Mary Virginia Hammond v. Perry Joseph Hammond

CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedSeptember 14, 2021
Docket2020-CA-00324-COA
StatusPublished

This text of Mary Virginia Hammond v. Perry Joseph Hammond (Mary Virginia Hammond v. Perry Joseph Hammond) 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
Mary Virginia Hammond v. Perry Joseph Hammond, (Mich. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

NO. 2020-CA-00324-COA

MARY VIRGINIA HAMMOND APPELLANT

v.

PERRY JOSEPH HAMMOND APPELLEE

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 03/05/2020 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. SUSAN RHEA SHELDON COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: MARION COUNTY CHANCERY COURT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: S. CHRISTOPHER FARRIS ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: ELIZABETH L. PORTER NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISPOSITION: REVERSED AND REMANDED - 09/14/2021 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED: MANDATE ISSUED:

BEFORE WILSON, P.J., GREENLEE AND WESTBROOKS, JJ.

WILSON, P.J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. Mary Virginia “Jenny” Hammond filed a complaint for divorce from Perry Hammond

after twenty-five years of marriage. The chancellor granted Jenny a divorce on the ground

of uncondoned adultery, granted her physical custody of the parties’ minor child, divided the

marital estate, and ordered Perry to pay rehabilitative alimony of $500 per month for two

years. On appeal, Jenny argues that the chancellor erred by (1) failing to consider Perry’s

adultery when dividing the marital estate; (2) awarding grossly inadequate alimony; (3)

requiring Perry to provide her with health insurance coverage for only a limited time; and (4)

denying her request for attorney’s fees. We hold that the chancellor erred by not considering

Perry’s adultery when dividing the marital estate and by awarding inadequate alimony. On those grounds, we reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2. Jenny and Perry were high school sweethearts and married in 1991. Perry worked in

the oilfield industry, and Jenny worked as a cosmetologist. In 1996, they had a son, and

Jenny became a stay-at-home mom. Perry’s job required him to work fourteen days “on” and

fourteen days “off.” During the fourteen days Perry was gone, Jenny was the sole caregiver

for their child. In 2003, the parties had a daughter. Around this time, Perry began working

a thirty-on-thirty-off schedule, meaning that he was gone for thirty days at a time, leaving

Jenny as the sole caregiver for two children.

¶3. Jenny testified that she started to notice a lack of intimacy in the marriage and that

Perry would sleep in the recliner in the living room instead of the bedroom when he was

home. Jenny eventually discovered that Perry was having an affair while he was traveling

for work. Jenny became depressed after she learned of Perry’s adultery, and she testified that

Perry’s relationship with the children had suffered. Jenny testified that she had lost her hair

as a result of her depression and that she started taking antidepressants. She testified that she

still loved Perry but could not remain married to him. She filed for divorce in 2016.

¶4. Jenny said that Perry was the “best dad ever” prior to the breakdown of the marriage.

Perry admitted that his relationships with his children had suffered, but he testified that they

were on the mend. Perry testified that he had not felt appreciated in his marriage and that he

felt like he was only good for a paycheck.

¶5. Jenny was forty-seven years old at the time of trial. She testified that although she

2 stopped working as a cosmetologist to stay home with her children, she had also developed

a bulging disc in the mid-1990s. She testified that she had been seeing a doctor for her back

since that time and that she would no longer be able to work as a cosmetologist. At the time

of trial, she worked as a preschool assistant at Columbia Academy. She had started working

at Columbia Academy in 2017 in an effort to provide for herself following her separation

from Perry. Her job did not provide health insurance or retirement benefits. Jenny believed

that it would cost her about $500 per month to obtain private health insurance. She testified

that she could earn more if she were certified to teach, but she could not afford to return to

college to pursue the necessary degree.

¶6. Jenny’s Uniform Chancery Court Rule 8.05 financial statement reported gross

monthly income of $710 and net monthly income of $646 from her job. Perry was also

paying her $2,000 per month in temporary alimony. She reported monthly living expenses

of $5,500, including the mortgage, taxes, and insurance on the marital home. Jenny also

introduced a copy of her attorney’s bill, and she testified that she could not afford to pay it.

Perry did not object to or question Jenny about the bill.

¶7. Perry’s Rule 8.05 statement reported gross monthly income of $19,539, net monthly

income of $12,150, and monthly living expenses of $2,387. Perry’s reported income did not

include his annual performance bonus. Prior to trial in 2018, Perry had received an annual

bonus of $67,938. Perry testified that the amount of his bonus was “not guaranteed” and

depended on his performance, but he acknowledged that he had received a bonus each year

for at least five years. Perry had been living in South Carolina with his father since the

3 separation. He had bank accounts with a combined balance of approximately $16,000 and

retirement and investment accounts with a combined balance of more than $700,000.

¶8. The marital home and surrounding property had a mortgage of $52,000. The

Hammonds also owned approximately twenty acres near the marital home and several pieces

of farm equipment and older trucks that they used to maintain their property.

¶9. Perry proposed giving Jenny the marital home and surrounding five acres because it

had belonged to her family. Perry also said Jenny should have the parties’ sailboat, trucks,

and farm equipment. Perry wanted to keep the separate twenty-acre tract near the marital

home. He also wanted to keep as much of his retirement savings and investments as possible

but was willing to use those accounts to address any disparity in the equitable division of the

marital estate. Perry objected to paying any alimony. He argued that he had already paid

temporary alimony for two years and that he had not “seen any effort” by Jenny “to improve

herself to be sufficient -- self efficient (sic).”

¶10. The chancellor found that the date of demarcation for purposes of dividing the marital

estate was the date of the temporary order (December 20, 2016). The chancellor then

awarded Jenny 55% of the marital estate, including the marital home and five acres, all farm

trucks and equipment, and all household items and personal property in her possession. She

awarded Jenny her Toyota Highlander and ordered Perry to pay off the note on the vehicle.

She awarded Jenny approximately $7,900 from Perry’s bank accounts and approximately

$202,500 from Perry’s 401(k) account.

¶11. The chancellor awarded Perry 45% of the marital estate, including the remainder of

4 his 401(k) account1 and bank accounts and his other investments. The chancellor also

awarded Perry his truck, all personal property in his possession, and the twenty-acre tract of

land he requested. The chancellor ordered Perry to pay the mortgage, taxes, and insurance

on the marital home until the mortgage, which had a balance of approximately $52,000, was

paid off. The chancellor also ordered Perry to pay the note, insurance, and taxes on Jenny’s

Toyota Highlander until the note was paid off. Finally, the chancellor ordered Perry to pay

the remaining debt on Jenny’s sailboat, which the chancellor found was Jenny’s separate

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Mary Virginia Hammond v. Perry Joseph Hammond, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mary-virginia-hammond-v-perry-joseph-hammond-missctapp-2021.