Burnham v. Coffinberry

2003 WY 109, 76 P.3d 296, 2003 Wyo. LEXIS 136, 2003 WL 22073044
Wyoming Supreme Court·Decided September 8, 2003·No. 02-209·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinion

HILL, Chief Justice.

[T1] Appellant, Margot Burnham (Burn-ham), asserts that the district court erred in failing to grant her motion to dismiss this action, or to have stayed these proceedings pending resolution of related litigation between the parties in California. It is also her contention that the district court erred in applying the law of Wyoming to this matter rather than the law of California as it relates to the dissolution of a relationship between unmarried persons who cohabit and commingle their assets. Appellee, Richard A. Cof-finberry as Trustee of the Richard A. Coffin-berry Living Trust (Coffinberry), counters that the district court's orders were proper in all respects. We will affirm.

ISSUES

[12] Burnham advances these issues:

1. Whether the district court erred by failing to grant [Burnham's] motion to dismiss or stay this litigation in light of the existence of a previously commenced foreign action which placed into controversy properties owned by the parties and proceeds realized from the sale and refinance ing secured therefrom, including real property located in Hot Springs County, Wyoming, which are also the subject matter of [Coffinberry's] quiet title action herein?
2. Whether the district court erroneously applied the law of this State as it pertains to actions between unmarried persons who cohabit and commingle assets in granting [Coffinberry's] motions for summary judgment?

Coffinberry approaches the issues somewhat differently:

1. Did the District Court properly apply Wyoming statutes and case law in denying [Burnham's] Motions to Dismiss pursuant to W.R.C.P. 12(b)(8)? >
2. Did the trial court properly grant summary judgment?
8. Does the Minute Order and Statement of Decision, dated September 25, 2002, of the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Orange, in Burnham v. Coffinberry, Case No. 00 CC 10796 render [Burnham's] appeal moot?

FACTS

[13] The controversy at hand arose out of a close personal and business relationship between Burnham and Coffinberry which endured from 1979 until 1998. Burnham contended that she and Coffinberry jointly acquired real property both in California and in Wyoming (as well as other states) and that they cohabited in their principal residence during the duration of their relationship. They never married. Burnham contended that the Wyoming properties were acquired for their mutual benefit and were purchased, in part, with funds obtained through a series of refinances of their principal residence.

[T4] On September 8, 2000, Burnham filed an action in California, seeking to divide property jointly owned by her and Coffinber-ry, including the Wyoming property at issue here. On September 21, 2000, Coffinberry filed a complaint in the Wyoming district *298 court, seeking to quiet title to all of the properties located in Hot Springs County in the name of his living trust. Burnham answered that complaint and included in her answer a motion to dismiss pursuant to W.R.C.P. 12(b)(8). Burnham contended that it was necessary for the California court to have jurisdiction over the Wyoming property so that it could "balance accounts" between the parties. Eventually, the district court denied Burnham's motion to dismiss and entered summary judgment in Coffinberry's favor with respect to all of the Wyoming properties. With respect to California property, those matters were decided by the California courts, largely in favor of Burnham.

DISCUSSION

Motion to Dismiss

[15] We have recognized that a district court's ruling on a matter related to venue is measured by the abuse of discretion standard. Rivermeadows, Inc. v. Zwaanshoek Holding, 761 P.2d 662, 668 (Wyo.1988); and see SPS v. Thunder Basin Coal Company, 978 P.2d 1138, 1141, 1144-46 (Wyo.1999). Judicial discretion is a composite of many things, among which are conclusions drawn from objective criteria; it means a sound judgment exercised with regard to what is right under the circumstances and without doing so arbitrarily or capriciously. Pasenelli v. Pasenelli, 2002 WY 159, ¶ 11, 57 P.3d 324, 329, ¶ 11 (citing Vaughn v. State, 962 P.2d 149, 151 (Wyo.1998)). We will enlarge our analysis somewhat by quoting this discussion from Professors Wright and Miller:

On a motion under Rule 12(b)(8), facts must be shown that will defeat plaintiffs assertion of venue. A number of courts have concluded that the burden of doing so is on defendant, since venue is a "personal privilege" and a lack of venue should be established by the party asserting it. On the other hand, several courts have imposed the burden on plaintiff in keeping with the rule applied in the context of jurisdiction defenses. The latter view seems correct inasmuch as it is plaintiff's obligation to institute his action in a permissible forum, both in terms of jurisdiction and venue. There seems to be little justification for distinguishing between the two in determining the placing of the burden. If a defect in venue is not demonstrated, the court will deny the motion to dismiss. However, motions under 12(b)@8) may also be denied or held in abeyance whenever the court determines that further information is needed in order to establish clearly whether venue is proper.

5A Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure Civil § 1352, at 263-65 (1990).

[T6] Burnham first contends that the district court abused its discretion in denying her motion to dismiss premised on W.R.C.P. 12(b)(@8). That rule provides:

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Burnham v. Coffinberry, 2003 WY 109, 76 P.3d 296, 2003 Wyo. LEXIS 136, 2003 WL 22073044 (Wyo. 2003).

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