MAIREAD SHANNON-BEVILAQUE VS. ANTHONY J. BEVILAQUE (FM-20-0843-17, UNION COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)

CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedJune 16, 2020
DocketA-3573-18T4
StatusUnpublished

This text of MAIREAD SHANNON-BEVILAQUE VS. ANTHONY J. BEVILAQUE (FM-20-0843-17, UNION COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (MAIREAD SHANNON-BEVILAQUE VS. ANTHONY J. BEVILAQUE (FM-20-0843-17, UNION COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
MAIREAD SHANNON-BEVILAQUE VS. ANTHONY J. BEVILAQUE (FM-20-0843-17, UNION COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), (N.J. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-3573-18T4

MAIREAD SHANNON-BEVILAQUE,

Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

ANTHONY J. BEVILAQUE,

Defendant-Appellant. ________________________

Argued telephonically May 20, 2020 – Decided June 16, 2020

Before Judges Koblitz, Gooden Brown and Mawla.

On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part, Union County, Docket No. FM-20-0843-17.

Joseph M. Freda, III argued the cause for appellant (Gomperts Penza McDermott & Von Ellen, LLC, attorneys; Joseph M. Freda, III, of counsel; Marisa Lepore Hovanec, of counsel and on the briefs).

Kathleen B. Estabrooks argued the cause for respondent. PER CURIAM

Defendant Anthony Bevilaque appeals from a December 19, 2018

judgment of divorce, a February 27, 2019 amended judgment of divorce, and an

April 12, 2019 order denying reconsideration of the amended judgment, which

collectively adjudicated alimony, child support, counsel and expert fees, and life

insurance and other issues. We affirm.

Defendant and plaintiff Mairead Shannon-Bevilaque were married for

nearly twenty-four years. Three children were born of the marriage who were

twenty-four, twenty-two, and eighteen, at the time this matter was tried over the

course of four days in October 2019.

The facts adduced at trial showed plaintiff received her associate degree

in nursing in 1993 and worked as a full-time nurse until the parties' first child

was born. Thereafter, she held various per diem and part-time jobs and returned

to work full-time in January 2018. She completed her bachelor's degree in 2003

and then a master's degree in 2012, both in nursing. Defendant is self-employed

as the sole owner of a laundry systems business.

Pendente lite, a joint expert was retained to conduct a cash flow analysis

and valuation of the laundry business. The expert engaged in multiple

settlement conferences with the parties and provided them with draft reports

A-3573-18T4 2 containing his opinions on cash flow and value, which diverged greatly from

one conference to the next. The expert wrote to the court acknowledging the

different valuations attributing it to each party's "significantly differing"

representations. He requested forty-five days to complete a final report before

trial began. Defendant retained his own expert to review the draft schedules the

joint expert prepared and formulate a rebuttal report. After learning defendant

had an expert, plaintiff retained her own as well. The court directed defendant

to advance $10,000 to plaintiff from the parties' home equity line of credit

(HELOC) for her expert.

Less than eight weeks before trial, the joint expert provided his final

report, in which he opined defendant had an average annual pre-tax cash flow

of $260,806 and valued the business at $620,000. The joint expert's testimony

was consistent with his report. Plaintiff's expert opined the average pre-tax cash

flow was $279,047 and valued the business at $685,000. Defendant's expert

opined the average pre-tax cash flow was $222,189 and valued the business at

$440,000.

Plaintiff testified about three Case Information Statements (CIS) she filed

during the divorce proceedings. The first CIS, dated September 25, 2017, was

filed more than nine months following the date of complaint, and claimed a joint

A-3573-18T4 3 marital lifestyle of $12,222 per month; a second CIS, filed approximately eleven

months later, claimed a joint marital lifestyle of $34,248 per month; and a third

CIS, bearing the same date as the second and according to plaintiff filed to

correct an error, certified to a joint lifestyle of $26,749 per month. Plaintiff

testified the difference between her first and third CIS was because she did not

have access to the information to accurately complete it because defendant

handled the finances during the marriage.

Plaintiff's second and third CISs, set forth a current lifestyle for herself

and the parties' youngest child, including an anticipated college contribution

expense, of $14,070 per month. She explained her budget also included the

proposed costs of purchasing a new home in the same area as the marital

residence, with an anticipated mortgage expense between $2000-2500 per

month. She testified her annual salary was $67,600.

Defendant testified regarding a CIS he filed contemporaneous with

plaintiff's first CIS, which set forth a joint marital lifestyle of $9242 per month

and a second CIS filed two years later which stated the marital lifestyle was

$16,021 per month. He explained the second budget was vastly greater because

when he completed the first CIS, he "wasn't aware of how to fill it out."

A-3573-18T4 4 Plaintiff testified the parties' eldest child was employed but was moving

back home until he was ready to find another place to live. She testified the

middle child currently resided at home and occasionally worked for defendant,

and the youngest child was in her first semester of college in Arizona but

intended to return and was awaiting responses to her transfer requests from New

Jersey schools.

During summations, defendant's counsel asked the court to order open

durational alimony of $47,000 per year, based on yearly gross incomes of

$222,189 for defendant and a forty-hour instead of thirty-four-hour work week

for plaintiff, totaling $81,120. Defendant argued child support was a "red

herring" and there were "no proofs as to expenses for the daughter that are not

covered by . . . the college expenses or . . . substantial alimony that's going to

be provided." Defendant requested the court order each party be responsible for

his or her own counsel fees.

Plaintiff's counsel argued for open durational alimony of $70,000-75,000

per year, based on a gross yearly income of $279,000 for defendant and $67,448

for plaintiff. Plaintiff also sought child support for the daughter and defendant's

contribution to her counsel and expert fees.

A-3573-18T4 5 The trial judge issued a detailed written decision and entered a judgment

of divorce, ordering defendant to pay plaintiff $70,000 per year of non-taxable

open durational alimony for a period up to twenty-three years. The judge

described the marriage as one of long duration and the marital standard of living

as "the lifestyle of an upper middle class family. They did not live

extravagantly, but traveled, had a nice home free of mortgage, ate out often, and

carried no debt." The judge found the divorce would result in "each party

[being] relatively equal going forward. All assets with the exceptio n of the

[d]efendant's company will be equally divided, and there is no debt to be

divided."

The judge rejected defendant's argument that plaintiff could work more

hours per week or in a more lucrative hospital setting. He concluded:

Many of the factors in the alimony statute have already been extensively analyzed in the section of this opinion addressing equitable distribution.

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

Related

Foust v. Glaser
774 A.2d 581 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2001)
Parish v. Parish
988 A.2d 1180 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2010)
Cesare v. Cesare
713 A.2d 390 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1998)
Gotlib v. Gotlib
944 A.2d 654 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2008)
Mahoney v. Mahoney
453 A.2d 527 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1982)
Lepis v. Lepis
416 A.2d 45 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1980)
Innes v. Innes
569 A.2d 770 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1990)
Rendine v. Pantzer
661 A.2d 1202 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1995)
Cox v. Cox
762 A.2d 1040 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2000)
Guglielmo v. Guglielmo
602 A.2d 741 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1992)
Crews v. Crews
751 A.2d 524 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 2000)
Strahan v. Strahan
953 A.2d 1219 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2008)
Loro v. Colliano
806 A.2d 799 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2002)
Cummings v. Bahr
685 A.2d 60 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1996)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
MAIREAD SHANNON-BEVILAQUE VS. ANTHONY J. BEVILAQUE (FM-20-0843-17, UNION COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mairead-shannon-bevilaque-vs-anthony-j-bevilaque-fm-20-0843-17-union-njsuperctappdiv-2020.