In Re Marriage of Wojcicki

481 N.E.2d 939, 135 Ill. App. 3d 248, 90 Ill. Dec. 139, 1985 Ill. App. LEXIS 2247
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided July 22, 1985·No. 83—2331, 84—1571 cons.·Published·Cited by 16 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE O’CONNOR

delivered the opinion of the court:

These appeals involve the disposition of certain jointly owned properties located in Schaumburg and in the State of Wisconsin, which were awarded respondent, Robert Wojcicki, upon the dissolution of the parties’ marriage in March 1981. At that time, petitioner, Arlene Wojcicki, was required to quitclaim her interests in the subject properties to respondent. The trial court’s ruling was affirmed by this court on September 27, 1982, in In re Marriage of Wojcicki (1982), 109 Ill. App. 3d 569, 440 N.E.2d 1028, and the supreme court denied leave to appeal (92 Ill. 2d 579). At that time, this court dissolved a previously entered stay of that part of the judgment order which required petitioner to quitclaim her interests in the Wisconsin property. Thereafter, on November 4, 1982, respondent filed a motion praying that petitioner be ordered to execute the required quitclaim deeds, and that a rule to show cause be entered if she failed to do so. An order was entered to that effect on December 19, 1982; however, petitioner refused to execute the deeds as ordered, based on an unrelated appellate court opinion filed December 28, 1982, which, she claimed, prohibited the trial court from enforcing the Wojcicki judgment as affirmed. (See In re Marriage of Voight (1982), 111 Ill. App. 3d 623, 444 N.E.2d 694.) The trial court accepted petitioner’s argument and ordered the previously entered rule discharged on March 1, 1983.

On March 15, 1985, respondent filed a motion for reconsideration of the court’s ruling. Prior to a decision on respondent’s motion, petitioner filed a complaint for partition of the Schaumburg property in the circuit court of Cook County, chancery division, and the trial court in the post-dissolution proceedings reserved ruling on respondent’s motion for reconsideration pending the outcome of the partition action. Summary judgment was granted in favor of the respondent in the partition action based on that court’s belief that it was bound by the dissolution court’s factual findings, as affirmed on appeal, with respect to ownership of the subject parcels. Respondent again brought his motion for reconsideration in the post-dissolution proceedings, which was denied on May 31, 1984. Respondent appeals that court’s decision. At the same time, petitioner appeals from the chancery court’s granting of summary judgment for respondent in the partition action. Both appeals were consolidated by this court.

Respondent first argues that this court’s ruling in Wojcicki constituted the law of the case, and that where, as here, a proper pleading was presented seeking enforcement of an appellate court’s mandate, the trial court had no authority to refuse enforcement of the judgment. Proesel v. Myers Publishing Co. (1964), 48 Ill. App. 2d 402, 199 N.E.2d 68. See also PSL Realty Co. v. Granite Investment Co. (1981), 86 Ill. 2d 291, 427 N.E.2d 563.

Petitioner’s argument, which was accepted by the court in the post-decree proceedings, is that pursuant to the appellate court’s opinion in In re Marriage of Voight (1982), 111 Ill. App. 3d 623, 444 N.E.2d 694, the trial court in the instant case had no authority to order her conveyance of nonmarital property to respondent. On the same grounds, she argues that the chancery court in the partition action was not restricted by the decision of the dissolution court with respect to the subject property. Petitioner contends that Voight overruled Wojcicki and that the law of the case does not apply where the declared law is erroneous and where enforcement as such would work an injustice.

Contrary to petitioner’s contention, Voight does not overrule Wojcicki, nor do we believe that the general rule relied upon by the court in Voight was intended to apply to a factual situation such as the one before us; however, to the extent that Voight can be interpreted to so hold, we are not bound by that court’s decision and we choose not to follow it. See Proesel v. Myers Publishing Co. (1964), 48 Ill. App. 2d 402, 198 N.E.2d 68 (the law of the case must be considered modified by pertinent decisions of higher courts handed down thereafter).

Petitioner and respondent were married in August 1975 and resided together as husband and wife for approximately four years. Each party had entered into the marriage with substantial property, including those properties which are the subject of the instant appeal. The trial court in the dissolution proceedings heard extensive evidence with respect to ownership of, and control over the subject parcels, and found that respondent’s contributions in both money and physical labor to the properties, which he had purchased with his previous wife some 15-20 years prior to his marriage to petitioner, far outweighed any contributions which could be credited to petitioner during the parties’ brief marriage. The court also heard respondent’s testimony that his sole motivation for transferring title to the properties into joint tenancy with petitioner was to avoid the type of difficulties in succeeding to title in the event of one of their deaths which he had encountered after the death of his first wife. Based on the evidence, the trial court found the real estate in question to be solely respondent’s nonmarital property and ordered petitioner to convey over her interests. This court affirmed that ruling on appeal. In re Marriage of Wojcicki (1982), 109 Ill. App. 3d 569, 440 N.E.2d 1028.

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In Re Marriage of Wojcicki, 481 N.E.2d 939, 135 Ill. App. 3d 248, 90 Ill. Dec. 139, 1985 Ill. App. LEXIS 2247 (Ill. Ct. App. 1985).

481 N.E.2d 939 (In Re Marriage of Wojcicki) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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