Tatham v. Rogers

170 Wash. App. 76, 2012 WL 3292953
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedAugust 14, 2012
DocketNo. 30085-4-III
StatusPublished
Cited by65 cases

This text of 170 Wash. App. 76 (Tatham v. Rogers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tatham v. Rogers, 170 Wash. App. 76, 2012 WL 3292953 (Wash. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinions

Siddoway, J.

¶1 Washington’s appearance of fairness doctrine not only requires a judge to be impartial, it also requires that the judge appear to be impartial. State v. Finch, 137 Wn.2d 792, 808, 975 P.2d 967 (1999). This case calls upon us to decide whether, and by what standard, James Rogers1 may obtain relief from a judgment where he learned of facts following trial, previously unknown, that give rise to a reasonable concern that he did not receive a [81]*81fair, impartial, and neutral hearing. A reasonable concern can exist even where there is no proof of actual bias.

¶2 We hold that a violation of the appearance of fairness doctrine does not result in a void judgment but does result in a judgment that may be vacated under CR 60(b)(ll). To obtain relief, the moving party must demonstrate a risk of injustice to the parties if relief is not granted. The showing was made here. Because we remand for a new trial, we do not reach Mr. Rogers’ alternative challenges to the distribution provided by the judgment.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶3 Elinor Tatham and James Rogers ended a nine-year committed intimate relationship in February 2006. In January 2007, Dr. Tatham filed the action below, seeking an equitable division of their community-like property. She later filed a petition for the entry of a parenting plan addressing the parties’ rights and obligations for the care and support of their daughter. Both matters were tried in April 2009 before Judge Craddock Verser, then the lone superior court judge in Jefferson County, where the parties lived and the action was filed.

¶4 The evidence at trial established that Dr. Tatham was then 47 years old and worked as a physician, and that Mr. Rogers was 52 years old and pursued work as a carpenter while attending school. Dr. Tatham had continuously worked as a physician during the parties’ relationship, while Mr. Rogers had been unemployed for the most part, devoting his energy and efforts and a portion of his income to renovating a house he had purchased in 1994. The house was referred to during trial as the “Rosewind home.” Mr. Rogers’ main source of income was a substantial inheritance, which amounted to $1,360,0002 at the time of separation and $917,000 at the time of property division. The [82]*82parties agreed that the inheritance was Mr. Rogers’ separate property.

¶5 Mr. Rogers-presented evidence at trial that deterioration in his mental health since 2008 made him effectively unemployable. Several of his friends testified that since 2008 they had witnessed episodes in which Mr. Rogers spoke rapidly, nonsensically, and abusively. Three agreed that they would not hire Mr. Rogers to perform carpentry work in his current state. Although not a psychiatrist, Dr. Tatham described his outbursts as “manic psychotic episode[s].” Report of Proceedings (RP) (Apr. 16, 2009) at 259. Mr. Rogers testified that he had visited several mental health doctors and professionals but had not been diagnosed with a mental illness, nor was he currently undergoing treatment. In connection with the parenting plan issues, the trial court found that Mr. Rogers was afflicted by “an emotional/mental disorder” and denied Mr. Rogers visitation with his daughter until he received a full mental health evaluation and pursued treatment if needed. Clerk’s Papers (CP) (Sept. 9, 2010) at 5.

¶6 Both parties entered the relationship with separate property, and they acquired significant community-like property during the relationship. They agreed as to the characterization of their property, and the court accepted the parties’ characterization. The separate property consisted of the following:

Separate Property
Elinor Tatham Funds from two Edwards Jones accounts, rolled into a TD Waterhouse account
James Rogers Rosewind home
Property in Stratford, Connecticut
2003 inheritance, held in a
Merrill Lynch account Quimper Credit Union account

[83]*83The court found the total value of the parties’ separate property at the time of separation to be $18,911 in the case of Dr. Tatham’s property and $1,360,203 in the case of Mr. Rogers’.

¶7 It found the following to be the parties’ community-like property, on which it placed the following values:

Community-Like Property
Property Value
Unimproved lot on Tibbals Street, pur- $90,000 chased in 2003
Eddy Street home purchased for Dr. $111,000 Tatham’s residence following the parties’ separation
Dr. Tatham’s one-sixth interest in a $82,000 medical corporation owning the Watership Medical Building
TD Waterhouse investment accounts $111,000
Jefferson Healthcare retirement $77,000 account
A “529” college savings account for $54,000 the parties’ daughter
A right of reimbursement for commu- $100,000 nity investment into the Rosewind house

Of this $625,000 in value of community-like assets, the court awarded 75 percent, or $471,000 in value, to Dr. Tatham, and 25 percent, or $154,000 in value, to Mr. Rogers, allocating the assets as follows:

Elinor Tatham Unimproved lot on Tibbals Street
Eddy Street home One-sixth interest in Watership Medical Building TD Waterhouse investment accounts
Jefferson Healthcare retirement account
James Rogers Right of reimbursement for community investment in Rosewind property
529 college savings account for daughter

[84]*84¶8 The trial court disclosed that its uneven distribution was heavily influenced by Mr. Rogers’ considerable separate assets, stating:

Mr. Rogers has substantially more separate property than Dr. Tatham. The extent of his separate property in comparison to Dr. Tatham’s minimal separate property is a compelling reason to award Dr. Tatham most of the property which would have been characterized as community property had the parties been married. In addition, most of the community property was acquired as a result of Dr. Tatham’s employment.

CP (Oct. 19, 2009) at 120 (Conclusion of Law 16).

¶9 Mr. Rogers moved for reconsideration of the property division, arguing that given his deteriorating mental health and relatively limited earnings he should have been awarded more than 25 percent of the community-like property. He also pointed out that if the 529 account for the parties’ daughter’s education was disregarded or treated as equally divided (contending that he or Dr. Tatham would have preserved it for their daughter), the community-like assets were distributed 82 percent to Dr. Tatham and only 18 percent to Mr. Rogers.

¶10 The trial court denied the motion in August 2009, citing Mr. Rogers’ failure to present evidence of a mental health diagnosis or that his alleged mental health issues affected his ability to earn income or manage his financial assets. Mr. Rogers timely appealed the July 2009 judgment distributing the community-like property.

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Bluebook (online)
170 Wash. App. 76, 2012 WL 3292953, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tatham-v-rogers-washctapp-2012.