In Re the Marriage of Katz

234 Cal. App. 3d 1711, 286 Cal. Rptr. 495, 91 Daily Journal DAR 12612, 91 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8327, 1991 Cal. App. LEXIS 1186
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 11, 1991
DocketB047352
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 234 Cal. App. 3d 1711 (In Re the Marriage of Katz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re the Marriage of Katz, 234 Cal. App. 3d 1711, 286 Cal. Rptr. 495, 91 Daily Journal DAR 12612, 91 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8327, 1991 Cal. App. LEXIS 1186 (Cal. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

Opinion

TURNER, P. J.—

I. Introduction

This is an appeal from a judgment entered in the marital dissolution case of Joyce Tullos Katz v. Bertram Bernard Katz against Joyce Tullos Katz in favor of judgment creditor-lienor Dietmar E. Rothe (Rothe). The judgment was entered on a noticed motion for an order enforcing a judgment lien pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure sections 708.410-708.480. 1

*1714 II. Procedural and Factual Matters

For purposes of clarity, the wife and husband will be referred to by their first names. Joyce petitioned for legal separation on August 16, 1985. In a consolidated Los Angeles Superior Court action case No. C628209 filed on December 10, 1986, Joyce sought judicial determinations concerning property that had been acquired during the course of the couple’s relationship before and after their marriage in 1976. Rothe obtained a judgment against Bertram in San Diego Superior Court case No. 501534 which was entered on July 31, 1987. On September 25, 1987, Rothe filed a notice of lien pursuant to section 708.410, subdivision (b) against Bertram in the marriage dissolution action between Joyce and Bertram. Copies of the lien notice were served on counsel for Joyce and Bertram. On August 30, 1987, pursuant to section 708.470, 2 Rothe moved in the marital dissolution action for an order that any judgment entered in the marital dissolution action in Bertram’s behalf “be applied to the satisfaction of . . . Rothe’s lien rights.” On September 14, 1988, the trial court, pursuant to section 708.470, subdivisions (a) and (b), granted the motion and ruled that “any judgment due to [Bertram] in this dissolution of marriage matter shall be applied to the satisfaction of the lien of judgment creditor. . . Rothe.”

In a declaration filed in the dissolution action, which was in the superior court file, Bertram claimed that all property acquired prior to the marriage was his separate property. He also claimed a community interest in a single family residence under construction and a single family residence held in the name of Joyce and her daughter from a previous marriage which Joyce claimed as her separate property. Joyce claimed in her “Community & Quasi-Community Property Declaration” which was dated August 16, 1985, that the community had assets in excess of $17 million.

*1715 On March 15, 1989, Joyce and Bertram filed a “Further Judgment on Reserved Issues Pursuant to Stipulation” (Further Judgment) in the dissolution action. The Further Judgment provided for settlement of disputes including property, support, and custody of minor children. 3 It provided in part that *1716 Joyce would receive an equalizing cash payment of $1,550,000 from various stocks and accounts. On April 25, 1989, the parties filed a document entitled “Stipulation Re Termination of Restraining Order, For Distribution of Assets, and Order Thereon” (the Stipulation) which provided that Joyce would receive from Bertram an “equalizing cash payment of $599,673.90.” 4 The Further Judgment referred to property Joyce declared under oath was community property in her aforementioned declaration dated September 25, 1985. Some of that property was conveyed to Bertram to be his separate property. There was no evidence that Rothe’s counsel was served with copies of the Further Judgment or the Stipulation prior to their filing.

On October 4, 1989, Rothe filed a motion for an order enforcing his judgment lien pursuant to sections 708.410-708.480 against Joyce. As noted previously, Rothe had secured a judgment lien in compliance with section 708.410, subdivisions (a) and (b), against Bertram on September 14, 1988. Joyce opposed the motion for imposition of Rothe’s judgment against her on the ground that she had not transferred any property to Bertram in the settlement of the dissolution action which had been subject to the judgment lien against Bertram entered on September 14, 1988.

*1717 At the hearing on the motion on October 25, 1989, the court denied a request for continuance by “specially appearing” counsel on behalf of Bertram. Prior to argument, Joyce’s counsel orally requested a jury trial, an evidentiary hearing, and a statement of decision. The trial court denied the requests for jury trial and an evidentiary hearing. The court then granted the motion pursuant to section 708.470, subdivision (c). With respect to the request for statement of decision, the court stated that it would only give an oral statement of decision. The court found that “the facts from the file—the declaration indicates that a substantial transfer of assets far in excess of the amount of the judgment sought here, there’s been over a million dollars transferred, that this is an appropriate case.” On November 9, 1989, 15 days after the hearing, Joyce filed written objections to the sufficiency of the oral statement of decision claiming that she could not determine on what basis: the court found a transfer from Joyce to Bertram; Joyce had any interest in any of the property received by Bertram; and the value of Joyce’s interest in property received by Bertram. Joyce also objected because the oral statement of decision failed to explain why the court in ruling on the judgment lien motion concluded that the settlement of the marital dissolution action was not court supervised. The court entered judgment in favor of Rothe and against Joyce on November 29,1989, in the sum of $123,807.87. Joyce filed a timely notice of appeal.

III. Discussion

A. Joyce has waived any objection to the statement of decision

Joyce claims that the trial court committed reversible error in relying on its oral decision as the statement of decision. Joyce is not entitled to a reversal on this issue pursuant to the express provisions of section 632. 5 Under this section, the trial court was entitled to give an oral statement of decision since the hearing was concluded within one calendar day. Joyce *1718 claims, however, that the oral statement was insufficient since it failed to address the specific controverted issues in this case. There are two problems with Joyce’s argument. The first is that Joyce, through her counsel, did not comply with section 632 since she did not “specify those controverted issues as to which [she was] requesting a statement of decision” until 15 days after the hearing on the motion and after the trial court announced its statement of decision. Section 632 provides, “The request must be made within 10 days after the court announces a tentative decision unless the trial is concluded within one calendar day or in less than eight hours over more than one day in which event the request must be made prior to the submission of the matter for decision.” It is only error when the trial court refuses to explain the factual and legal basis for a decision as to the principal controverted issues when there is a

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Bluebook (online)
234 Cal. App. 3d 1711, 286 Cal. Rptr. 495, 91 Daily Journal DAR 12612, 91 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8327, 1991 Cal. App. LEXIS 1186, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-marriage-of-katz-calctapp-1991.