Champagne v. Champagne

992 So. 2d 1072, 2008 WL 2557377
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 27, 2008
Docket2007 CA 1078
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 992 So. 2d 1072 (Champagne v. Champagne) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Champagne v. Champagne, 992 So. 2d 1072, 2008 WL 2557377 (La. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

992 So.2d 1072 (2008)

Harold Peter CHAMPAGNE
v.
Roselee Lovell CHAMPAGNE.

No. 2007 CA 1078.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

June 27, 2008.

*1073 Jerri G. Smitko, Houma, LA, Plaintiff-Appellant, Harold Peter Champagne.

Barron M. Whipple, Houma, LA, for Defendant-Appellee, Rosalee Lovell Champagne.

Before PARRO, KUHN, and DOWNING, JJ.

PARRO, J.

A former spouse appeals a portion of a judgment that partitioned community property, challenging the trial court's classification of certain shares of bank stock titled in his name and his former wife's name. For the following reasons, we amend, and as amended, we affirm.

Factual Background and Procedural History

Harold Peter Champagne (Harold) and Rosalee Lovell Champagne[1] (Rosalee) were married on May 31, 1959, and divorced on October 17, 2003. In connection with his petition for divorce, Harold sought to partition the parties' community property. In his sworn detailed descriptive list, Harold listed 354 shares of Bank One stock in the name of "Harold or Rosalee Champagne" as a community asset in Rosalee's possession. On that same list, Harold indicated that he held, as his separate property, 354 shares of Bank One stock by virtue of a gift from his mother after his father's death. His list indicated that these shares were also registered to "Harold or Rosalee Champagne." On the other hand, Rosalee claimed in her sworn detailed descriptive list that 356 shares of Bank One stock registered to "Harold or Rosalee Champagne" were community property.[2]

Following a trial, the trial court determined that all of the disputed shares of stock were community property. Harold appealed, contending the trial court erred in finding that the shares of bank stock were community property and in awarding Rosalee an undivided one-half interest in the bank stock.

Characterization of the Shares of Bank Stock

Harold was the son of Pierre and Blanche B. Champagne. On June 3, 1985, a judgment of possession was signed in the Succession of Pierre Champagne, probate number 11882 of the Seventeenth Judicial District Court (Lafourche Parish).[3] This *1074 judgment refers to 11 separate stock certificates issued between August 30, 1963, and July 14, 1978, for a total of 346 shares of Raceland Bank and Trust Company (Raceland Bank) stock in the name of Pierre Champagne (Pierre) and 19 shares in the name of Blanche B. Champagne (Blanche), for a total of 365 shares. In the judgment, Blanche was recognized as Pierre's surviving spouse, and Harold was recognized as one of Pierre's three children. Blanche was declared to be the owner of an undivided one-half interest in the stock, and Harold and his siblings were declared to be the owners of the other undivided one-half interest, subject to a usufruct in their mother's favor.[4]

The petition for possession filed in the Succession of Blanche Babin Champagne, probate number 18169 of the Seventeenth Judicial District Court, reveals that Blanche died intestate on October 7, 2001. The sworn detailed descriptive list filed in Blanche's succession does not reflect ownership of any bank stock by her at the time of her death.

Harold testified that his father, Pierre, owned approximately 351 shares of Raceland Bank stock when he died. According to Harold, when his father passed away, his mother took over the Raceland Bank stock. He explained that the children "gave" all of the stock to their mother, but in time, she no longer wanted the stock in her name, so she "gave" the stock to him and his siblings. According to Harold, as a result of mergers and acquisitions, he and his siblings each eventually ended up with 178 shares of Premier Bancorp, Inc. (Premier) stock, as reflected by a certificate dated December 5, 1988.[5] He also said the total number of shares at issue was approximately 191 shares.[6] Harold explained that Blanche did not own any stock at the time of her death, because she had given it to her three children before she died. Harold testified that the stock was a gift from his parents to him and was registered in his and Rosalee's names because they were married; at no time did Harold intend for Rosalee to own half of the stock. Furthermore, Harold denied ever having executed an act of donation or any kind of notarial act to give any of the stock to Rosalee.

Harold offered the deposition of his sister, Catherine Champagne Hebert (Catherine), as an exhibit in this matter. Catherine handled the estates of both of her parents. According to Catherine, when Raceland Bank merged with Premier, Premier would no longer allow her mother to cash the dividend checks issued in connection with stock titled in Pierre's name; thus, the family filed pleadings in 1985 to open Pierre's succession. After the judgment of possession was signed on June 3, 1985, Blanche divided and transferred the Raceland Bank stock to Catherine, Harold, and their brother. Catherine explained that Pierre owned 346 shares and Blanche owned 19 shares. Each of the Champagne children received one third of the 365 shares of stock in Raceland Bank, which converted to the equivalent number of shares in Premier. Subsequently, Premier *1075 merged with Bank One, and then Bank One merged with J.P. Morgan Chase, resulting in an increase in the number of shares to 182 for each of the children.

Generally speaking, shares of stock in a corporation are incorporeal[7] movable property.[8] Concerning the requirements as to form for a donation of incorporeals, LSA-C.C. art. 1536 provides:

An act shall be passed before a notary public and two witnesses of every donation inter vivos of ... incorporeal things... under the penalty of nullity.

Thus, the donation inter vivos of shares of stock requires an authentic act. See Primeaux v. Libersat, 322 So.2d 147, 149 (La. 1975). However, the formalities of Article 1536 are not necessary if shares of stock are validly transferred pursuant to Louisiana stock-transfer legislation.[9]See Primeaux, 322 So.2d at 149; Succession of Payne v. Pigott, 459 So.2d 1231, 1233 (La. App. 1st Cir.1984). Further, since Louisiana stock-transfer legislation was intended for the protection of third persons dealing with the apparent owner of the stock, a court may look to the intent of the parties to the transfer to see if there was a valid transfer of ownership between them. Succession of Dunham, 408 So.2d 888, 893-94 (La.1981); Succession of Payne, 459 So.2d at 1233. In order to effect a valid donation, the substantive requirements of a divestment and donative intent must be fulfilled. Broussard v. Broussard, 340 So.2d 1309, 1312-13 (La.1976); Succession of Payne, 459 So.2d at 1233.

Rosalee did not dispute that the stocks in question were acquired as the result of a gift from Harold's parents. According to Rosalee, Pierre made gifts of a few shares to them jointly before he died. She did not reference any other mode of acquisition of the stocks in question. She testified that they jointly owned 175 to 195 shares of stock. During her testimony, she made no mention of a gift from Blanche in 1985.

On appeal, Rosalee asserts community ownership of the stock by virtue of the certificate of title.

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992 So. 2d 1072, 2008 WL 2557377, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/champagne-v-champagne-lactapp-2008.