall, 489 N.E.2d 988, 1986 Ind. App. LEXIS 2398 (Ind. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinions

[989]*989NEAL, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Plaintiff-appellant, Browning & Herdrich Oil Company, Inc. (Browning), appeals a judgment of the Decatur Circuit Court denying the garnishment of certain certificates of deposit (CDs) in the name of the judgment-defendant Gerald Hall (Gerald), and a third party, Opal Hall (Opal).

We affirm.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

The undisputed facts are as follows. Browning, in his suit against Gerald on an open account for goods and services, obtained a default judgment of principal and interest in the amount of $17,406.83. Omitting numerous procedural steps, the record shows that Browning, in proceedings supplemental, discovered certain CDs issued by the Decatur County Bank to "Opal Hall and/or Gerald Hall," in the amount of $19,-300.00, and a savings account in the amount of $2,892.00, likewise joint between Opal and Gerald, upon which it attempted to levy.

Opal, Gerald's mother, is a 72 year old widow. She is the owner of CDs in the amount of $48,600.00 issued by the Decatur County Bank, $24,800.00 of which was issued in the names of "Opal Hall and/or Grethel Manlief," her daughter, and $19, 300.00 of which was issued in the names of "Opal Hall and/or Gerald Hall." The funds for the CDs and the savings account were contributed solely by Opal, and neither Gerald nor Grethel Manlief (Grethel) contributed anything to the accounts. The source of the contributions was from a lifetime of earned income; savings; the sale of property once owned by her; the settlement of her husband's personal injury claim; the sale of stock; a profit sharing plan from where she worked; and miscellaneous rent, interest and other income. Only her social security number was registered on the CDs and the savings account, and she alone received the interest, which was reported by her on her annual income tax returns. She alone kept the CDs and passbook in her lockbox, kept the only key, entered the box alone, and renewed the CDs when they came due. She once loaned Gerald $5,000.00, taking it from a CD which she held jointly with him, thus accounting for the disparity in amounts between the children. Neither Gerald nor Grethel had ever exercised any physical control over the CDs, or the lock-box. Though Gerald knew of the CDs, he had no real knowledge even of their amounts.

Opal's intention, upon advice by the Bank itself, in placing the CDs and savings account in joint titles was testamentary in nature in order to save administration expenses and attorney fees upon her death. At no time did she ever intend to make an inter vivos gift of any part of the CDs to either Gerald or Grethel.

The trial court denied Browning's garnishment of the CDs upon findings of fact which essentially summarized the foregoing evidence. In conclusions of law, the court held that the matter was governed by IND. CODE 82-4-1.5-8(a), that Opal had never intended to make an inter vivos gift, and that Gerald had no present interest in the CDs which Browning attempted to garnish.

ISSUE

The sole issue is whether a judgment creditor has a right to garnish the interest of a joint account owner who is not a judgment debtor.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Browning concedes, and Opal agrees, that a judgment attaches only to the interest that the judgment debtor has, actually or effectively, in the property. The lien cannot attach to any greater interest than either the debtor himself has, or, in the exercise of his rights, that he could have voluntarily transferred. See 17 LLE. Judgments See. 465 (1959). See also IND. CODE 34-1-11-20.

There is further no dispute that a negative judgment will be reversed only where [990]*990the evidence is without conflict and leads to but one conclusion which is contrary to the decigion reached by the trial court. Brand v. Monumental Life Insurance Co. (1981), 275 Ind. 308, 417 N.E.2d 297. When reviewing a case in which the trial court has made findings of fact and conclusions of law, an appellate court will not set aside the trial court's judgment unless it is clearly erroneous. Ind. Rules of Procedure, Trial Rule 52; Lawrence v. Ball State University Board of Trustees (1980), Ind.App., 400 N.E.2d 179. We do not reweigh the evidence or determine the credibility of the witnesses, but will consider only that evidence and the reasonable inferences therefrom which support the judgment. Sigsbee v. Swathwood (1981), Ind.App., 419 N.E.2d 789; See also TR. 52.

Reduced to its essence, the real question is whether Gerald has sufficient present interest in the CDs to make them subject to garnishment for a judgment against him alone. We are of the opinion that he does not.

Fundamental to the resolution of the issue at hand is IND. CODE 832-4-1.5-8(a), enacted in 1976, which reads as follows:

"A joint account belongs, during the lifetime of all parties, to the parties in proportion to the net contributions by each to the sums on deposit, unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent."

An "account'" includes savings accounts and CDs. IND. CODE 8382-4-1.5-1(1). Under IND. CODE 82-4-1.5-8, in the official comment to the Uniform Probate Code from which this section was taken, the Indiana Probate Code Study Commission stated:

"This section reflects the assumption that a person who deposits funds in a multiple-party account normally does not intend to make an irrevocable gift of all or any part of the funds represented by the deposit. Rather, he usually intends no present change of beneficial ownership. The assumption may be disproved by proof that a gift was intended.
# * * * # #
The theory of these sections is that the basic relationship of the parties is that of individual ownership of values attributable to their respective deposits and withdrawals; the right of survivorship which attaches unless negated by the form of the account really is a right to the values theretofore owned by another which the survivor receives for the first time at the death of the owner. That is to say, the account operates as a valid disposition at death rather than as a present joint tenancy."

The Commission concluded that the underlying assumption is that most persons who use joint accounts want the survivors to have all balances remaining at death. The Commission further commented that under IND. CODE 32-4-1.5 a joint bank account does not qualify as a common law gift because the donor does not surrender dominion.

Browning attempts to escape the rather obvious consequences of IND. CODE 82-4-1.5-8(a) by raising a number of arguments. First, it argues that since Gerald could have cashed the CDs upon his own signature had he had possession of them, he thus was an owner of the funds, and therefore, the funds are subject to garnishment. Browning points to other sections of IND. CODE 82-4-1.5 to bolster his argument.

IND. CODE 82-4-1.5-8 provides that:

"[flinancial institutions may enter into multi-party accounts to the same extent as that they may enter into single party accounts.

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Browning & Herdrich Oil Co., Inc. v. Hall
489 N.E.2d 988 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1986)

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Bluebook (online)
489 N.E.2d 988, 1986 Ind. App. LEXIS 2398, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/browning-herdrich-oil-co-inc-v-hall-indctapp-1986.