Praus v. Praus

2010 ND 156, 786 N.W.2d 697, 2010 N.D. 156, 2010 N.D. LEXIS 148, 2010 WL 3222115
North Dakota Supreme Court·Decided August 17, 2010·No. No. 20090354·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

SANDSTROM, Justice.

[¶ 1] Ervin Praus appeals from an order denying his N.D.R.Civ.P. 60(b) motion for clarification of and relief from a judgment granting Celestine Praus a divorce from him and distributing their marital property. Because Ervin Praus failed to establish any grounds for relief from the divorce judgment, we conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion. We affirm.

I

[¶ 2] Ervin and Celestine Praus were married in 1963 in New England. The couple separated in December 2006, and Celestine Praus sued for a divorce in October 2007. On the basis of Ervin Praus’s history of domestic violence, the district court issued an ex parte interim protection order excluding Ervin Praus, who lived in Dickinson, from Celestine Praus’s residence in South Heart during the pendency of the action. In February 2008, the court granted his attorney’s motion to withdraw from the case because he had hired another attorney to represent him. In July 2008, the court granted Celestine Praus’s motion to compel discovery and “reserved” her motion to hold Ervin Praus in contempt for failure to comply with discovery requests. The parties jointly filed their N.D.R.Ct. 8.3 joint property and debt listing outlining the values of the marital property on December 4, 2008. At the time, Celestine Praus was 64 years old with a monthly gross income of $435, and Ervin Praus was 68 years old with a monthly gross income of $1,443.

[¶ 3] A day-long court trial was scheduled for December 8, 2008. The district court gave the parties an opportunity to attempt a settlement. Celestine Praus, represented by two attorneys, and Ervin Praus, represented by two attorneys, negotiated in the courthouse for much of the day and reached a settlement on the disposition of the parties’ real and personal property and other matters. One of the [699] provisions of the settlement agreement, which was read into the record, provided:

3. Spousal Support/Alimony. The parties agree that the Plaintiff has made significant economic sacrifices as a result of the marriage. Plaintiffs income is limited due to the economic sacrifices she has made throughout the marriage, and Defendant has economically received the benefit of those sacrifices. Defendant has the ability to pay spousal support, and Plaintiff has an ongoing need for spousal support. The parties agree that in lieu of an ongoing monthly obligation, that the Plaintiff shall receive a disproportionate percentage of marital property as outlined below. The parties further acknowledge that this Agreement regarding spousal support/alimony is contractual in nature and based upon all of the mutual promises and considerations herein stated and shall not be subject to change or modification by the parties or by any court.

(Emphasis added.) The district court ruled “the contractual divorce Settlement Agreement entered into by the parties is both fair and equitable, and is hereby approved by the Court, and the material provisions thereof shall be incorporated in the Judgment entered herein.”

[¶ 4] In May 2009, four months after entry of the divorce judgment, Ervin Praus moved for clarification of and relief from the divorce judgment under N.D.R.Civ.P. 60(b). Celestine Praus responded with a motion to hold him in contempt for failing to deliver funds awarded to her in the divorce decree. He alleged he had mistakenly entered into the agreement because of mental confusion and physical fatigue caused by his hospitalization shortly before the trial date. He has diabetes and had several strokes before divorce proceedings were initiated. He claimed in an affidavit, “despite being asked by the Court if I understood the terms of the proposed settlement; I simply did not. I was extremely physically and mentally fatigued and felt seriously down-trodden and not in my right mind.” One of his attorneys claimed that the “proposed settlement agreement was contoured to structure a simple 50/50 split of the marital estate between the parties,” but then acknowledged that “Defendant’s acceptance of the disproportionate division of the property was based primarily on his belief that this was compensation for fault.” Ervin Praus alleged he received property worth $263,420.89 and Celestine Praus received property worth $528,109.62. She disputed the figures.

[¶ 5] At the hearing on the motions, Ervin Praus testified he was “upset and confused” on the date set for the divorce trial. His attorney conceded, “Everybody knew about these values ahead of time,” and stated he “had no real concept or idea ... of Mr. Praus’s mental disposition at the time.” The attorney also claimed he “became confused” during negotiations and believed the parties’ individual property and debt listings were what each party would receive under the settlement agreement. The attorney argued the disproportionate award of marital property was “inequitable” and proposed that Ervin Praus be awarded additional property to make an “equitable distribution” in exchange for his paying Celestine Praus approximately $30,000 in spousal support over a three-year period.

[¶ 6] The district court granted Celes-tine Praus’s motion and denied Ervin Praus’s motion for clarification of and relief from the judgment:

No evidence was presented to support Defendant’s claim that he was not of sound mind on the date of trial and agreement to the settlement terms. There was no indication to any of the [700] parties or counsel present that day of a problem with Defendant’s mental status. All parties and counsel knew all of the information, numbers, property, and basis upon which the settlement was based. Defendant has not met his burden set forth in Rule 60(b) that the finality of the judgment should be disturbed.

[¶ 7] The district court had jurisdiction under N.D. Const, art. VI, § 8, and N.D.C.C. § 27-05-06. The appeal was timely under N.D.R.App.P. 4(a). This Court has jurisdiction under N.D. Const, art. VI, §§ 2 and 6, and N.D.C.C. § 28-27-01.

II

[¶ 8] Represented by a different attorney on appeal, Ervin Praus argues the district court’s decision should be reversed because the parties’ settlement agreement is procedurally and substantively unconscionable and because the agreement resulted from mistake, duress, fraud or undue influence.

[¶ 9] We review a district court’s denial of a motion to vacate a judgment under the abuse of discretion standard. Vann v. Vann, 2009 ND 118, ¶ 10, 767 N.W.2d 855. A district court abuses its discretion when it acts in an arbitrary, unreasonable, or unconscionable manner, or when it misinterprets or misapplies the law. Cartier v. Northwestern Elec., Inc., 2010 ND 14, ¶ 10, 777 N.W.2d 866.

Eli 10] In Vann, 2009 ND 118, ¶ 14, 767 N.W.2d 855, we explained:

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Praus v. Praus, 2010 ND 156, 786 N.W.2d 697, 2010 N.D. 156, 2010 N.D. LEXIS 148, 2010 WL 3222115 (N.D. 2010).

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