In re the Marriage of: James Donald Knight v. Maria Pieternella Knight

Court of Appeals of Minnesota·Decided May 18, 2015·No. A14-486·Unpublished

Opinion

This opinion will be unpublished and may not be cited except as provided by Minn. Stat. § 480A.08, subd. 3 (2014).

STATE OF MINNESOTA

IN COURT OF APPEALS

A14-0486

In re the Marriage of: James Donald Knight, petitioner, Appellant,

vs.

Maria Pieternella Knight, Respondent.

Filed May 18, 2015

Affirmed

Larkin, Judge

Hennepin County District Court File No. 27-FA-11-8967

Matthew J. Gilbert, Gilbert Law Office PLLC, Minneapolis, Minnesota (for appellant)

John M. Jerabek, Susan M. Lach, Tuft, Lach, Jerabek & O’Connell, PLLC, Maplewood, Minnesota (for respondent)

Considered and decided by Larkin, Presiding Judge; Halbrooks, Judge; and Johnson, Judge.

UNPUBLISHED OPINION

LARKIN, Judge In this appeal challenging the district court’s property division following a marital-

dissolution trial, appellant-husband argues that the district court (1) should have awarded husband a nonmarital interest in the parties’ homestead, (2) erroneously double counted

funds that husband withdrew from the marital estate to pay attorney fees, (3) should have ruled that respondent-wife violated her fiduciary duty to husband, (4) should have ruled that wife improperly disposed of marital assets, (5) should not have ruled that husband improperly disposed of marital assets to pay his attorney fees, and (6) awarded wife an inequitably large share of the marital estate. By notice of related appeal, wife challenges the district court’s valuation of a European home. We affirm.

DECISION

Appellant James Donald Knight (husband) and respondent Maria Pieternella Knight (wife) married in 1976. Husband petitioned for marital dissolution in December 2011. The district court held a trial on the petition, and the parties submitted proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding the division of their property. The district court entered a judgment and decree in September 2013. Husband moved for amended findings or a new trial, and the district court entered an amended judgment and decree in February 2014. Under the amended judgment and decree, husband received $516,810 worth of marital property and wife received $576,693 worth of marital property.

Husband appealed, asserting multiple errors. Wife filed a notice of related appeal, challenging the district court’s valuation of one of the parties’ properties. We address each of the parties’ assignments of error in turn.

I.

Husband contends that the district court erred by not awarding him a nonmarital interest in the parties’ homestead, which he purchased before the marriage. Appellate

courts “independently review the issue of whether property is marital or nonmarital, giving deference to the district court’s findings of fact.” Baker v. Baker, 753 N.W.2d 644, 649 (Minn. 2008). We will reverse a finding of fact only if it is “clearly erroneous on the record as a whole.” Lund v. Lund, 615 N.W.2d 860, 861 (Minn. App. 2000).

All property “acquired by the parties, or either of them, . . . at any time during the existence of the marriage relation between them” is presumed to be “marital property.” Minn. Stat. § 518.003, subd. 3b (2014). “Nonmarital property” includes any property that “is acquired before the marriage [or] is the increase in value of [nonmarital] property.” Id., subd. 3b(b)-(c). Property can have “both marital and nonmarital aspects.” Schmitz v. Schmitz, 309 N.W.2d 748, 750 (Minn. 1981). But “[w]hen nonmarital and marital property are commingled, the nonmarital investment may lose that character unless it can be readily traced.” Wiegers v. Wiegers, 467 N.W.2d 342, 344 (Minn. App. 1991). “To overcome the presumption that property is marital, a party must demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the property is nonmarital.” Antone v Antone, 645 N.W.2d 96, 101 (Minn. 2002).

Caselaw describes variations of the “Schmitz formula”1 that can be used to determine the extent of marital and nonmarital interests in assets having both marital and

1 The “Schmitz formula” has been summarized as follows:

The present value of a nonmarital asset used in the acquisition of marital property is the proportion the net equity or contribution at the time of acquisition bore to the value of the property at the time of purchase multiplied by the value of the property at the time of separation. The remainder of equity increase is characterized as marital property . . . .

nonmarital components. See id. at 102 (noting that “the Schmitz formula may be used to determine marital and nonmarital interests in property acquired during the marriage with a nonmarital down payment, as well as property acquired before the marriage,” and reciting the relevant formula); Dorweiler v. Dorweiler, 413 N.W.2d 572, 576 (Minn. App. 1987) (describing the formula used to determine the extent of a nonmarital interest in property where the property has appreciated due to marital improvements).

The district court did not award husband a nonmarital interest in the parties’

homestead. It determined that the parties’ substantial renovations to the homestead and the numerous transfers of its title “diluted,” “transmuted,” and “commingled” husband’s nonmarital interest. The district court specifically found that husband and wife had “extensively improved the homestead” during their marriage, “including remodeling and renovation and construction of additions,” and that “[a]ll of these substantial improvements were paid for with marital assets and refinancing and were supported by the joint efforts of the parties.” The district court concluded that “the nature and extent of marital remodeling, improvements, and additions to the homestead supports a reasonable conclusion that the improvements have increased the value of the homestead and have diluted the husband’s nonmarital percentage.”

Although husband asked the district court to determine his nonmarital interest in the parties’ homestead using the Dorweiler formula, it did not do so. It found that there was “no reliable evidence of the value of the house on the date of marriage,” which must

Brown v. Brown, 316 N.W.2d 552, 553 (Minn. 1982).

be known to calculate the current value of a nonmarital interest under Dorweiler. See Dorweiler, 413 N.W.2d at 576 (describing formula). The district court received husband’s appraisal by Clark Goset, who opined regarding the property’s value on the date of the marriage in 1976 and on the 2012 dissolution valuation date. The district court did not make an express finding regarding Goset’s 1976 valuation, but it found his 2012 valuation “flawed” for three reasons: (1) the district court disagreed with Goset’s opinion that the property’s “highest and best use” was as a vacant lot, (2) Goset relied on a report that the district court had deemed unreliable, and (3) Goset inconsistently calculated the square footage of the parties’ house and the comparable listings. Given the district court’s express rejection of Goset’s 2012 valuation and its finding of “no reliable evidence” regarding the value of the home on the date of the marriage, we infer that the district court rejected Goset’s appraisal in its entirety, including his opinion regarding the value of the homestead on the date of marriage.

Because husband had the burden to trace his nonmarital interest in the homestead and failed to establish the value of the homestead on the date of marriage, which is a necessary component of the Dorweiler calculation, he failed to meet his burden. The district court therefore did not err by refusing to determine and apportion a nonmarital share of the parties’ homestead to husband under Dorweiler. See Eisenschenk v. Eisenschenk, 668 N.W.2d 235, 243 (Minn. App. 2003) (“On appeal, a party cannot complain about a district court’s failure to rule in her favor when one of the reasons it did not do so is because that party failed to provide the district court with the evidence that

would allow the district court to fully address the question.”), review denied (Minn. Nov. 25, 2003).

II.

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