McGrath, M. v. McGrath, V.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 18, 2016
Docket1913 WDA 2014
StatusUnpublished

This text of McGrath, M. v. McGrath, V. (McGrath, M. v. McGrath, V.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McGrath, M. v. McGrath, V., (Pa. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

J-A29022-15

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

MICHAEL T. MCGRATH, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee

v.

VIRGINIA M. MCGRATH,

Appellant No. 1913 WDA 2014

Appeal from the Order October 23, 2014 In the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County Civil Division at No(s): 13760-2009

BEFORE: FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E., BOWES AND MUSMANNO, JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY BOWES, J.: FILED MARCH 18, 2016

Virginia M. McGrath (“Wife”) appeals from the October 23, 2014

equitable distribution order that addressed her exceptions to the domestic

relations master’s report and divided the marital estate that she

accumulated with Michael McGrath (“Husband”). We affirm.

Husband and Wife married on July 2, 1994 and separated on August 1,

2009. Both were previously married. Wife has an adult child from her

earlier marriage. Husband has no children.

Soon after Husband and Wife married, the couple purchased a building

that was divided into an existing pizza restaurant, Mister Pizza, and two

apartments. Wife utilized the proceeds of her property settlement from her

first marriage to pay the down payment for the pizza business and the J-A29022-15

building. Husband reimbursed Wife $2,500 towards the purchase of the

business and paid the balance of the mortgage in monthly installments.

Both parties are named on the deed to the property. The couple operated

Mister Pizza on the ground floor, lived in the second floor apartment, and

rented the other ground-floor unit for either $550 or $600 per month. Even

after the date of separation, they reported the pizza business and the

residential rental unit as partnership income on their joint tax returns.

Husband is a high school graduate with several college credits. Wife

failed to graduate high school, and it is unclear whether she attained a GED.

While the couple operated Mister Pizza jointly, Husband also engaged in

outside employment as an insurance salesman and financial advisor.

Husband initially worked at UBS Paine Webber, but during August 2007, he

accepted a position with Morgan Stanley and Company (“Morgan Stanley”).

As a perquisite of employment, Morgan Stanley provided Husband a loan in

the amount of $185,600. Husband issued a promissory note committing to

repay the amount in seven yearly installments. During 2008, the firm issued

another loan totaling $58,000, and Husband executed a second promissory

note establishing a five-year repayment schedule. Using loan proceeds,

Husband opened an investment account (“AAA account”) and used portions

of the loans to pay marital expenses, cover investment losses, and satisfy

the repayment schedules.

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On August 1, 2009, the parties separated; however, Husband

remained in the marital home until November when he purchased his own

residence. On August 27, 2009, Husband filed a complaint in divorce that

invoked the no-fault provisions in § 3301(c) of the Divorce Code, 23 Pa.C.S.

§§ 3101-3904. Each of the parties filed affidavits of consent to the divorce.

Husband continued to work for Morgan Stanley until he was

terminated from employment during November 2011 as a result of firm-wide

streamlining. Husband has continued to repay the loan proceeds to his

former employer. Following his discharge, Morgan Stanley renegotiated the

repayment terms so that between February 2012 and December 2014,

Husband would remunerate $2,503.81 each month. He earned

approximately $71,000 during 2012, and, at the March 2014 master’s

hearing, Husband testified that he earned approximately $56,000 per year

as a financial advisor and insurance salesman with Mass Mutual.

Meanwhile, following the dissolution of the marriage, Wife continued to

operate Mister Pizza, maintain the rental unit, and reside in the marital

apartment. She stopped operating Mister Pizza during 2012. She attempted

to sell that business for $25,000 but the buyer defaulted after one year of

operation. Thereafter, she rented the shop and equipment to Yum Yum

Pizza for $1,000 per month. Husband paid the taxes and utilities on the

property and divided with Wife the proceeds of the jointly-filed federal

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income tax return. He also paid to her approximately $8,600 for

maintenance of the property and for discretionary spending.

Wife did not share the proceeds of the pizza shop and rental income

with Husband or contribute to the repayment of the Morgan Stanley loan.

Despite receiving an equal portion for the joint tax refunds between 2009

and 2011, Wife failed to contribute to the couple’s $7,000 tax liability during

2012. She is currently unemployed and lives primarily from rental income.

On July 25, 2013, Husband filed a motion for the appointment of a

master to address the divorce and distribution of marital property. On July,

31, 2013, the trial court appointed Ralph Riehl III, Esquire, as the domestic

relations master. The parties filed their respective inventories, appraisals,

and income/expense statements, and they scheduled a status conference for

December 13, 2013. That hearing was continued, when Wife’s counsel

withdrew from representation. Following the completion of the rescheduled

status conference, on January 17, 2014, the master issued a letter

scheduling an evidentiary hearing for March 31, 2014. The letter directed

that pretrial statements must be filed on or before March 17, 2014. The

master cautioned that, pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1920.33(b) and (d), absent

good cause shown, the failure to timely file a pretrial statement would result

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in the preclusion from presenting evidence during the master’s hearing.1

Husband filed a timely pretrial statement. Wife submitted her pretrial

statement three days late.

During the ensuing master’s hearing, Husband testified on his own

behalf and introduced several exhibits. Wife also testified. However, when

she attempted to introduce evidence, Husband invoked Rule 1920.33 and

objected to its admission. Following a brief argument on the record and

consideration of Wife’s justification for the delay, i.e., counsel was out of

town on the preceding business day and had difficulty obtaining the

necessary information from Wife, the master decided to withhold its ruling

so that Wife could compile an evidentiary record. During Wife’s testimony,

Husband raised additional objections to references to other documents that

she had not identified in the untimely pretrial statement. The master

sustained those objections.

The master’s report and recommendation was filed on May 9, 2014.

The report included a thorough review of the facts and procedural history.

Ultimately, the master fashioned a recommended order that divided the net ____________________________________________

1 Notwithstanding Husband’s contention that the master filed the January 17, 2014 letter, it is not recorded on the list of docket entries. However, since the trial court attached the letter to the October 23, 2014 opinion as Exhibit A, the document was included in the certified record transmitted to this Court on appeal. For the sake of clarity, we highlight that the master filed and served formal notice of the evidentiary hearing separately. That notice, which is included in the record, was served by first-class mail on February 5, 2014.

-5- J-A29022-15

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