Tupper v. Roan

206 P.3d 237, 227 Or. App. 391, 2009 Ore. App. LEXIS 277
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedApril 15, 2009
DocketCV06100435; A136095
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 206 P.3d 237 (Tupper v. Roan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tupper v. Roan, 206 P.3d 237, 227 Or. App. 391, 2009 Ore. App. LEXIS 277 (Or. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

*393 LANDAU, P. J.

At issue in this case is the authority of a court to impose a constructive trust on a portion of the proceeds of a life insurance policy that was supposed to have been — but was not — maintained by the decedent for the benefit of his child and former wife. The former wife argues that she and the decedent agreed to the imposition of a constructive trust in the event that he breached his obligation to provide the insurance. The beneficiary of the insurance policy contends that she was not a party to that agreement and that, under Oregon law, unless there is evidence that she knew or should have known of such an agreement, there is no basis for the imposition of a constructive trust on her property. Both parties moved for summary judgment. The trial court concluded that the former wife is entitled to judgment as a matter of law and imposed a constructive trust on a portion of the life insurance proceeds paid to the beneficiary. We conclude that, because there is an issue of fact concerning whether the beneficiary knew or should have known about the decedent’s obligations, the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the former wife. We also conclude that, because the former wife failed to offer evidence of each element of her claims, the trial court should have granted summary judgment dismissing those claims. We therefore reverse and remand for entry of judgment in favor of the beneficiary.

I. FACTS

Plaintiff Heather Tupper married Jerry Tupper in 1999, and their child was born in 2002. They began divorce proceedings a year later. A stipulated dissolution judgment was entered in January 2004, granting Heather custody of the child and requiring Jerry to pay child support. 1 The judgment also provides, in a section titled “Life Insurance and Beneficiary Designations”:

“So long as either party has a legal obligation to support any child of the parties, each party shall maintain an insurance policy insuring his or her life in an amount of not less *394 than $100,000, naming the other parent as trustee on behalf of any supported child.”

That section includes “provisions relating] to procedural aspects of the requirement to maintain insurance,” one of which provides:

“A constructive trust shall be imposed over the proceeds of any insurance owned by either party at the time of either party’s death if either party fails to maintain insurance in said amount, or if said insurance is in force but another beneficiary is designated to receive said funds. The trustee shall make distribution as described herein.”

Another provides, “During the term of the obligation to maintain insurance each party shall furnish to the other party, upon request, a copy of the policy or evidence th[at] proper life insurance is in force with the appropriate beneficiary designation in effect.” At the time of the dissolution judgment, Jerry owned no life insurance policy of any kind.

Shortly after the entry of the dissolution judgment, Jerry began living with defendant Danette Roan. Together they started a business, in which Danette worked without compensation. In February 2006, Danette and Jerry each purchased a life insurance policy with a death benefit of $600,000, naming the other as sole beneficiary. Jerry died three months later.

In accordance with Jerry’s beneficiary designation, Danette received $600,000 in proceeds. At his death, Jerry was still obligated to pay child support to Heather but owned no life insurance policy other than the one naming Danette as beneficiary.

Heather initiated this action against Danette. In her complaint, Heather alleged that Danette knew about Jerry’s breach of the life insurance obligation in the dissolution judgment when Jerry purchased a life insurance policy and named Danette its sole beneficiary. Heather asserted a claim for unjust enrichment against Danette, requesting a constructive trust on $100,000 of the proceeds Danette had received. In the alternative, Heather asserted a claim for money had and received, requesting $100,000 in damages.

*395 Danette answered, denying that she knew about Jerry’s life insurance obligation before his death. She also asserted a third-party claim for unjust enrichment against the personal representative of Jerry’s probate estate on the ground that the estate should be liable for Jerry’s contractual obligations. Danette requested that the representative be compelled either to pay Heather’s claim from Jerry’s estate or to reimburse Danette in the event that she is required to pay Heather’s claim.

The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. Heather’s position was that, because Jerry failed to provide life insurance complying with the terms of the dissolution judgment but owned other life insurance, and because the judgment expressly provides for the imposition of a constructive trust in her favor in the event of such a breach, she is entitled to the stipulated remedy as a matter of law. In support of her motion, Heather offered her own declaration stating that Danette had told her that she had known about Jerry’s obligation to provide life insurance prior to his death. Heather also provided declarations by Jerry’s father and stepmother stating that Danette had told them about Jerry’s $600,000 life insurance policy and that, in selecting that death benefit amount, Jerry’s intent was that $100,000 would be used to establish a trust for Heather’s child.

Danette, in support of her own summary judgment motion, supplied her own affidavit in which she denied knowing about Jerry’s obligation to provide life insurance and denied telling Jerry’s father and stepmother that part of the life insurance would be used to establish a trust for Heather’s child. She further argued that a stipulation between Heather and Jerry, by itself, is insufficient to warrant the imposition of a constructive trust on what is now her property. According to Danette, to obtain a constructive trust over life insurance proceeds that belong to her, Heather must demonstrate (1) that Danette knew about Jerry’s breach of his life insurance obligation and (2) that the policy naming Danette as beneficiary was intended to satisfy that obligation to Heather. Danette contended that she is entitled to judgment as a matter of law because Heather “failed to present facts sufficient to satisfy the elements of her claim.”

*396 In response to Danette’s motion for summary judgment, Heather submitted an affidavit by the attorney who drafted the stipulation in the dissolution judgment that calls for the creation of a constructive trust. Several paragraphs of that affidavit consist of the attorney’s explanation that he drafted the provision with the specific intention of avoiding the effect of several Oregon cases that preclude the imposition of a constructive trust on life insurance proceeds in the absence of evidence that the beneficiary knew of the obligation to provide insurance for another. Danette moved to strike the affidavit.

The court held a hearing on the parties’ motions. That hearing was not recorded, however.

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Related

MAYFLY GROUP, INC. v. Ruiz
250 P.3d 360 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2011)
Tupper v. Roan
243 P.3d 50 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2010)
Oregon Recovery, LLC v. Lake Forest Equities, Inc.
211 P.3d 937 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
206 P.3d 237, 227 Or. App. 391, 2009 Ore. App. LEXIS 277, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tupper-v-roan-orctapp-2009.