Milton v. Milton

71 So. 3d 326, 2010 La.App. 1 Cir. 1589, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 536, 2011 WL 2623564
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 9, 2011
DocketNo. 2010 CA 1589
StatusPublished

This text of 71 So. 3d 326 (Milton v. Milton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Milton v. Milton, 71 So. 3d 326, 2010 La.App. 1 Cir. 1589, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 536, 2011 WL 2623564 (La. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

WELCH, J.

|2Ernest Deny Milton appeals a judgment partitioning community property. He challenges the trial court’s valuation of a community asset (community dairy cows) and the denial of certain reimbursement claims made by him. We amend the judgment of the trial court with respect to the net value of the community, and, as amended, that portion of the judgment, including the adjudication of the reimbursement claims of the parties, is affirmed. We vacate that portion of the judgment allocating the community assets and liabilities and ordering Derry Milton to pay an equalizing sum in the amount of $15,000.00 to Kelly Milton. For the reasons set forth in this opinion with regard to value of the community dairy cows, we remand for a re-allocation of the community assets and liabilities, and if necessary, for the determination of a new equalizing payment to one of the parties based on the re-allocation.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Derry Milton and Kelly Milton were married on June 27, 1980. During their marriage, they lived in Tangipahoa Parish, where they owned and operated a dairy farm. On July 2, 2008, Kelly Milton filed a petition for divorce, and a judgment of divorce was ultimately granted by the trial court on August 31, 2009.

While the divorce was pending, the parties entered into a stipulated judgment imposing a mutual, reciprocal preliminary injunction prohibiting, enjoining, and restraining both parties from alienating, encumbering, disposing of, or concealing any asset belonging to the community, without written permission of the other party. The parties also stipulated that Derry Milton was authorized to operate the dairy farm and incur, as his separate obligation, various expenses for the dairy farm, including but not limited to [..¡purchasing feed, incurring a feed bill, purchasing replacement cows, incurring debts, repairing and maintaining equipment, and incurring fuel expenses. However, if those expenses inured to the benefit of the community, Derry Milton reserved the right to seek reimbursement for such expenses. Additionally, Derry Milton was authorized to sell the milk, to receive the proceeds of the milk checks to pay expenses of the dairy, and to sell cows, subject to an accounting for any profits when the community property was partitioned. With regard to the sale of cows, Derry Milton was to provide written notice to Kelly Milton, including the number of cows sold, the person (or entity) to whom the cows were sold, and the sales price.

On February 19, 2009, Kelly Milton filed a petition to partition community property. After both parties filed their sworn detailed descriptive lists of all community assets and liabilities, a trial to partition the community was held on January 28, 2010.

At trial, the parties stipulated to the value of the following community assets: community interest in family home (located at 69495 Highway 1054 in Kentwood, Louisiana) with 23.24 acres of land — $223,-333.00;1 26.90 acres of land (also located on Highway 1054 in Kentwood, Louisiana) — $135,000.00; household goods and furnishings in family home — $5,000.00; equipment in barn — $9,525.00; and DFA [329]*329equities and income for dairy from government — $25,117.00.2 The parties also stipulated to the value of the following community liabilities: Kentwood Co-op (dairy)— $79,539.84; Kentwood Co-op (feed bill)— $16.50; Bank of America (Visa)— $5,668.00; |4and Mildred Day (raising calves — dairy)—$500.00.3

The parties also stipulated to the value of the following reimbursement claims of Kelly Milton: ½ of Kelly Milton’s separate funds received from sale of timber from separate property (½ of $9,000.00)— $4,500.00; ½ of ¾ of the rental value for Derry Milton’s use of the family home for 18 months — $5,940.00; ½ proceeds from sale of cows including yearlings and heifers — $23,701.00; ½ of payments made on Bank of America (Visa) debt — $2,100.00; ½ of Kelly Milton’s separate funds received (from sale of timber — $85,486.82) used for community portion (⅜) of home (½ x ⅜ of $56,991.00) — $28,495.00; Kelly Milton’s separate funds (from sale of timber— $85,486.82) used for Derry Milton’s separate portion (⅜) of home (⅛ of $85,486.82)— $28,495.00; ½ of Kelly Milton’s separate funds from sale of separate property used on dairy farm (½ of $32,000.00)— $16,000.00; ½ of Kelly Milton’s separate funds from a succession used for community purposes (½ of $13,734.71) — $6,867.00; ½ of Kelly Milton’s attorney fees through date of divorce (½ of $9,854.50) — $4,927.00; ½ of all college grants received for major children that was not used to pay Bank of America card which was used to pay tuition — $645.00; and ½ of all income from the dairy or property from July 2008 through trial, including milk checks, USDA deposits — $60,213.00.4

Lastly, the parties also stipulated to the value of the following reimbursement claims of Derry Milton: ⅛ of Derry Milton’s separate funds from inheritance used for community purposes (⅜ of $13,-500.00) — $6,750.00; ⅜ of payments made on Bank of America (Visa) debt— $2,187.00; ½ of Derry Milton’s attorney fees through date of divorce (½ of $7,800.00) — $3,900.00⅛ ½ of payment of Agri-Max cow loan since July 2008 (½ of $62,509.00) — $31,254.00; ½ payment of Spring Creek Milling (½ of $1,683.02)— $841.51; ½ of miscellaneous dairy expenses — $3,000.00; ⅛ of electric bill for dairy barn (⅛ of $4,944.00) — $2,323.00; já payments ADS (½ of $1,391.00) — $696.00; ½ of ⅜ payment of home repairs in the amount of $994.00; ½ payment to Parish Disposal in the amount of $800.00; ½ of payment to Kentwood Co-op (feed bill) (⅜ of $61,094.33) — $30,547.00; ½ of payment to Kentwood Co-op (miscellaneous bill) (½ of $18,226.00) — $9,112.00.5

A trial on the value of the remaining community assets and liabilities and on the reimbursement claims of the parties was then held. At the conclusion of trial, the trial court made the following findings: that the remaining community assets were 163 cows with a value of $177,575.00, an IRA account with a value of $32,903.68, and a John Deere tractor 770 with a value of $7,300.006;7 that there were no other [330]*330community liabilities (other than those that had already been stipulated to);8 that Kelly Milton failed to prove and was not entitled to reimbursement claims for the proceeds from the sale of hay and rye grass; that Derry Milton had a reimbursement claim for the use of his separate funds from timber proceeds in the amount of | fi$5,000.00;9 and that Derry Milton was not entitled to reimbursement or credit for the value of his separate cows that he brought into the marriage, to the fair market rental value of his separate 84-acre dairy land used during the marriage for the benefit of the community, or to dairy farm manager or milk hand wages for managing and working on the dairy farm by himself for the benefit of the community for one and a half years following the termination of the community.

Subject to a reservation of the right to appeal the trial court’s factual findings detailed above, the parties stipulated: that the net community (total community assets less total community liabilities) had a value of $530,029.00,10 with each party being entitled to ½ of the net community estate or $265,015.00.11

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Bluebook (online)
71 So. 3d 326, 2010 La.App. 1 Cir. 1589, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 536, 2011 WL 2623564, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/milton-v-milton-lactapp-2011.