King v. King

946 So. 2d 395, 2006 WL 1320558
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMay 16, 2006
Docket2004-CA-02334-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 946 So. 2d 395 (King v. King) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
King v. King, 946 So. 2d 395, 2006 WL 1320558 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

946 So.2d 395 (2006)

LaDonna KING and David Earl King, Appellants
v.
Ruth KING, Appellee.

No. 2004-CA-02334-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

May 16, 2006.
Rehearing Denied October 3, 2006.
Certiorari Denied January 4, 2007.

*397 James A. Williams, Brookhaven, attorney for appellants.

Mark R. Holmes, attorney for appellee.

Before KING, C.J., IRVING, CHANDLER and ISHEE, JJ.

IRVING, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. On March 19, 2004, Ruth King filed a complaint for divorce from her husband, David Earl King, and to set aside a conveyance made to her daughter, LaDonna Ruth King. On September 29, 2004, the Walthall County Chancery Court issued an order granting the divorce and setting aside the conveyance. The chancellor ordered that Ruth be given possession of the family property, some fifty-eight acres in Walthall County, as well as the personal property accumulated during the marriage. LaDonna and David appeal the chancellor's decision, and assert the following contentions, which we quote verbatim:

ISSUE ONE
A CHANCELLOR COMMITS REVERSIBLE ERROR IN MAKING AN "EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION," WHEN HE FAILS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE EVIDENTIARY FACT THAT THE REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY WAS ACQUIRED AND IMPROVED BY THE EFFORTS OF THE ADULT CHILDREN ONE OF WHOM IS A DEFENDANT TO WHOM THE REAL PROPERTY WAS GIVEN AS COMPENSATION AND UNDER A TRUST TO PROVIDE THE WIFE A HOME AND SUPPORT FOR LIFE.
ISSUE TWO
A CHANCELLOR COMMITS REVERSIBLE ERROR WHEN THERE IS INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO EVALUATE AND HE FAILS TO EVALUATE, THE PROPERTY AND FAILS TO CONSIDER GREAT AMOUNTS OF PERSONAL PROPERTY NOT LISTED.
ISSUE THREE
A CHANCELLOR COMMITS REVERSIBLE ERROR WHEN HE AWARDS ALL THE MARITAL ESTATE TO THE WIFE BECAUSE THE HUSBAND INCURRED EXPENSES OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE, PARTLY FROM BUSINESS ACTIVITIES WHICH ALLOWED ACCUMULATION OF PERSONAL PROPERTY AND CASH DISTRIBUTED TO THE WIFE BUT DOES NOT APPORTION A TAX SALE DEBT TO HER SHARE, ALL BECAUSE THE HUSBAND WAS OVERBEARING AND CONTROLLING AND HIS CONDUCT LED TO THE DIVORCE.

Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. David and Ruth were married on August 3, 1958, and last lived together as husband and wife on March 1, 2001, when *398 David was arrested.[1] Eleven children were born to the marriage, all of them now emancipated adults, although some, including LaDonna, still live on the family property. The property contains what the chancellor described as a "home compound," which includes ten bedrooms, five bathrooms, and three kitchens, among other rooms. Evidence at trial indicated that there were also other buildings on the property, including a church and candy shop. Testimony indicated that the family's primary income came from church tithes received by David, who preached at the church. The family also made money by making their own candy and other businesses.

¶ 3. The chancellor found that, although several of the children helped Ruth and David run the church, school, and candy-making, "the evidence established clearly and convincingly that all money that came into the . . . family came from the `offering plate' to David Earl King's shirt pocket, from the truck patch sales to his shirt pocket, and from the sale of peanut brittle to his shirt pocket." According to the chancellor's findings, "David Earl King . . . was completely in control of all money that came into the family." The chancellor specifically found that David "controlled all assets of the church and the school. . . ."

¶ 4. The chancellor determined the value of the marital estate by taking into account the value of the real property, personal property, and cash that had been spent between the time of David's arrest and the divorce proceedings. The chancellor found that the land and buildings were marital property because "[the property] remained in David Earl King's name as to record title . . . it was marital property because it was solely occupied and supported by the efforts of David Earl King and Ruth King, as well as other family members."

¶ 5. The chancellor found that "[t]he undisputed evidence shows and establishes clearly that David Earl King was absolutely in control of every aspect of life. . . ." Evidence introduced showed that David gave Ruth a stipend of forty to sixty dollars every two weeks, with which she was supposed to buy groceries for the entire family.[2] The chancellor noted that

when Ruth King was allowed to go on these family grocery shopping trips, she would be given a specified period of time that she could be gone. On one occasion . . . she was late and as a result of being late returning from that shopping trip she was restricted to the house for a period of three months.

There was also testimony that David physically and verbally abused Ruth. When David felt that Ruth had failed him, he would punish her. After whatever punishment was given, Ruth testified that the dispute would be resolved by Ruth apologizing to David, even when she did not believe that she had done anything wrong.

¶ 6. Sometime around 1983, David seriously injured his back while working on the farm. As a result, he was bedridden for some time. During that time, Ruth moved out of the marital bedroom because David's restlessness at night kept her from sleeping. For disputed reasons, Ruth never *399 returned to David's bedroom, and lived in the basement from that day forward.[3] Nathan Paul King, LaDonna's husband, moved into the bedroom in place of Ruth to care for David.[4]

¶ 7. On March 2, 2001, a day after David's arrest, Ruth was told to come to the courthouse to sign papers. When she arrived, Ruth was told by one of David's attorney's secretaries to come to a particular spot in the courthouse. There, Ruth was presented with a piece of paper and told to sign. Ruth testified that she did not look at what she was signing, that she was distraught and crying at the time, and that she had spent the last twenty-four hours in a state of extreme distress on account of David's arrest. The paper that Ruth was told to sign was a quitclaim deed giving LaDonna possession of the family estate. The chancellor set aside the deed, finding that a fiduciary relationship existed between Ruth, David, and LaDonna, and that undue influence had been exercised in order to get Ruth to sign the deed granting LaDonna the family estate. The chancellor further explained:

It's clear that LaDonna Ruth King does not own this property. She's holding it for the benefit of David Earl King under his express direction and control. . . . The court finds that the property was marital property before—that she's holding it in essence in a constructive trust and that it continues to be marital property today. . . . That it would be an extreme inequity to allow David Earl King to successfully hide behind that conveyance while maintaining the control, supervision, and benefit of his property which constituted a fraud upon Ruth King, and that it is incumbent upon this court to set aside and hold for naught the 2001 conveyance. . . .

¶ 8. The chancellor also found that "Ruth King was not consulted about [the tax fraud that David was convicted for] . . .

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
946 So. 2d 395, 2006 WL 1320558, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/king-v-king-missctapp-2006.