Sadowsky v. Larson (In Re Larson)

169 B.R. 945, 30 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 393, 1994 Bankr. LEXIS 1163, 1994 WL 401574
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. North Dakota
DecidedJuly 6, 1994
Docket19-30130
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 169 B.R. 945 (Sadowsky v. Larson (In Re Larson)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. North Dakota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sadowsky v. Larson (In Re Larson), 169 B.R. 945, 30 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 393, 1994 Bankr. LEXIS 1163, 1994 WL 401574 (N.D. 1994).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

WILLIAM A. HILL, Bankruptcy Judge.

The plaintiff commenced the above-entitled adversary proceeding by Complaint filed on January 10, 1994, seeking to have an obligation stemming from a monetary judgment entered by a state court in connection with a divorce decree declared nondischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(5). The matter directly before the court arises by cross motions for summary judgment filed by the defendant, Michael M. Larson (Larson), and by the plaintiff, Cindy Sadowsky (Sadowsky), on May 27 and June 24, 1994, respectively. Each party asserts that an examination of the pleadings, papers, affidavits, and accompanying materials demonstrate that no genuine issue of material fact exists in this case and that he or she is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On July 13, 1982, the Stark County District Court for the State of North Dakota entered a judgment of divorce which dissolved the marriage of the plaintiff, Cindy *949 Sadowsky, and the defendant, Michael M. Larson. After an evidentiary hearing on the matter, the state court drafted an order for judgment and made relatively detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law. Sadow-sky was awarded custody of the two children born during the marriage. The court specifically delineated or categorized the obligations of the respective parties in its “findings of fact” to include, inter alia, the following:

6. As and for child support, the Plaintiff [ (Michael M. Larson) ] shall pay to the Clerk of the District Court the sum of Two Hundred ($200.00) Dollars per month per child until each reaches the age of majori-ty_ The Plaintiff shall also be responsible for reasonable necessary expenses for dental, medical, optical and surgical care for the minor children. The Plaintiff shall also be entitled to the dependency exemptions for the tax year 1982 and all subsequent years.
7. The parties have previously divided personal property of the marriage. The Court hereby grants to each party the property that they presently have in their possession. More specifically, the Plaintiff shall receive the 1977 Chevrolet Suburban and the Defendant [ (Cindy Sadowsky) ] shall receive a 1981 Mercury Cougar.
8. After considering the Ruff-Fisher guidelines, the Court determines that the Plaintiff shall pay alimony and support in the amount of One Hundred an no/100 ($100.00) per month until the Defendant’s death or until she remarries. In awarding this amount, the Court recognizes that the Defendant is able to contribute to her support but simply is not able to support herself In addition to the amounts stated above, the Plaintiff shall pay as alimony the debt on the 1981 Mercury Cougar. Any amounts which are in arrears as of this date shall be brought up to date and shall be considered alimony to the Defendant. The alimony as stated above shall be paid to the Clerk of the District Court and the Defendant shall be responsible to make the payments for the 1981 Mercury Cougar.

See Stark County District Court Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law & Order for Judgment, at 2-3 (July 8,1982) (emphasis added). Additionally, the court made “conclusions of law” which substantially parrot the findings of fact and include, inter alia, the following:

4. As for child support, the Plaintiff shall pay to the Clerk of the District Court the sum of Two Hundred and no/100 ($200.00) per month per child until each reaches the age of majority. The child support payments shall start July 10, 1982, and continue each month thereafter_ The Plaintiff shall also be responsible for reasonable necessary expenses for dental, medical, optical and surgical care for the minor children. The Plaintiff shall also be entitled to the dependency exemptions for the tax year 1982 and all subsequent years.
5. The parties shall each receive the property which they have in their possession. The Plaintiff shall receive the 1977 Chevrolet Suburban and the Defendant shall receive the 1981 Mercury Cougar.
6. The Plaintiff shall pay alimony and support in the amount of One Hundred and no/100 Dollars per month until the Defendant’s death or until she remarries. The Plaintiff shall also pay as alimony an amount equal to the monthly car payment on the 1981 Cougar. This alimony shall continue until an amount has been paid to the Defendant equal to the unpaid balance of the debt on the 1981 Cougar. Any amounts which are in arrears as of this date shall be brought up to date and shall be considered alimony to the Defendant. All of the alimony as stated above shall be paid to the Clerk of the District Court.
7. The Defendant shall be responsible for the debt ... with Ford Motor Credit Corporation for the 1981 Mercury Cougar.

Id. at 3-4 (emphasis added). See also Judgment of Stark County District Court, at 2-3 (July 13,1982); Order Confirming Child Support, Spousal Support and Attorney Fees Arrearages, at 1 & 2 (July 29, 1987) (designating arrearages on obligation which represented an amount equivalent to payment on 1981 Mercury Cougar as “spousal support”).

*950 The plaintiffs obligation for alimony and child support was modified at various times subsequent to the entry of the divorce judgment. 1 On at least two occasions, Larson was deemed to be in contempt of court for willfully failing to comply with the judgment for divorce and make the court-ordered payments:

The Court herewith determines that [Larson] is willfully, knowingly and intentionally in contempt of this Court by virtue of his disregard of the Court’s Judgment requiring [him] to provide modest spousal support of $100.00 per month, and by intentionally permitting the repossession of one 1981 Mercury Cougar automobile, when in fact [Larson] has secured housing and reliable transportation for his present family. 2

See Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, Order for Contempt and Order for Amended Judgment, at 7-8 (July 17, 1986) (emphasis added).

Larson continued to remain significantly in arrears on the court-imposed obligations. In an apparent effort to execute on the outstanding indebtedness, Sadowsky moved the state court for an order “reducing the arrear-age for spousal support to money judgment” by motion filed on August 5, 1993. The motion was accompanied by an affidavit and schedules from the clerk of district court who confirmed the arrearage of “spousal support”. The court entered an order on August 30, 1993, reducing the arrearage of “spousal support”, in the amount of $13,-676.89, to money judgment. 3

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Bluebook (online)
169 B.R. 945, 30 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 393, 1994 Bankr. LEXIS 1163, 1994 WL 401574, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sadowsky-v-larson-in-re-larson-ndb-1994.