Waldie v. Waldie

2008 ND 97, 748 N.W.2d 683, 2008 N.D. LEXIS 84, 2008 WL 2055993
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedMay 15, 2008
Docket20070342
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 2008 ND 97 (Waldie v. Waldie) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Waldie v. Waldie, 2008 ND 97, 748 N.W.2d 683, 2008 N.D. LEXIS 84, 2008 WL 2055993 (N.D. 2008).

Opinion

SANDSTROM, Justice.

[¶ 1] Diane Waldie appeals from two district court orders denying her motion for relief from judgment and denying her motion and amended motion for redistribution of property entered after her divorce from her husband, Scott Waldie. We reverse and remand to the district court for a redistribution of marital property because of Scott Waldie’s material noncompliance regarding payments toward the mortgage.

I

[¶ 2] Diane Waldie sued for divorce in September 2004. Prior to trial, an interim order was issued in December 2004 allowing Diane Waldie to have exclusive use of the parties’ marital home. Scott Waldie was also ordered to pay $348.48 per month toward the mortgage against the home. Diane Waldie moved to find Scott Waldie in contempt of court in December 2004 because he was not making his payments under the interim order. An addendum to the interim order was then entered, ordering the parties to sell some personal property. Scott Waldie was to use his share of the proceeds to bring himself current on the obligations required to be paid under the interim order. In January 2005, Diane Waldie again moved for a finding of contempt because Scott Waldie had not made any payments toward the mortgage as required under the interim order. This motion was to be heard at the time of the divorce trial.

[¶ 3] The divorce trial was held in February 2005. Following trial, the home and some farmland located in LaMoure County went into foreclosure because monthly mortgage payments were not made from October 2004 through February 2005. In June 2005, Diane Waldie moved to find Scott Waldie in contempt of court because he had not made any payments toward the mortgage as required under the interim order. On August 1, 2005, the district court issued an order finding Scott Waldie in contempt of court for failing to make the payments as required by the interim order. The court also ordered the farmland to be listed for sale and sold immediately.

[¶ 4] On August 11, 2005, the district court issued its memorandum opinion. Diane Waldie was to receive the home, valued at $71,500. Scott Waldie was to receive the Kitchen Solutions business started by the parties in 2001 and valued at $30,685. Neither party was to receive spousal support. Diane Waldie was to be responsible for $26,000 of the mortgage, and Scott Waldie was to be responsible for $40,636.72. The amount Scott Waldie was to be responsible for represented the refinancing of the parties’ home to obtain *685 financing for the Kitchen Solutions business.

[¶ 5] The court also indicated how the proceeds from the sale of the farmland, valued at $41,000, were to be used. Each party’s attorney’s fees were to be paid out of the proceeds, and Diane Waldie was to receive $1,100 for repayment to her for the bills she paid that Scott was required to pay under the interim order. The net proceeds from the sale were to be split evenly between the parties, and Scott Wal-die’s half was to be applied toward the share of the home mortgage he was required to pay. The farmland was sold in November 2005. The proceeds were not used as provided in the memorandum opinion, however, but were applied instead to the balance on the mortgage as well as to other loans held by the mortgagee. In December 2005, a partial judgment was entered, granting the parties a divorce, but reserving the other issues.

[¶ 6] In January 2006, before the court issued its final judgment in the divorce trial, the parties transferred their home to Diane Waldie’s parents. The home was refinanced by Diane Waldie’s parents, and as a result, Scott and Diane Waldie were released from their responsibilities under the mortgage.

[¶ 7] The court issued its findings of fact, conclusions of law, and final judgment on the issues of custody, child support, spousal support, and property division in February 2007. The property division from the court’s August 2005 memorandum opinion remained the same in the judgment. Diane Waldie was awarded the home, and Scott Waldie was awarded the Kitchen Solutions business. Scott Waldie was also ordered to pay $40,636.72 of the mortgage within six months of the entry of judgment. In August 2007, Diane Waldie moved for relief from the judgment under N.D.R.Civ.P. 60(b), arguing Scott Waldie obtained a significant windfall by not having to pay off his share of the mortgage, because it had been extinguished when the home was transferred to her parents. The court denied the motion for relief from judgment, concluding Diane Waldie made a deliberate choice to transfer the home to her parents, which resulted in the cancellation of the mortgage debt she and Scott Waldie were required to pay.

[¶ 8] Following the denial of the Rule 60(b) motion, Diane Waldie made a motion and an amended motion for a redistribution of the marital property under N.D.C.C. § 14-05-24(2), because Scott Waldie did not make the required payments under the December 2004 interim order. The motions were also based upon Scott Waldie’s failure to pay his share of the mortgage under the February 2007 judgment. The court denied the motion, concluding there was no basis for a redistribution of property and debts. The court stated it had already addressed Scott Wal-die’s failure to pay under the interim order in the February 2007 judgment when it ordered that $1,100 was to be paid to Diane Waldie out of the proceeds from the sale of farmland. The court stated it had already addressed Scott Waldie’s failure to pay his share of the mortgage in its order denying Diane Waldie’s N.D.R.Civ.P. 60(b) motion.

[¶ 9] The district court had jurisdiction under N.D. Const, art. VI, § 8, and N.D.C.C. § 27-05-06. The appeal is timely under N.D.R.App.P. 4(a). This Court has jurisdiction under N.D. Const, art. VI, §§ 2 and 6, and N.D.C.C. § 28-27-01.

II

[¶ 10] On appeal, Diane Waldie argues the district court erred in denying her motion for redistribution of property. Section 14-05-24(2), N.D.C.C., provides:

*686 The court may redistribute property and debts in a postjudgment proceeding if a party has failed to disclose property and debts as required by rules adopted by the supreme court or the party fails to comply with the terms of a court order distributing property and debts.

[¶ 11] We have not previously addressed a motion made under N.D.C.C. § 14-05-24(2). We must decide the standard of review for a district court’s decision on a redistribution of property under N.D.C.C. § 14-05-24(2). The statute provides in part: “The court may redistribute property.” “When a district court may do something, it is generally a matter of discretion.” Ackerman v. Ackerman, 1999 ND 135, ¶ 19, 596 N.W.2d 332; see also City of Devils Lake v. Corrigan, 1999 ND 16, ¶ 13, 589 N.W.2d 579. We conclude the abuse-of-discretion standard is the appropriate standard of review to apply to this issue. A district court abuses its discretion when it acts arbitrarily, capriciously, or unreasonably, or if it misinterprets or misapplies the law. Bertsch v. Bertsch, 2007 ND 168, ¶ 10, 740 N.W.2d 388.

[¶ 12] In this case, the court denied Diane Waldie’s motion and amended motion for redistribution of property, concluding there was no basis for a redistribution of property. In its order denying Diane Waldie’s N.D.R.Civ.P.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2008 ND 97, 748 N.W.2d 683, 2008 N.D. LEXIS 84, 2008 WL 2055993, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/waldie-v-waldie-nd-2008.