Heselton v. Maffei

863 A.2d 1100, 374 N.J. Super. 184
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedJanuary 11, 2005
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 863 A.2d 1100 (Heselton v. Maffei) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Heselton v. Maffei, 863 A.2d 1100, 374 N.J. Super. 184 (N.J. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

863 A.2d 1100 (2005)
374 N.J. Super. 184

Katherine HESELTON, Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
Robert MAFFEI, Defendant-Appellant.

Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.

Argued October 19, 2004.
Decided January 11, 2005.

*1101 Ivette R. Alvarez, Livingston, argued the cause for appellant (Einhorn, Harris, Ascher, Barbarito, Frost & Ironson, attorneys; Bonnie C. Frost, on the brief).

Dennis M. DeSantis, Trenton, argued the cause for respondent (Destribats, Campbell, DeSantis & Magee, attorneys; Mr. DeSantis, on the brief).

Before Judges SKILLMAN, COLLESTER and PARRILLO.[1]

The opinion of the court was delivered by

SKILLMAN, P.J.A.D.

In this appeal from a post-judgment matrimonial order, the primary issue is whether defendant's obligation to indemnify *1102 plaintiff for any liability she might incur under a mortgage on the former marital home was discharged by his bankruptcy even though he only listed plaintiff as a codebtor, and not as a creditor, in his bankruptcy petition. We conclude that defendant's bankruptcy petition did not give plaintiff reasonable notice that his indemnification obligation could be discharged in the bankruptcy proceeding. Therefore, she may enforce that obligation notwithstanding defendant's bankruptcy.

The parties were married on February 17, 1989 and divorced on April 12, 1995. Three children were born of the marriage, who are currently 15, 14 and 12.

The judgment of divorce incorporated a property settlement agreement. This agreement provided that the children would continue to reside in the marital home with defendant, and that he would provide for their support. It also provided that plaintiff's mother would continue to reside in the marital home and that defendant would provide her with "room, board and meals" in exchange for child care services. The agreement further provided that plaintiff would have no obligation for child support as long as her mother continued to provide those services and that neither party would have any obligation for the payment of alimony.

Regarding the marital home, the agreement stated:

Recognizing the current real estate market conditions, the existence of a first mortgage in the amount of approximately One Hundred Twenty Two Thousand ($122,000.00) Dollars, the Husband and Wife acknowledge there would be little net equity after closing costs should the marital premises at 2357 Holly Hill Road, Manchester, New Jersey be sold at this time. The Wife desires to be free from the obligation for the repayment of the outstanding loans secured by the marital residence. Toward that end, the Husband and Wife hereby agree that the Wife shall execute a Quit Claim Deed transferring all of her right, title and interest in and to the aforesaid marital premises to the Husband. The Husband agrees to save and hold harmless and otherwise indemnify the Wife against any and all claims arising out of the loans against the marital premises as referenced herein above.

In 1998, plaintiff moved to Maine with the children. Subsequent to this move, the holder of the mortgage on the marital home, Citicorp Mortgage, Inc. (Citicorp), brought a foreclosure action that resulted both in foreclosure of the home and the entry of a deficiency judgment against defendant.

In 2000, defendant filed a petition for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court. The primary creditor listed in defendant's petition was Citicorp. The petition did not identify plaintiff as a creditor, but it did identify her as a codebtor on the obligation to Citicorp. The bankruptcy proceeding resulted in a judgment, entered on July 18, 2000, which discharged defendant from his debts.

After defendant's discharge in bankruptcy, Citicorp pursued an action against plaintiff for the balance due on the deficiency judgment, which resulted in the entry of a judgment against her for $27,118.22 plus interest thereon.

In late 2001, plaintiff filed a motion to impose a child support obligation upon defendant. As a result, an order was entered on December 7, 2001, which required defendant to pay $45 per week in child support, effective April 10, 2001, plus $10 per week in arrearages. The order also obligated defendant to pay $2400 for private school tuition for the parties' two older children. The order noted that in establishing defendant's child support obligation: "Allowance has been made for extraordinary *1103 visitation expenses (based on average expense of $500/month)."

In June 2003, plaintiff filed a motion seeking, among other things, a judgment against defendant for the amount of the judgment Citicorp had obtained against her. In support of this claim, plaintiff relied upon the part of the parties' property settlement agreement that obligated defendant "to save and hold [plaintiff] harmless and otherwise indemnify [plaintiff] against any and all claims arising out of the loans against the marital premises." Defendant opposed this part of plaintiff's motion on the ground that plaintiff's claim had been discharged by the judgment of the bankruptcy court. Plaintiff's motion also sought an increase in defendant's child support obligation and an order requiring him to obtain life insurance to secure that obligation.

After hearing argument, the trial court issued an oral opinion which concluded that defendant's obligation to indemnify plaintiff for any claim arising out of the mortgage on the marital home was "in the nature of alimony" and therefore, under 11 U.S.C.A. § 523(a)(5), non-dischargeable in bankruptcy. Accordingly, the court entered judgment against defendant for $27,118.22 plus interest to reimburse plaintiff for the judgment Citicorp had obtained against her. The judgment requires defendant to pay plaintiff $750 per month to discharge this obligation. The court also increased defendant's child support obligation to $243 per week and ordered him to obtain $100,000 of life insurance to secure that obligation. In calculating defendant's child support obligation, the court did not make any allowance for extraordinary visitation expenses.

On appeal, defendant argues that the trial court erred in requiring him to indemnify plaintiff for the Citicorp judgment because that obligation was discharged by the judgment of the bankruptcy court. Defendant also argues that the court erred in increasing his child support obligation to $243 and ordering him to obtain $100,000 of life insurance to secure that obligation.

We conclude that the trial court properly required defendant to indemnify plaintiff for the amount of the Citicorp judgment because he failed to list her as a creditor in his bankruptcy petition. However, we reverse the part of the order on appeal that increased defendant's child support obligation to $243 per week because the court did not give any recognition to the extra expenses defendant must incur to exercise his parenting time rights in Maine. We affirm the part of the order that requires defendant to obtain $100,000 of life insurance to secure his child support obligation.

I

When a bankruptcy petitioner seeks to discharge an obligation to a former spouse, there are two operative sections of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C.A. §§ 523(a)(5) and (15). These sections provide in pertinent part:

A discharge under section 727, 1141, 1228(a), 1228(b), or 1328(b) of this title does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt —
....

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
863 A.2d 1100, 374 N.J. Super. 184, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/heselton-v-maffei-njsuperctappdiv-2005.