McDonald v. Estate of Mavety

891 A.2d 1218, 383 N.J. Super. 347
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedFebruary 23, 2006
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 891 A.2d 1218 (McDonald v. Estate of Mavety) 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
McDonald v. Estate of Mavety, 891 A.2d 1218, 383 N.J. Super. 347 (N.J. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

891 A.2d 1218 (2006)
383 N.J. Super. 347

Annette McDONALD, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
ESTATE OF GEORGE MAVETY and Phillip Percy Mavety, Executor of the Estate of George Mavety, Defendant-Respondent.

Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.

Argued January 10, 2006.
Decided February 23, 2006.

*1220 George T. Daggett, Sparta, argued the cause for appellant (Daggett, Kraemer, Eliades, Vanderwiele & Ursin, attorneys; Mr. Daggett, on the brief).

Donald R. Belsole, Morristown, argued the cause for respondents (Belsole and Kurnos, attorneys; Mr. Belsole, on the brief).

Before Judges COBURN, LISA and S.L. REISNER.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

LISA, J.A.D.

After a bench trial, a final judgment was entered dismissing the palimony complaint of plaintiff, Annette McDonald, against the Estate of George Mavety. Plaintiff filed a motion for a new trial based upon the trial evidence, and then supplemented that motion with information pertaining to newly discovered evidence. The new information was that during the pendency of the palimony litigation, a witness called by the defense in the palimony trial, Nick Meintanas, had filed a suit against a company owned by George Mavety and against Mavety's attorney, Debra L. Nicholson, who was also called by the defense as a witness in the *1221 palimony trial. The judge denied the motion but granted plaintiff a limited post-trial discovery period to further develop the asserted newly discovered evidence. Plaintiff did not avail herself of the opportunity, but instead filed this appeal.

On appeal, plaintiff raises these arguments:

POINT I

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BECAUSE ITS VIEW OF THE STANDARDS GOVERNING "PALIMONY" WERE OVERLY NARROW.

POINT II

THE COURT BELOW IMPOSED A BURDEN OF PROOF ON THE PROMISE WHICH WAS ERRONEOUS AND THE COURT BELOW DID NOT INDICATE WHAT BURDEN OF PROOF IT EMPLOYED ON THE ISSUE OF COHABITATION.

POINT III

THE FAILURE OF THE ESTATE OF GEORGE MAVETY AND HIS REPRESENTATIVES TO INFORM THE COURT AND COUNSEL OF THE PENDING NICK MEINTANAS LAWSUIT REQUIRES A NEW TRIAL.

POINT IV

THE COURT BELOW DREW INFERENCES THAT ARE NOT SUPPORTED BY CASE LAW OR THE RULES OF EVIDENCE.

We reject these arguments and affirm.

I

George Mavety died at the age of sixty-three on August 19, 2000. He was a successful businessman, and his estate was valued between $21 and $36 million. He had been married three times, and at the time of his death, had been married to his third wife, Gertrud (Trudy), for about thirty years. Mavety and Trudy lived in a home, purchased at about the time of their marriage in 1970, on Stanhope Road, Sparta. However, in the 1980s, Mavety was involved in a relationship with Kyung Soon Nam, also known as "Miss Windy." In the 1980's, Mavety lived in New York City during the week, staying in an apartment with Miss Windy, and in Sparta on weekends. Mavety and Trudy separated in 1989. Mavety moved out of the Stanhope Road home and moved into a home he purchased at 24 Cherokee Court in Sparta.

Mavety continued to provide for Miss Windy. He provided her with an apartment in New York, and later, in 1999, purchased a home in West Orange for her to live in. He continued regular contact with Miss Windy and continued to provide for her until his death.

Mavety met plaintiff in January 1990. He was then fifty-three years old and she was twenty-four. She had a son, Earl Chaing, from a prior relationship. The relationship between plaintiff and Mavety became intimate. In June 1991, plaintiff gave birth to Mavety's son, Brandon, who died immediately after his birth. On December 9, 1993, plaintiff gave birth to Mavety's son, Chad Austin Mavety.

In early 1991, a company owned by Mavety, MMG Services, Inc., purchased a home at 8 Westgate Drive in Sparta, for plaintiff to live in with her son Earl, and later with Chad Austin. This home was about a ten minute drive from Mavety's home on Cherokee Court. In 1996, Mavety purchased another home in Sparta, at 16 Cheyenne Trail, to which plaintiff and her sons moved. The Cheyenne Trail home was in short walking distance to Mavety's Cherokee Court home.

Throughout this time, Mavety maintained an apartment on West 56th Street in Manhattan, and he continued to live *1222 there on a regular basis during the week. He typically spent his weekends in Sparta. In 1999, Mavety purchased a large mansion on a twenty-six acre estate at 200 Andover-Mohawk Road in Andover. He sold the Cherokee Court home, and when he was not in New York, stayed at the Andover mansion.

Mavety resolved not to divorce Trudy. He did not wish to go through an equitable distribution of property, which would, in all likelihood, result in Trudy receiving one-half of their assets, and which would be disruptive to his business and real estate interests. He continued to provide support to Trudy and visited her on holidays until his death. Everyone in the community was aware that Mavety and Trudy were husband and wife.

According to plaintiff, in September 1990, while driving to the Bronx, Mavety told her that he could not marry her because of his unwillingness to end his marriage with Trudy, but that he would take care of her for the rest of her life if she would spend it with him. Plaintiff contends she accepted the offer and moved several months later to the Westgate Drive home. It is this alleged promise and the subsequent conduct of the parties that formed the basis of plaintiff's palimony claim.

There is no dispute that during the ten-year relationship between plaintiff and Mavety, members of the community and friends and associates of the parties knew that Mavety was married to Trudy, but that he had a relationship with plaintiff. Plaintiff accompanied Mavety to social events and sometimes traveled with him. It was commonly known that plaintiff lived in the homes, first at Westgate Drive and then Cheyenne Trail, provided for her by Mavety, that he spent some time there with her on weekends, and, of course, that they had a child together. It was also well known and undisputed that Mavety loved his son, Chad Austin, and had a close relationship with him. Likewise, Mavety had a deep affection for plaintiff, and sometimes referred to her as "the love of my life." There was some conflict in the testimony as to whether the vitality of that affection continued in the later years of the relationship. Some witnesses testified that Mavety felt the relationship had soured and he would have preferred to end it, but did not do so because of his relationship with Chad Austin, and also, to some extent with plaintiff's other son, Earl.

The critical issues to be determined in the palimony trial were whether plaintiff and Mavety lived together in a marital-type relationship and whether Mavety, either expressly or impliedly, did indeed promise plaintiff that he would provide support for her for the rest of her life. If those questions were answered in the affirmative, it would then be necessary to determine whether plaintiff gave adequate consideration in exchange for the promise and the amount required in a present-value lump sum payment to satisfy Mavety's obligation.

The parties presented many witnesses who described the living arrangements and lifestyle of Mavety and plaintiff. Evidence was also presented regarding Mavety's 1994 will and 1998 codicil. Detailed information and records regarding Mavety's travel over the ten-year period of his relationship with plaintiff were also presented.

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Bluebook (online)
891 A.2d 1218, 383 N.J. Super. 347, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcdonald-v-estate-of-mavety-njsuperctappdiv-2006.