In Re the Marriage of Moberg v. Moberg

350 N.W.2d 421, 1984 Minn. App. LEXIS 3226
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedJune 19, 1984
DocketC6-83-1278
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 350 N.W.2d 421 (In Re the Marriage of Moberg v. Moberg) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota 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 Moberg v. Moberg, 350 N.W.2d 421, 1984 Minn. App. LEXIS 3226 (Mich. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

OPINION

HUSPENI, Judge.

This matter arises out of a series of post-dissolution proceedings. Appellant Allen Moberg sought review of a Hennepin County family court referee’s award of attorney’s fees and receiver’s fees and the trial court affirmed. Allen contends that the trial court improperly denied an eviden-tiary hearing on the reasonableness of the attorney’s and receiver’s fees. We affirm.

FACTS

On June 12, 1978, a judgment and decree was entered dissolving the marriage of respondent Ann Moberg and appellant Allen Moberg. On May 15, 1981, a family court referee increased Allen’s child support and established an award of maintenance. On September 17, 1982, a family court referee ordered the appointment of a receiver to sequester Allen’s airplane and Mercedes automobile to assure a source for arrear-age payments of child support and maintenance. Subsequent to the issuance of the September 17 order, the .parties agreed that the reasonableness of attorney’s fees incurred through approximately December 1982 would be determined pursuant to letters submitted by experts chosen by each of the parties. An expert opinion was submitted on behalf of Ann; Allen did not submit an expert opinion. Allen’s attorney submitted his own letter.

On February 25, 1983, a family court referee ordered Allen to pay $10,000 in attorney’s fees and $1,832.05 in receiver’s fees. On March 4, 1983, Allen requested by letter that the family court referee vacate the February 25 order because it was based in part on a receiver’s report which was inadvertently submitted to the referee. A completed report was never submitted. The February 25 order was not vacated nor was formal review of it sought by Allen at that time.

On April 15, 1983, a family court judge vacated the May 15, 1981, order. In addition, the family court judge ordered Ann to prepare a detailed accounting of all costs and attorney’s fees requested by her. The family court judge also afforded Allen an opportunity to contest such fees and costs at a hearing scheduled for November 7, 1983 (rescheduled for November 8, 1983). Ann appealed the April 15 order to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

On May 12, 1983, Allen moved to vacate the February 25 order in light of the family court judge’s order of April 15. In an order dated May 13, 1983, the family court referee reconsidered her February 25 order. The referee affirmed the award of $1,832.05 to the receiver for fees earned up to December 6, 1982, and affirmed the attorney’s fees award of $10,000. The May 13 order also discharged the receiver and scheduled a one-half day evidentiary hearing regarding the reasonableness of the receiver’s fees earned from December 7, 1982, through May 13, 1983. Allen sought review of the May 13 order by the family court judge. On July 22, 1983, a special term judge of District Court issued an order allowing Allen to take the deposition of the receiver at such time as Allen posted a $3,500 bond, conditioned upon the payment to the receiver of the fees owing to him.

*423 In due course, a family court judge reviewed the referee’s May 13 order. On August 3, 1983, that judge issued an order affirming the referee, ordering judgment for attorney’s fees of $10,000 (plus $500 for being required to appear at a motion hearing), and ordered judgment for receiver’s fees of $6,500, plus $500, without an evi-dentiary hearing. The August 3 order also provided that there would be no further court proceedings prior to the November 8 hearing. Ultimately, the November 8 hearing was stayed pending the outcome of the appeals to this court and to the Supreme Court.

Allen petitioned the Supreme Court “for a writ of prohibition restraining the District Court from enforcing the order of August 3, 1983 and/or for a Writ of Mandamus requiring that said order be vacated.” On August 22,1983, that petition was denied by the Supreme Court. Allen appealed the August 3 order to this court.

In an opinion filed April 20, 1984, the Supreme Court reversed the April 15, 1983, order and remanded the case with instructions to reinstate the May 15, 1981, order. Moberg v. Moberg, 347 N.W.2d 791 (Minn.1984).

ISSUE

Did the family court in its order dated August 3, 1983, improperly deny an eviden-tiary hearing on the reasonableness of attorney’s fees and receiver’s fees?

ANALYSIS

As the Supreme Court noted in Moberg v. Moberg, 347 N.W.2d 791 (Minn.1984), the District Court file in this case is “voluminous and complex.” It covers a multitude of post-dissolution matters. Most of the motions and orders in the file reflect efforts of Ann to enforce the terms of the Judgment and Decree of Dissolution against Allen, or to modify the terms of that Judgment and Decree. In the matter presently before this court, Ann was seeking a post-decree award of attorney’s fees, and the court-appointed receiver was seeking his fees.

ATTORNEY’S FEES

Allen contends that the order of April 15, 1983, specifically reserved the issue of attorney’s fees requested by Ann. That order provides in pertinent part:

9. That petitioner’s [Ann’s] counsel furnish to the court and to respondent’s [Allen’s] counsel a detailed accounting of all costs and attorneys’ fees requested by the petitioner and justification therefore. This accounting must be submitted no later than October 1, 1983, and must, as completely as possible, reflect costs incurred as of that date.

Allen claims, based on this language, that the May 13 order in which the referee affirmed her own February 25 order, improperly overruled the intervening April 15 order. We cannot agree. It is reasonable to interpret the language in the April 15 order as granting an opportunity to Allen to contest those fees and costs requested by Ann which were incurred subsequent to those fees awarded in the February 25 order. The February 25 order was in full force and effect, had not been reviewed pursuant to Minn.Stat. § 484.-65(9) (1982), and remained part of the record at the time the April 15 order was issued. An award of attorney’s fees should not be disturbed absent clear abuse of discretion. Davis v. Davis, 306 Minn. 536, 235 N.W.2d 836 (1975). We find no merit in Allen’s argument that the $10,000 judgment against him for attorney’s fees was not properly awarded. Neither do we find any abuse of discretion in the $500 attorney’s fees award pursuant to the order dated August 3, 1983.

Allen’s argument that the attorney’s fees are improper because they were generated in pursuit of the enforcement of an order declared void is moot in light of the Supreme Court’s decision of April 20, 1984, reinstating the May 15, 1981, referee’s order. Moberg v. Moberg, 347 N.W.2d 791 (Minn.1984).

PRE-DECEMBER 7, 1982, RECEIVER’S FEES

The receiver’s report was inadvertently submitted to the family court referee *424 prior to the order of February 25, 1983.

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Bluebook (online)
350 N.W.2d 421, 1984 Minn. App. LEXIS 3226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-marriage-of-moberg-v-moberg-minnctapp-1984.