Dunaway v. Dunaway

749 So. 2d 1112, 1999 WL 540897
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJuly 27, 1999
Docket97-CA-01461-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by76 cases

This text of 749 So. 2d 1112 (Dunaway v. Dunaway) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dunaway v. Dunaway, 749 So. 2d 1112, 1999 WL 540897 (Mich. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

749 So.2d 1112 (1999)

James K. DUNAWAY, Appellant,
v.
Nonniel DUNAWAY, Appellee.

No. 97-CA-01461-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

July 27, 1999.

*1114 Kim T. Chaze, Hattiesburg, Attorney for Appellant.

Eugene Love Fair, Jr., Hattiesburg, Attorney for Appellee.

BEFORE McMILLIN, C.J., DIAZ, AND LEE, JJ.

McMILLIN, C.J., for the Court:

¶ 1. This is an appeal from a judgment of divorce entered in the Chancery Court of Marion County dissolving the marriage of James Dunaway and Nonniel Dunaway. Mr. Dunaway has appealed solely on a number of matters relating to the financial aspects of the chancellor's judgment. We conclude that certain matters raised in the appeal have merit but that other issues do not warrant relief; therefore, we affirm in part and reverse and render in part.

I.

Facts

¶ 2. Mr. and Mrs. Dunaway had been married approximately thirty-four years before Mr. Dunaway left the marital home in March 1995 to reside in an open admittedly adulterous relationship with another woman. Prior to the separation of the parties, they had worked diligently in the accumulation of assets consisting primarily of real property, equipment, and livestock used in a dairy farm operation. After the separation of the parties, Mr. Dunaway filed for divorce and obtained a court order entitling him to sole operation of the dairy operation pending final resolution of the divorce. That earlier proceeding was never litigated to conclusion. At approximately the same time as he left the home, Mr. Dunaway effectively ceased to service much of the large debt that was associated with the business. Mr. Dunaway ultimately filed a new action for divorce, which is the case now before this Court. The chancellor, in this proceeding, determined that Mr. Dunaway's failure to keep the farm's debts current was due in part to his utilization of money to further his relationship with his new romantic partner. Ultimately, shortly after Mrs. Dunaway filed her complaint for divorce in this proceeding, Mr. Dunaway filed for protection from his creditors under the Bankruptcy Act.

¶ 3. After a trial in which both parties presented evidence relating primarily to the financial affairs of the marriage, the chancellor awarded Mrs. Dunaway a divorce on the ground of Mr. Dunaway's uncondoned adultery. Thereafter, in a lengthy and well-thought-through opinion, the chancellor considered the assets available for equitable distribution, the factors relating to awards of lump sum and periodic alimony, and the competing urgings of the parties as to what would constitute an equitable winding-up of the marriage, and entered his decision. In that decision, the chancellor made the following awards:

A. He ordered the sale of a parcel of real property referred to as "the Canebrake House" in Marion County, which he determined to have a gross value of $290,000 subject to an outstanding debt of $146,000, for a net value of approximately $144,000. The chancellor directed that the net recovery from that sale be applied toward another debt owed to the Farmers Home Administration that was secured by a lien on other real property including a parcel of land referred to as the "House on the Hill." The House on the Hill property was awarded to Mrs. Dunaway, with the expectation that, upon payment to the *1115 Farmers Home Administration of the Canebrake House sale net proceeds, Mrs. Dunaway would be able to negotiate a partial release of the House on the Hill acreage from the agency's deed of trust, leaving the lien for the balance of the Farmers Home Debt in place on the remaining collateral. The chancellor placed a value of $635,000 on the House on the Hill real estate and fixtures. Mr. Dunaway was ordered to be solely responsible for the remaining indebtedness due to Farmers Home after application of the Canebrake House sales proceeds, since he was awarded the remaining collateral for that loan (see next item).
B. The chancellor awarded Mr. Dunaway the remaining land in Marion County, which comprised the land and fixtures actually used in the dairy operation to Mr. Dunaway. The chancellor determined the gross value of this property to be $554,000. A portion of the land, in addition to the Farmers Home debt, was further encumbered by a bank loan having a balance of $45,000. Mr. Dunaway was ordered to assume responsibility for the Farmers Home loan balance after application of the Canebrake House proceeds and for the bank loan.
C. Mr. Dunaway received all of the farm equipment and livestock, a lot in California, $14,000 in Mississippi Chemical stock, $14,000 in debts due from individuals, and various other items of personality. According to the chancellor's itemization of the value of the total assets set apart to Mr. Dunaway, the total gross value was approximately $1,084,000. (An itemization of these assets contained in Exhibit C to the chancellor's opinion unfortunately contains a "TOTAL VALUE" figure of $1,782,798. That figure is obviously incorrect. When the itemized values are totaled, they actually come to $1,083,498. We will comment on the effect of this mathematical error later in this opinion.)
D. The chancellor also awarded to Mrs. Dunaway a small amount of Disney stock, a residential trailer with contents having a total value of $14,000, and certain other personality. According to the chancellor's valuations, the total award to Mrs. Dunaway by way of equitable distribution, including the previously-discussed real property, was $681,000.
E. Additionally, the chancellor awarded Mrs. Dunaway a money judgment against Mr. Dunaway in the amount of $115,552.91. This figure was based on (a) the chancellor's determination that Mr. Dunaway had dissipated approximately $81,000 in marital assets for the benefit of his new romantic partner, (b) approximately $7,500 in attorney's fees due Mrs. Dunaway in a previous uncompleted divorce action, (c) approximately $16,200 in past due loan payments and a $10,000 repair bill due on the Canebrake property which Mr. Dunaway had been ordered to pay in the previous proceeding.
F. Mr. Dunaway was ordered to pay Mrs. Dunaway the sum of $1,800 per month in periodic alimony, the obligation beginning on September 1, 1997.
G. Mr. Dunaway was ordered to pay $10,000 to Mrs. Dunaway to help her defray her attorney's fees.

¶ 4. Mr. Dunaway, dissatisfied with his treatment at the hands of the chancellor, perfected this appeal in which he advances five areas in which he believes the chancellor erred in these various financial awards. We will consider them in the same order in which Mr. Dunaway presents them in his brief.

II.

Two Preliminary Considerations

¶ 5. First, we must observe that Mr. Dunaway's claims of error involve matters in which the chancellor enjoys substantial discretion. Turpin v. Turpin, 699 So.2d 560(¶ 14) (Miss.1997). Our duty to interfere arises only if we are satisfied *1116 that the chancellor has manifestly abused the wide latitude of discretion afforded him in such matters. Id.

¶ 6. Secondly, we must observe from facts appearing in the record that the divorce judgment was entered on September 5, 1997, and Mrs. Dunaway died on July 27, 1998. This appeal has been revived in the name of Mrs. Dunaway's children as her successors in interest.

III.

Issue One: A Claim that the "Equitable" Division of Property was Not Equitable in Fact

¶ 7. Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
749 So. 2d 1112, 1999 WL 540897, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dunaway-v-dunaway-missctapp-1999.