Jorgensen v. Jorgensen

193 P.2d 728, 32 Cal. 2d 13, 1948 Cal. LEXIS 199
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedMay 28, 1948
DocketL. A. 20205
StatusPublished
Cited by134 cases

This text of 193 P.2d 728 (Jorgensen v. Jorgensen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jorgensen v. Jorgensen, 193 P.2d 728, 32 Cal. 2d 13, 1948 Cal. LEXIS 199 (Cal. 1948).

Opinion

TRAYNOR, J.

The parties were married in 1924. They separated in 1944 and executed a property settlement agreement providing that following their divorce the husband would pay the wife $30,000 annually for her support and that of their children. The wife thereafter brought an action for divorce in which the husband made no appearance. She obtained an interlocutory decree in which the property settlement agreement was approved and adopted, and a final decree was subsequently entered. In the present action plaintiff seeks to set aside the provisions of the interlocutory decree relating to the property settlement agreement, on the grounds of fraud or mistake. She alleged in her amended complaint that some of the assets listed in the agreement as separate property of the husband were community property and that defendant procured her consent to the agreement by fraudulently representing those assets as his separate property. Plaintiff further alleged that she and the attorney who represented her when the property settlement agreement was made, relying exclusively upon defendant’s representations, did not investigate whether the assets in question were community or separate property. Plaintiff alleged as an alternative cause of action that defendant made his representations by mistake upon the advice of his counsel.

*15 The agreement recites that it “is based upon a full disclosure of all real and personal properties and shall constitute a final settlement, adjustment and division of the property and the financial matters of the parties.” Plaintiff alleges that she consented to this statement and was satisfied with the contract because she was persuaded by the representations of defendant that under the agreement she received half the community property; that defendant had exclusive control and management of the property of the parties throughout their married life and was therefore aware that the preperty listed in the agreement as his separate property was community property; that she was not familiar with the facts, since she was preoccupied with her duties as housewife and mother; that in making the agreement and submitting it to the court she relied on defendant’s honesty and the truthfulness of his representations; and that the attorney who represented her in the negotiations with respect to the property settlement agreement and had previously represented her in the negotiations with respect to a voting trust agreement with defendant was recommended to her by defendant, who paid the fee for his services.

In his answer defendant denied that the property settlement agreement classified as his separate property any assets in which the wife had a community interest or that he made false representations regarding any assets mentioned in the agreement. He also filed a cross-complaint praying that his title to the assets in question be quieted. At the trial defendant objected to the introduction of any evidence by plaintiff, on the ground that her amended complaint was insufficient to state a cause of action. The court sustained this objection, and after defendant had introduced into evidence the property settlement agreement and the interlocutory and final decree of divorce, entered a judgment for defendant on the complaint and cross-complaint.

Since the court entered judgment on the pleadings with respect to plaintiff’s amended complaint, it must be assumed for the purposes of this appeal that the allegations therein are true. With regard to the partition of the community property plaintiff alleged that before the property settlement agreement was executed, the parties agreed that each was to receive half the community property and that defendant represented to her that the agreement, drafted by his at *16 torneys, gave her half the community property, whereas actually it deprived her of her community property interest in certain shares of stock, namely, half the outstanding stock of the Earle M. Jorgensen Company (hereafter referred to as Jorgensen Company) and all the outstanding stock of the Earle M. Jorgensen-Porge Division (hereafter referred to as Forge Division).

It appears from the amended complaint that the outstanding stock of the Jorgensen Company consists of 1,000 shares, 500 of which were represented by certificate No. 14 and 500 by certificate No. 15 at the time the property settlement agreement was executed. Defendant owned the 500 shares represented by certificate No. 14 before his marriage to plaintiff. He acquired the 500 shares represented by certificate No. 15 from his former partner in 1927, approximately three years after the marriage. Thereafter defendant remained the sole manager of the corporation. According to the terms of the property settlement agreement the parties in 1943 “entered into a voting trust agreement pursuant to which said one thousand (1,000) shares were to be held and are now held by the Husband as voting trustee. Prior thereto, said five hundred (500) shares evidenced by Certificate No. 14 were the sole and separate property of the husband, and said five hundred (500) shares evidenced by Certificate No. 15 were community property of the parties. Said voting trust agreement provides that the beneficial interests under such trust shall be held by the parties in the same manner as said shares were owned by them immediately prior to the creation of said trust .... The parties hereby confirm the said beneficial interest is held and owned by them in said manner, and that upon termination of said voting trust said five hundred (500) shares evidenced by Certificate No. 14 will be owned by the Husband as his separate property, and said five hundred (500) shares evidenced by Certificate No. 15 will be held and owned by the parties as community property.”

The property settlement agreement also provided that “In the event that either party shall at any time hereafter obtain a final decree of divorce from the other, but not otherwise, the following provisions of this paragraph shall become and shall thereafter remain effective .... The 500 shares of Earle M. Jorgensen Company evidenced by Certificate No. 14, and one-half of the 500 shares of said corporation evidenced by Certificate No. 15 shall be the sole and separate *17 property of the Husband, and the other one-half of said 500 shares evidenced by Certificate No. 15 shall be the sole and separate property of the Wife . . . .” Plaintiff alleges, however, that the 500 shares represented by certificate No. 14 and designated in the agreement as separate property had a value not exceeding $55,000 when the parties married and had only slightly increased in value when in 1927 defendant acquired the other 500 shares and became the sole manager of the corporation ; that these shares were worth more than $1,000,000 when the parties executed the property settlement agreement; and that this increase in value was primarily a result of defendant’s skill and industry in managing the corporation. She contends therefore that these 500 shares were largely community property at the time of the property settlement agreement.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Hudson v. Foster
California Court of Appeal, 2021
Lovell v. Stanifer (In Re Stanifer)
236 B.R. 709 (Ninth Circuit, 1999)
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center v. Superior Court
954 P.2d 511 (California Supreme Court, 1998)
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Singh
131 F.3d 148 (Ninth Circuit, 1997)
Long Beach Grand Prix Assn. v. Hunt
25 Cal. App. 4th 1195 (California Court of Appeal, 1994)
Thibodeau v. Crum
4 Cal. App. 4th 749 (California Court of Appeal, 1992)
Worton v. Worton
234 Cal. App. 3d 1638 (California Court of Appeal, 1991)
Torrey Pines Bank v. Superior Court
216 Cal. App. 3d 813 (California Court of Appeal, 1989)
Pease v. Pease
201 Cal. App. 3d 29 (California Court of Appeal, 1988)
Heywood v. Municipal Court
198 Cal. App. 3d 1438 (California Court of Appeal, 1988)
Smith v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board
168 Cal. App. 3d 1160 (California Court of Appeal, 1985)
Bank of America v. Anderson
149 Cal. App. 3d 336 (California Court of Appeal, 1983)
In Re Marriage of Modnick
663 P.2d 187 (California Supreme Court, 1983)
Miller v. Bechtel Corp.
663 P.2d 177 (California Supreme Court, 1983)
Rogers v. Hirschi
141 Cal. App. 3d 847 (California Court of Appeal, 1983)
McCormick v. United States
539 F. Supp. 1179 (D. Colorado, 1982)
Giovannoni v. Giovannoni
122 Cal. App. 3d 666 (California Court of Appeal, 1981)
In Re Marriage of Wipson
113 Cal. App. 3d 136 (California Court of Appeal, 1980)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
193 P.2d 728, 32 Cal. 2d 13, 1948 Cal. LEXIS 199, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jorgensen-v-jorgensen-cal-1948.