Real, J. v. Real, L.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 14, 2015
Docket299 EDA 2015
StatusUnpublished

This text of Real, J. v. Real, L. (Real, J. v. Real, L.) 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
Real, J. v. Real, L., (Pa. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

J-A28036-15

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

JOYCE REAL, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellant

v.

LAWRENCE REAL,

Appellee No. 299 EDA 2015

Appeal from the Order Entered December 22, 2014 In the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County Domestic Relations at No(s): 2005-20886

BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., PANELLA, and SHOGAN, JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY SHOGAN, J.: FILED DECEMBER 14, 2015

Appellant, Joyce Real (“Wife”), appeals pro se from the order entered

on December 22, 2014. We affirm.1

In its Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) opinion, the trial court provided a thorough

recitation of the relevant facts and procedural history of this matter, which

were set forth as follows:

____________________________________________

1 On October 19, 2015, following the October 6, 2015 oral argument on this matter, Wife filed a motion with this Court requesting that we read her brief. Motion, 10/16/15, at 1. Wife’s prayer for relief in the motion is as follows: “[Wife] respectfully requests that this Honorable Court read [Wife’s] Brief and Reviews Evidence [Wife] has on the Record and Reverses the Order of the Lower Court in its Entirety.” Motion, 10/19/15, at 6. As the members of this panel have carefully read and reviewed Wife’s brief, we DENY her motion as moot. J-A28036-15

On November 9, 2007, an equitable distribution hearing was held on the equitable distribution claims of [Wife] and Defendant/Appellee Lawrence Real (hereinafter “[Husband]”) before Master in Equitable Distribution Bruce Goldenberg, Esquire. On February 8, 2008, Mr. Goldenberg issued a report deciding the parties’ economic issues. [Wife] filed exceptions to the report on March 3, 2008, and her exceptions were denied after hearing by the Honorable Arthur R. Tilson on May 16, 2008. A final divorce decree and order w[ere] entered by Judge Tilson on July 25, 2008. [Wife] did not file a motion for reconsideration of the decree and order, nor did she file a notice of appeal.

Paragraph 1 of the July 25, 2008 decree and order states in part:

“The property located at 75 West Levering Mill Road, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania shall be sold. The evidence reflects that the house will not be able to be sold as long as Wife is residing there. Therefore, Husband will be granted exclusive possession of the property for the purpose of preparing the property ready for sale.”

Paragraph 8 of the decree and order states in part:

“Husband will pay alimony to Wife for a period of eight (8) years following the entry of this Divorce Decree. The amount of the alimony will be in the amount of $3,500.00 per month.”

On October 15, 2008, [Husband] filed a Petition for Special Relief requesting enforcement of paragraph 1 of the July 25, 2008 divorce decree and order since [Wife] refused to vacate the marital residence. While [Husband’s] petition was pending, on May 20, 2009 Judge Tilson issued an order finding [Wife] to be an “incapacitated person who is not represented in the action” and appointed Maria Gibbons, Esquire as a guardian ad litem for [Wife]. The underlying matter was stayed by the court while the issue of [Wife’s] competence was litigated in the Montgomery County Orphan’s Court.

[Husband] filed a second petition for special relief on March 17, 2010 requesting that the stay order be vacated and requesting that [Wife] be held in contempt, that [Wife] be

-2- J-A28036-15

evicted from the marital residence so that it could be sold pursuant to the terms of the July 25, 2008 decree and order, and that [Husband] receive credit for payments made to [Wife] and to third parties on her behalf, against his alimony obligation as set forth in the decree and order.

On November 24, 2010, The Honorable Lois E. Murphy of the Montgomery County Orphan’s Court declared [Wife] “a totally incapacitated person” and appointed Cheryl L. Austin, Esquire as guardian ad litem for [Wife].1 On December 7, 2011, Judge Murphy issued an order vacating the appointment of Ms. Austin as [Wife’s] guardian ad litem, and appointed Jacqueline J. Shafer, Esquire as counsel for [Wife].2 On January 21, 2011, a stipulation for agreed order vacating appointment of guardian ad litem was entered as an order of the court, removing Ms. Gibbons appointment as [Wife’s] guardian ad litem. On January 30, 2012, Judge Murphy vacated the November 24, 2010 order lifting the finding of [Wife’s] incapacitation and the matter was referred to family court. 1 By agreement of counsel for both parties’, as stated on the record at the June 4, 2014 hearing, the court took judicial notice of the orders issued in the Orphan’s Court matter. 2 The Honorable Cheryl L. Austin was elected to the bench of the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County in November, 2011.

On February 3, 2014, [Wife] filed a Petition to Modify divorce order and decree in the nature of a nunc pro tunc Petition. In her petition, [Wife] requested that the court modify the July 25, 2008 decree and order by “permitting discovery of the up to now hidden assets”, and “to hold in abeyance a decision regarding the distribution of these assets pending receipt of the information concerning them ...”

The court held hearings in this matter on March 25, 2014, June 4, 2014 and October 14, 2014. At the hearings, [Wife] was represented by Lauren H. Kane, Esquire, and [Husband] was represented by Harry M. Byrne, Esquire.

At the March 25, 2014 hearing, [Husband] testified that he has attempted to obtain possession and title to the marital

-3- J-A28036-15

residence at 75 West Levering Mill Road in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania since 2008 when the parties[’] divorce decree was entered granting him exclusive possession of the property. [Husband] testified that on March 16, 2011, a stipulation for agreed order was entered which gave him credit on his alimony payments of $3,500.00 per month for 29 months, from August 1, 2008 until December 31, 2010. N.T. March 25, 2014 at 12-14. [Husband] testified that he has made additional payments for the support and maintenance of the marital residence by paying the mortgage, a home equity loan homeowner’s insurance, and taxes from 2011 until the time of the hearing. N.T. March 25, 2014 at 14-26. [Husband] testified that the marital residence has fallen into a state of disrepair since 2006, the last time he was inside the property. N.T. March 25, 2014 at 26-31.

At the June 4, 2014 hearing, counsel for both parties made oral argument on [Wife’s] February 3, 2014, Petition to Modify divorce order and decree in the nature of a nunc pro tunc petition. In her argument, counsel for [Wife] argued that the petition was based on extrinsic fraud only, “We’re not talking about intrinsic fraud here. We’re talking about extrinsic fraud.” N.T. June 4, 2014 at 22. [Wife’s] counsel alleged that there were hidden assets which were not disclosed at the time of the equitable distribution hearing, and, therefore, her petition to open the divorce decree should be granted. [Wife’s] counsel also argued that the statute of limitations pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S.A. §3332, “Opening or vacating decrees”, was tolled from the date of Judge Tilson’s May 20, 2009 order until [Wife] was declared by Judge Murphy to be competent on January 30, 2012. N.T. June 4, 2014 at 23.

Defense counsel argued to the court that [Wife]’s allegations as to hidden assets of [Husband’s] had no basis, especially in light of the fact that [Wife], although declared incompetent, was represented from May 20, 2009 until January 30, 2012 by counsel and/or guardians ad litem, and had retained a financial expert, Gregory Cowhey, at the time of equitable distribution. Defense counsel argued that [Wife] alleged that there are hidden assets since 2005 when she filed a complaint in divorce.

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Real, J. v. Real, L., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/real-j-v-real-l-pasuperct-2015.