Kerridge v. Jester

502 P.3d 1206, 316 Or. App. 599
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedDecember 29, 2021
DocketA170632
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 502 P.3d 1206 (Kerridge v. Jester) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kerridge v. Jester, 502 P.3d 1206, 316 Or. App. 599 (Or. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

Argued and submitted August 21, 2020, affirmed December 29, 2021, petition for review denied April 7, 2022 (369 Or 507)

Benjamin KERRIDGE, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Dan R. Webb, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Kim JESTER, Defendant-Appellant. Curry County Circuit Court 09CV0835; A170632 502 P3d 1206

Defendant assigns error to the trial court’s denial of her motion for relief from a judgment. The judgment ordered the sale of property that defendant owned with her former domestic partner, Webb, who died before the property was sold. Defendant contends that the judgment did not extinguish her right of survivorship and that therefore, when Webb died, title passed to defendant. She argues that the judgment should be set aside because it is no longer equi- table for the judgment to have prospective application under ORCP 71 B(1)(e). Held: The trial court did not err in denying defendant’s motion. Assuming that the judgment did not terminate defendant’s right of survivorship and that defendant became the sole owner when Webb died, that change in title is not a cognizable basis for concluding that it is no longer equitable that the judgment should have prospective application. The Court of Appeals found that the parties intended to share in the property equally and ordered the sale and division of the proceeds accordingly. The rights and obligations created by the judgment were not con- ditioned or dependent upon both parties, together, holding title to the property. Affirmed.

Jesse C. Margolis, Judge. George W. Kelly argued the cause and filed the brief for appellant. Garrett K. West argued the cause for respondent. Also on the brief was Jarvis, Dreyer, Glatte & Larsen, LLP. Before Ortega, Presiding Judge, and Shorr, Judge, and Powers, Judge. SHORR, J. Affirmed. 600 Kerridge v. Jester

SHORR, J. Defendant appeals from an order denying her motion for relief from a 2011 judgment. That judgment ordered the sale of property that defendant owned with her former domestic partner, Webb, who is now deceased. Plaintiff, the personal representative of Webb’s estate, seeks enforcement of the judgment. Defendant argues that the judgment should be set aside, because it is no longer equita- ble for the judgment to have prospective application under ORCP 71 B(1)(e). For the reasons below, we disagree and therefore affirm. On review of an order denying a motion to set aside a judgment, we state the undisputed facts in the light most favorable to the moving party. However, we accept the trial court’s findings of disputed fact, if there is evidence to support those findings. Union Lumber Co. v. Miller, 360 Or 767, 769, 388 P3d 327 (2017). Webb and defendant were in a romantic relationship that began in the 1980s. They lived together from 1994 until the relationship ended in 2008. They were never married, but they maintained a joint bank account and, in 1995, Webb and defendant purchased property together. The deed conveyed that property to Webb and defendant “not as tenants in common, but with right of survivorship.” Webb and defendant purchased the prop- erty with the intent of building a house to live in together, which they eventually did. Monthly payments for the prop- erty were made from the joint account. Most of the money in the joint account was deposited by Webb. In 2008 Webb and defendant separated and Webb moved out of the house. Webb brought an action for parti- tion and contribution. He requested that the property be sold and sought reimbursement for various costs and for a portion of the purchase price. He also alleged that defendant had excluded him from the property during their period of separation and he sought rent for that time. Defendant counterclaimed, alleging that there was an implied agree- ment between the parties that they intended to share in the property equally and asking the court to determine the respective interests in the property in accordance with that implied agreement. Cite as 316 Or App 599 (2021) 601

After a trial, the court ordered Webb and defen- dant to sell the property and share the proceeds. The court issued a letter opinion explaining its findings and rulings. The court found that the “parties’ intention was [that] they would both contribute to the property, live there, and ulti- mately sell it.” Although Webb and defendant “did not con- tribute equally to the property[,]” they “intended that they would each have an equal share in the property.” The court also concluded that an “equitable and equal partition of the property cannot be had without great prejudice to the owners of the property.” According to the court, defendant was initially uninterested in selling the property but “later changed her position” and stated “that she wants to sell the property.” The court found that Webb also changed his view “that the court should perform an accounting of the parties contributions to the property and credit each party accord- ingly” and that his position at trial was instead “reflective of the parties original intent regarding the property.” In the letter, the court also discussed the applicable law, drawing on principles applicable in nonmarital dissolu- tion cases. The court explained that “[t]his case is relatively simple in that it is clear that the parties intended that the property would be jointly owned, jointly contributed to, and that both parties would share equally in the value of the property. * * * In the case of a dis- solution of a domestic partnership, the division of property accumulated during a period of cohabitation begins with an inquiry as to the intent of the parties, and if an intent can be found, then that intent will control the property division. * * * Here, applying either the rules of co-tenancy or the rules as announced by the court of appeals in rela- tion to division of assets in the context of a dissolution of a domestic partnership, the outcome is the same: the parties will share equally in the property, with the exception of the greater contribution to the payoff by Mr. Webb.” The above findings and reasoning were expressly incorporated in the judgment. In the judgment, the court ordered “that the property shall be sold” and that “[b]oth parties will cooperate with the sale of the property.” The judgment generally provided that the proceeds of the sale would be shared equally save for certain offsets that 602 Kerridge v. Jester

benefitted Webb to reflect defendant’s unpaid rent and an outstanding loan. Defendant, in turn, received credit for the taxes and insurance that she had paid while she possessed the property. The court also ordered defendant to vacate the home and awarded possession of the property to Webb until it was sold. Once Webb took possession, he would pay rent to defendant until the time of sale. The court retained jurisdic- tion “over [the] matter pending the sale of the property.” Webb took possession of the property in 2011 in accordance with the judgment. Webb remained in posses- sion of the property until 2018, when he died. Contrary to the court’s order and judgment, the property was never sold. After Webb’s death, the personal representative for Webb’s estate moved to substitute himself as the party plaintiff and reopen the case. The court granted the motion and ordered the parties “to continue to comply with the terms of the General Judgment.” After learning that defendant did not intend to cooperate in the sale, plaintiff moved to enforce the 2011 judgment. In response, defendant moved for relief from the judgment under ORCP 71 B(1). Defendant made several arguments under that rule. As it relates to this appeal, defendant contended that the right of survivorship in Oregon is “indestructible,” and that the right of survivor- ship was not extinguished by the 2011 judgment. Therefore, according to defendant, title passed to her at the time of Webb’s death and defendant was the sole owner of the prop- erty.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
502 P.3d 1206, 316 Or. App. 599, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kerridge-v-jester-orctapp-2021.