Fukunaga v. Fukunaga

800 P.2d 618, 8 Haw. App. 273, 1990 Haw. App. LEXIS 49
CourtHawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 26, 1990
DocketNO. 14066; CIV. NO. 89-1045
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 800 P.2d 618 (Fukunaga v. Fukunaga) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fukunaga v. Fukunaga, 800 P.2d 618, 8 Haw. App. 273, 1990 Haw. App. LEXIS 49 (hawapp 1990).

Opinion

[275]*275OPINION OF THE COURT BY

TANAKA, J.

In a partition action, the circuit court entered a partial summary judgment in favor of plaintiff Warren Morio Fukunaga (Plaintiff or Warren), ordering the sale of a 5,311 square foot residential property (Property), and appointing a commissioner to conduct the sale.1 Defendant Gail Yooko Fukunaga (Gail) appeals, contending that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether Plaintiff has a joint tenancy fee interest or a security interest in the Property, thus rendering the circuit court’s grant of the summary judgment improper. We agree. Accordingly, we vacate the partial summary judgment and remand the case for further proceedings.

I.

By deed dated January 18,1974, Lewers & Cooke, Inc. and International Management Corporation conveyed the Property to Lawrence Masakazu Fukunaga (Lawrence) and Geneva Chiyono Fukunaga (Geneva), husband and wife, Dalwin Hiroshi Fukunaga (Dalwin) and Gail, husband and wife, and Warren, unmarried (collectively Grantees), as joint tenants with full right of survivorship. Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. 166,521 was issued to the Grantees, as “Joint Tenants with full right of survivorship[.]” Record, Vol. 1 at 219. In conjunction with the purchase of the Property, the Grantees executed a $60,000 promissory note and a first mortgage in favor of Honolulu Federal Savings and Loan Association (now known as Honfed Bank). The first mortgage was filed as Land Court Document No. 669887 and noted on TCT No. 166,521.

[276]*276On May 30, 1980, Dalwin and Gail borrowed $20,000 from First Hawaiian Bank as evidenced by a promissory note. A second mortgage on the Property executed by all Grantees secured this note. The second mortgage was filed as Land Court Document No. 1015860 and noted on TCT No. 166,521.

Lawrence and Geneva are the parents of Dalwin and Warren. Lawrence died on July 23, 1984.

On September 16, 1986, Gail filed a complaint for divorce against Dalwin.

On April 11,1989, while the divorce proceeding was pending, Warren filed a verified complaint for partition against Geneva, Dalwin, Gail, the heirs of Lawrence, and unknown defendants.2 Warren alleged joint ownership and sought the sale of the Property in lieu of its physical division.

Gail filed her answer, disputing Warren’s claim of title to the Property and interposing affirmative defenses of, inter alia, “lack of requisite intent” and “accommodation parties.” Record, Vol. 1 at 17. Geneva’s answer sought sale of the Property and distribution of net proceeds to the parties “according to their proportionate interests.” Id. at 103. Dalwin neither appeared nor filed an answer.3

On June 16,1989, Warren filed a motion for partial summary judgment asserting his status as a joint tenant of the Property and entitlement to its partition or sale.

Gail filed a memorandum in opposition to the motion. She contended that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to [277]*277whether Warren and Geneva had title to the Property or were “merely sureties who were listed on title as ‘accommodation parties’ to help [Gail and Dalwin] secure a mortgage.” Id. at 158. Gail appended to the memorandum a copy of Gail’s sworn answers to Plaintiffs interrogatories. The answers to the interrogatories may be summarized as follows: (1) Dalwin’s parents gave Dalwin and Gail money to be applied to the down payment for the Property and were accommodation parties in the transaction; (2) on May 6, 1989, Warren informed Gail that he loaned money to Dalwin, but Warren was an accommodation party; (3) when the Property was purchased, the Grantees understood that Dalwin and Gail were to have “total use, control and possession of this property ... [and that] this was [Dalwin’s and Gail’s] home[,]” id. at 174; (4) Dalwin and Gail were the only Grantees who made mortgage payments, paid the taxes, and paid for repairs to the Property; (5) only Dalwin and Gail executed the promissory note and made payments on the second mortgage; and (6) Warren informed Gail that he had not intended to seek repayment of money loaned to Dalwin, but the pending divorce changed his mind.

On July 11,1989, at the hearing on the motion for partial summary judgment, Gail’s counsel informed the court that he inadvertently failed to submit Warren’s deposition. The deposition contained Warren’s admission that he loaned money to Dalwin so that Dalwin could qualify to purchase the Property and that he “had no involvement really with the property at all.” 7/11/89 Transcript at 5-6. At the close of the hearing, the court granted the motion for partial summary judgment.

On July 18, 1989, Gail filed a “Motion for Rehearing,”4 to which she attached portions of Warren’s deposition. Warren [278]*278testified that (1) Dalwin borrowed $7,000 from him for a down payment on the purchase of the Property; (2) Dalwin borrowed money from him for mortgage payments; (3) if not for the divorce between Dalwin and Gail, he would not have sought reimbursement; and (4) Gail did not know that he had contributed $7,000 to the down payment. At the hearing held on August 16, 1989, the court orally denied Gail’s motion.

On August 30,1989, the court filed its order entering a partial summary judgment in Warren’s favor and appointing a commissioner to sell the Property. On September 6, 1989, the court filed its order denying Gail’s “Motion for Rehearing.”

II.

Under Hawaii Rules of Civil Procedure (HRCP) Rule 56(c), “summary judgment is proper only when there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party clearly demonstrates that he should prevail as a matter of law.” Crawford v. Crawford, 69 Haw. 410, 412, 745 P.2d 285, 287 (1987); United Indep. Ins. Agencies, Inc. v. Bank of Honolulu, 6 Haw. App. 222, 233, 718 P.2d 1097, 1104 (1986). In an appellate review of a summary judgment, the evidence in the record and the inferences to be drawn therefrom must be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Bidar v. Amfac, Inc., 66 Haw. 547, 553, 669 P.2d 154, 159 (1983); Soukop v. Snyder, 6 Haw. App. 59, 62, 709 P.2d 109, 112(1985).

Viewing the totality of the evidence and the inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to Gail, it could be found that: (1) in 1974, Dalwin and Gail were interested in purchasing the Property despite their lack of finances; (2) Dalwin borrowed $7,000 from Warren for the down payment and later borrowed other sums from him for mortgage payments; (3) to qualify for the first mortgage loan, Lawrence, Geneva, and Warren were induced [279]

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Bluebook (online)
800 P.2d 618, 8 Haw. App. 273, 1990 Haw. App. LEXIS 49, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fukunaga-v-fukunaga-hawapp-1990.