Monica Faye Knight v. Bobby Wayne Knight

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 29, 2009
Docket14-08-00424-CV
StatusPublished

This text of Monica Faye Knight v. Bobby Wayne Knight (Monica Faye Knight v. Bobby Wayne Knight) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Monica Faye Knight v. Bobby Wayne Knight, (Tex. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

Affirmed in Part and Reversed and Remanded in Part and Opinion filed October 29, 2009.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

____________

NO. 14-08-00424-CV

MONICA FAYE KNIGHT, Appellant

V.

BOBBY WAYNE KNIGHT, Appellee

On Appeal from the 246th District Court

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 2007-40318

O P I N I O N

Appellant, Monica Faye Knight, appeals the final decree of divorce entered by the trial court in connection with her divorce from appellee, Bobby Wayne Knight.  In one issue, Monica contends that the trial court=s division of the marital estate was manifestly unfair and constituted an abuse of discretion because the court (1) erroneously valued the properties awarded to her; (2) refused to grant her reimbursement claims; and (3) failed to factor in Bobby=s fault in the dissolution of the marriage.  We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

I.  FACTUAL BACKGROUND

  Monica and Bobby entered into a common law marriage in 1994.  On December 16, 2000, they were ceremonially married.  No children were born of the marriage.  On July 6, 2007, Bobby filed a petition for divorce, and on July 19, 2007, Monica filed a counter-petition for divorce.  Following a bench trial, the trial court signed the final decree of divorce on February 29, 2008.

During the course of their marriage, Monica and Bobby invested in real property but failed to follow procedures necessary to preserve the integrity of the respective marital estates.  In 1995, they purchased two houses.  The first, located at 9310 Forest Dale (Athe Forest Dale property@), was paid in full in 1998.  The second one was located at 9314 Talton (Athe Talton property@).  The two properties, the titles to which were taken only in Bobby=s name, were used periodically as rental properties.

In 1996, the parties purchased a house located at 8006 Mayhaw (Athe Mayhaw property@) which became the marital residence until their separation.  In 1998, they purchased another house located at 9313 Forest View (Athe Forest View property@) from Monica=s brother and sister-in-law, Edwin and Penny Griffin.  As with the previous properties, the titles to these two properties were taken only in Bobby=s name.

On May 7, 1999, Bobby conveyed a 50% interest in the Forest Dale and Talton properties to Monica.[1]  On November 24, 1999, Bobby deeded his remaining 50% interest in the Forest Dale and Talton properties to her.[2]

In October 2002, as a result of the damage caused by Tropical Storm Allison, the Harris County Flood Control District purchased the Forest View and Forest Dale properties.  On October 7, 2002, the Forest Dale property was purchased for $63,000.  On October 18, 2002, the Forest View property, which had a $30,000 lien, was purchased for $64,000.  On October 16, 2002, Monica wrote a check to Bank One for $45,769.47 to retire the mortgage on the Mayhaw property.[3]

In 2005, Monica and her sister, Wendy, each inherited a 50% interest in a house located at 9105 Lazydale from their father=s estate.  In 2006, Monica borrowed $65,000.  This loan was secured by a home equity lien on the Talton property, part of Monica=s separate estate.  From the loan proceeds, $20,000 was used to purchase the remaining 50% interest in 9105 Lazydale from Wendy, and $40,000 was used to purchase a house located at 9109 Lazydale that had been inherited by Rommel Griffin, Monica=s brother.  Monica testified that the latter sale was subject to a promise that in the event she decided to sell the house, she would first offer to sell it back to Rommel for $40,000.  The remaining $5,000 was used to re-roof the two Lazydale properties.

In addition to the real property above, the parties= other marital property subject to division by the court included Monica=s 401(k), ten cemetery plots, Monica=s car, and Bobby=s truck.

In her pleadings and at trial, Monica sought a disproportionate division of the community estate based on, among other things, fault in the breakup of the marriage, fraud on the community, community indebtedness, wasting of community assets and the creation of community property through the use of her separate estate.  Additionally, she sought reimbursement to the community for funds expended by the community estate for the payment of unsecured liabilities of Bobby=s separate estate. 

In support of her claim that Bobby was at fault for the break-up of the marriage, Monica testified that Bobby left her four times during the marriage, leaving only a note each time.  On the third occasion, he staged his own abduction and left a $50,000 ransom note.  After returning home, he told Monica that his abductors were going to kill her and Ado something to her entire family@ if she did not pay the ransom.  Monica testified that, due to this incident, she suffered a breakdown.  She also testified that Bobby had become obsessed with pornography during the marriage and, as a result, refused intimacy with her.  Bobby did not dispute this testimony.

In support of her claim of fraud on the community, Monica testified that Bobby had paid his ex-wife $500 a month for eighteen months while Monica and Bobby were married.  Bobby testified that he paid his ex-wife longer than ordered to do so by the court so that she could complete her college studies and obtain a degree.  He further testified that Monica knew about the payments when they began dating, but admitted later telling her that he had stopped paying his ex-wife.  In addition, Monica claimed that Bobby had paid a separate property judgment debt in the amount of $8,139.84 with community funds.

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Monica Faye Knight v. Bobby Wayne Knight, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/monica-faye-knight-v-bobby-wayne-knight-texapp-2009.