Carey v. Carey

459 N.E.2d 626, 9 Ohio App. 3d 243, 9 Ohio B. 416, 1983 WL 7236, 1983 Ohio App. LEXIS 11054
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 30, 1983
Docket17-81-30
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 459 N.E.2d 626 (Carey v. Carey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carey v. Carey, 459 N.E.2d 626, 9 Ohio App. 3d 243, 9 Ohio B. 416, 1983 WL 7236, 1983 Ohio App. LEXIS 11054 (Ohio Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

Miller, P.J.

This is an appeal from judgments of the Court of Common Pleas of Shelby County.

Plaintiff, Jeanne M. Carey, and defendant, Robert R. Carey, entered into a separation agreement on June 1, 1979, and, on the same date, filed a petition for dissolution of their marriage.

Subsequently, on June 19,1979, plaintiff filed her “withdrawal of petition for dissolution” and simultaneously filed a complaint stating two causes of action, the first for divorce and the second asserting that the prior separation agreement was entered into under duress and threat of lawsuits rendering the agreement fraudulent, and that the agreement was also totally and completely unfair in that defendant received property of a value in excess of $500,000 while the plaintiff received property with values of less than $40,000. Plaintiff sought a divorce, custody, support, alimony, attorney’s fees and an order terminating the agreement of June 1, 1979.

On July 2, 1979, defendant conveyed the real estate of the parties consisting of approximately two hundred fifty acres to a newly formed corporation, Carico, Inc. The stock of Carico, Inc. consisted of one thousand shares, five hundred of which were owned by defendant and one hundred twenty-five shares of which were owned by each of the parties’ four children.

Plaintiff thereafter on August 3, 1979, filed her amended complaint naming Carico, Inc., and the four children of the parties as parties-defendant.

Defendant Robert R. Carey filed an individual answer and the corporation and the four children answered seeking to be dismissed as parties-defendant.

Plaintiff then filed her motion for summary judgment on the second claim of her complaint and the parties filed depositions and affidavits both in support of and contra to said motion.

The motion was submitted to a referee of the trial court who made a report and recommendation to set aside the agreement to which defendant Robert R. Carey filed his objections. The trial court overruled the objections and confirmed the referee’s report.

Defendant Robert R. Carey filed his notice of appeal from said judgment which appeal was dismissed for the reason that the judgment entry was not final in that it did not dispose of all issues before the trial court. Thereafter, on January 20, 1981, defendant Robert R. Carey filed a counterclaim for divorce and the matter came on for trial on the counterclaim, plaintiff having withdrawn the first claim of her amended complaint.

*244 The trial court rendered its decision, made separate findings of fact and conclusions of law, and on October 21, 1980, entered a decree of divorce for defendant Robert R. Carey together with a distribution of property.

Plaintiff filed her notice of appeal from the final judgment entered October 21,1980, and defendants filed their notice of appeal from the judgment entry entered May 30, 1980 on plaintiffs motion for summary judgment on the second claim of her complaint for relief from the provisions of the separation agreement. Neither of the parties claims error as to that portion of the judgment entry dissolving the marriage contract between the parties.

We will first consider the assignments of error set forth by defendants which are as follows:

“1. The Court erred in setting aside the Separation Agreement between Jeanne M. Carey and Robert R. Carey on a motion for summary judgment without first deciding whether or not there was a genuine issue as to any material facts.
“2. The Court erred in setting aside the separation agreement in that it was an executory contract that had been fully performed.
“3. The Court erred in setting aside the separation agreement without first considering whether or not it had been ratified.
“4. The Court erred in its decision of July 6, 1981, in the subsequent judgment pursuant thereto in failing to consider the rights of Carico, Inc. and its stockholders.”

The first three assignments of error are directed specifically to the action of the trial court in setting aside the separation agreement.

Plaintiff alleged in the second count of her complaint that the purported agreement “was signed by her under duress, force and undue influence, * * * that she signed said writing after the defendant husband made material misrepresentations of fact to her, * * * that the alleged separation agreement is unfair, unconscionable and not an equitable division of property,” that “plaintiff was not represented by counsel at the time,” and “that said separation agreement divides the assets of the parties to Robert R. Carey, husband herein, in an amount of roughly $500,000.00 and to the plaintiff a present value of approximately $8,-000.00,” as well as the transfer of the real estate subsequent to the filing of the divorce petition.

The record substantiates that plaintiff sought summary judgment on the second count of the complaint.

The report and recommendation of the referee provided as follows:

“The motion of the Plaintiff to set aside a separation agreement entered into between herself and the Defendant came on for hearing. Both parties were present and both parties represented by counsel.
“Referee finds that the separation agreement was prepared, executed and filed in this court with a Petition for Dissoultion [sic] of marriage.
“Referee finds that the Plaintiff in this cause was not represented by counsel at the time of the preparation and execution of the separation agreement but that the Defendant was.
“Referee finds that the Defendant, by the separation agreement, was to receive assets approximately 10 times the amount in monetary value as that of the Plaintiff herein. The Defendant herein, under the said agreement, was to receive approximately $500,000.00 worth of assets with the Plaintiff to receive approximately $50,000.00.
“The Referee finds that the separation agreement is not fair and equitable and that by reason thereof that the same should be set aside and found to be null and void. * * *”

After overruling defendant Robert R. Carey’s objections to the report and recommendation, the trial court entered the following judgment:

*245 “This matter comes on before this Court on the Objections to the Report, Findings and Recommendations of the Referee.
“The Court, after being fully advised in the premises, finds that the Report of the Referee is hereby confirmed and further, that the Court finds that the Separation Agreement is not fair and equitable and that by reason thereof the same should be set aside and found to be null and void.”

Civ. R. 56 controls summary judgments and provides in part:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
459 N.E.2d 626, 9 Ohio App. 3d 243, 9 Ohio B. 416, 1983 WL 7236, 1983 Ohio App. LEXIS 11054, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carey-v-carey-ohioctapp-1983.