Smith v. Smith

994 So. 2d 882, 2008 WL 4916408
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedNovember 18, 2008
Docket2007-CA-01356-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 994 So. 2d 882 (Smith v. Smith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. Smith, 994 So. 2d 882, 2008 WL 4916408 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

994 So.2d 882 (2008)

Alfred Randolph SMITH, Jr., Appellant,
v.
Brenna D. SMITH, Appellee.

No. 2007-CA-01356-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

November 18, 2008.

*883 John Denver Fike, attorney for appellant.

*884 Harry Jones Rosenthal, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

CARLTON, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Alfred Randolph Smith, Jr., was granted, in the Chancery Court of Hinds County, a divorce from Brenna D. Smith on the ground of cruel and inhuman treatment. The chancellor entered an order granting the divorce and ordering an equitable distribution of the parties' marital property. Aggrieved by the distribution of the property, Alfred appeals and asserts the following points of error:

I. Whether the trial court erred as a matter of law by awarding an equitable distribution of nonmarital property to Brenna.
II. Whether the trial court erred in failing to make specific findings of fact and conclusions of law relating to the distribution of the assets of the parties.
III. Whether the trial court erred as a matter of law in awarding Brenna an equal share of the marital property after finding that Alfred was entitled to a divorce on the ground of cruel and inhuman treatment.

¶ 2. Finding no error in the issues raised on appeal, we affirm in part, but remand in part for the limited purpose for the chancellor to reconsider the question of distribution of the firearms to the parties in light of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) (2006).

FACTS

¶ 3. Alfred and Brenna were married on February 14, 1999. They each had children from prior relationships and conceived no children during their marriage. They lived together in the marital home in Raymond, Mississippi.

¶ 4. After an altercation on Christmas night 2005, during which Brenna stabbed Alfred once in the chest and once in the leg, Alfred filed for divorce. In the complaint filed in the Chancery Court of Hinds County, Alfred alleged cruel and inhuman treatment by Brenna. Alfred also sought a temporary restraining order against Brenna, which the chancellor granted. Brenna subsequently filed a separate complaint asking for divorce based on cruel and inhuman treatment and habitual drunkenness by Alfred. The chancellor later consolidated the two cases. In a second temporary order, the chancellor allowed Alfred to remain in the marital home and ordered him to pay Brenna $700 per month in temporary support.

¶ 5. Brenna was indicted for aggravated assault for stabbing Alfred; however, she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of simple assault for stabbing Alfred. This conviction constituted a simple domestic violence conviction pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-7(3) (Rev.2006). At the divorce trial, Alfred put on evidence of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment, while Brenna elected not to pursue her fault-based grounds. According to Alfred, he was sick on Christmas day and, therefore, did not go see Brenna's family for Christmas. When Brenna came home and found out that Alfred had gone to see his own family, a scuffle ensued. Brenna claimed that the stabbing was an accident that happened during an argument that night while Alfred was drunk. She testified that she did not intend to stab Alfred and that she only pleaded guilty based on the advice of her attorney. She also introduced photographs depicting bruises that she allegedly received from Alfred. After hearing testimony on the issue and considering Brenna's guilty plea to misdemeanor simple assault for assaulting Alfred, the chancellor awarded Alfred a divorce from *885 Brenna on the ground of cruel and inhuman treatment.

¶ 6. Thereafter, the parties put on evidence regarding the property that needed to be distributed by the chancellor. The chancellor made findings regarding the distribution of assets and entered a judgment, awarding the property as follows: (1) one-half of the value of the marital home to Brenna, (2) $5,000 to Brenna for her equitable share of improvements to the Prassel Street property, (3) the Smith Pecan Farm to Alfred, (4) one-half of the value of each of the two vehicles to each party, (5) personal property divided as agreed with various items including china, silver, depression glass, a curio cabinet, an antique desk, and a John Deere ornament collection to Brenna, (6) the .25 automatic and .38 automatic pistols to Brenna and the .22 automatic and .45 rebar pistols to Alfred, (7) all interest and proceeds from the John Hancock life insurance policy to Alfred, (8) one-half interest in the Farm Bureau life insurance policy to each party, (9) the remaining $12,000 Legg-Mason account to Alfred, (10) Alfred's individual retirement account to Alfred, (11) one-half of the value of three Merchants & Planters checking accounts and a Merchants & Planters Bank money market account to each party, (12) one-half of the value of the Merchants & Planters Bank savings account to each party, (13) the McGregory Family Trust to Brenna, (14) temporary support to Brenna for eight months, with any amount paid exceeding eight months to be credited to Alfred, (15) the $3,000 credit card debt to be paid by Brenna. Additionally, following a motion to reconsider, the chancellor awarded Alfred a $2,000 credit toward the division of property for a Ford pickup truck that Brenna disposed of during the marriage.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 7. We grant the chancellor much discretion in our review of a domestic relations case. Steiner v. Steiner, 788 So.2d 771, 777(¶ 18) (Miss.2001). Our scope of review in such a case is limited by the substantial evidence/manifest error rule. Mizell v. Mizell, 708 So.2d 55, 59(¶ 12) (Miss. 1998) (citing Stevison v. Woods, 560 So.2d 176, 180 (Miss.1990)). We will not disturb a chancellor's findings unless manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous, or an erroneous legal standard was applied. Id. at 59(¶ 13).

ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUES

I. Whether the chancellor erred by equitably distributing nonmarital property.

¶ 8. Alfred first takes issue with the chancellor's division of property that Alfred argues was separate property and, therefore, not subject to division. In his argument on this issue, Alfred refers to three items that the chancellor divided: the Prassel Street rental property, a Chrysler van, and a 1984 Chevrolet pickup truck. Regarding the Prassel Street property, Alfred claims that the chancellor found it to be separate, yet she awarded Brenna $5,000 as her equitable portion for improvements she made to the property. Regarding the vehicles, Alfred takes issue with the chancellor's decision to award half of the value to each party without classifying them as either marital or separate property.

¶ 9. When equitably distributing marital property, a chancellor should consider the well-known factors established by Ferguson v. Ferguson, 639 So.2d 921, 928 (Miss.1994). Paraphrased, those factors are as follows: (1) contribution to the accumulation of property, (2) prior disposition of or distribution of assets, (3) market and emotional value of assets subject to distribution, (4) the value of nonmarital assets, *886 (5) taxes and other economic consequences of the proposed distribution, (6) the extent to which property division can eliminate the need for alimony, (7) the needs of the parties, and (8) any other equitable factors. Id.

¶ 10.

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994 So. 2d 882, 2008 WL 4916408, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-smith-missctapp-2008.