Williams v. Stapley-Williams

CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedJune 14, 2018
Docket1 CA-CV 17-0360-FC
StatusUnpublished

This text of Williams v. Stapley-Williams (Williams v. Stapley-Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. Stapley-Williams, (Ark. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION. UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE.

IN THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION ONE

In re the Matter of:

GERALD E. WILLIAMS, Petitioner/Appellee,

v.

LINDA P. STAPLEY-WILLIAMS, Respondent/Appellant.

No. 1 CA-CV 17-0360 FC FILED 6-14-2018

Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County No. FN2015-090044 The Honorable William L. Brotherton, Jr., Judge (Retired)

AFFIRMED

COUNSEL

Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, P.L.C., Phoenix By John J. Egbert Counsel for Petitioner/Appellee

Berkshire Law Office PLLC, Tempe By Keith Berkshire, Erica Gadberry Counsel for Respondent/Appellant WILLIAMS v. STAPLEY-WILLIAMS Decision of the Court

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Presiding Judge Lawrence F. Winthrop delivered the decision of the Court, in which Judge Jennifer B. Campbell and Judge Paul J. McMurdie joined.

W I N T H R O P, Presiding Judge:

¶1 Linda P. Stapley-Williams (“Wife”) challenges the superior court’s ruling that a premarital agreement between herself and Gerald E. Williams (“Husband”) was valid and enforceable. She also challenges the allocation of sales proceeds from real property, the award of attorneys’ fees to Husband, and the amount of time given to her at trial. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the trial court’s rulings on all issues.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2 The parties were married in June 2003. Husband filed for dissolution in 2015, seeking to enforce a premarital agreement entered on the parties’ wedding day and an “Agreement to Sell and Buy Certain Rights and Interests” entered in 2008 (the “2008 Agreement”). In response, Wife argued these agreements were not valid and enforceable.

¶3 Husband filed a motion for partial summary judgment, arguing the premarital agreement and 2008 Agreement were valid and enforceable. Finding a question of fact as to whether Wife was under duress when she signed the premarital agreement, the superior court denied the motion and held a two-day hearing to address only the validity of the agreements. The court found Wife failed to establish the premarital agreement was involuntary or unconscionable, and that any defects were cured when Wife signed the subsequent 2008 Agreement, which the court also upheld as valid. The court set another trial date to consider the remaining issues.

¶4 At trial, the parties disputed the allocation of sale proceeds from a condominium purchased during the marriage. Husband’s adult son lived in the condominium and paid the mortgage and upkeep until it was sold. The superior court concluded an enforceable oral agreement existed and that it was equitable to award the sale proceeds to Husband because his son assigned his interest in the property to Husband. The court declined

2 WILLIAMS v. STAPLEY-WILLIAMS Decision of the Court

Wife’s request for attorneys’ fees but awarded Husband $40,000 in attorneys’ fees.

¶5 Wife filed a timely notice of appeal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes (“A.R.S.”) section 12-2101(A)(1).1

DISCUSSION

I. Premarital Agreement

¶6 Wife contends the superior court erred in finding that the premarital agreement was valid because she did not enter it voluntarily and the agreement was unconscionable. Arizona has adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (“UPAA”), which recognizes premarital agreements that are in writing and signed by both parties. See A.R.S. § 25- 202(A). The party seeking to invalidate a premarital agreement bears the burden of proving either (1) the agreement was not entered voluntarily or (2) the agreement was unconscionable when executed and that person:

(a) Was not provided a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party.

(b) Did not voluntarily and expressly waive, in writing, any right to disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party beyond the disclosure provided.

(c) Did not have, or reasonably could not have had, an adequate knowledge of the property or financial obligations of the other party.

A.R.S. § 25-202(C).

¶7 Pursuant to the premarital agreement, the parties agreed to retain all property then owned or later acquired as separate property and abrogated community property except as to any salaries earned after marriage. The agreement provided Wife with $3,000 per month in spousal maintenance for thirty-six months, if the parties were married for at least three years. The agreement stated that attorney Philip Gerard represented Husband and no attorney was listed as representing Wife. The agreement also stated that each party attached a schedule of his or her separate

1 We cite to the current version of all statutes because no revisions material to our analysis have occurred since the superior court’s dissolution order.

3 WILLIAMS v. STAPLEY-WILLIAMS Decision of the Court

property. However, the attached schedules for both parties were blank at the time they signed the agreement. Both parties acknowledged “full financial disclosure” by the other party and waived the right to additional disclosure beyond that already provided. The parties also agreed they were entering into the agreement “freely, voluntarily and with full knowledge.”

¶8 The superior court concluded Wife failed to establish that she signed the premarital agreement involuntarily or that the agreement was unconscionable. The court found the 2008 Agreement was also enforceable and that by signing that agreement, Wife confirmed the premarital agreement. Whether the premarital agreement is enforceable is a question of law we review de novo. In re Marriage of Pownall, 197 Ariz. 577, 580, ¶ 7 (App. 2000). We view the evidence in the light most favorable to upholding the superior court’s decision and will not disturb the superior court’s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous. Walsh v. Walsh, 230 Ariz. 486, 490, ¶ 9 (App. 2012) (citation omitted).

A. Voluntariness

¶9 Wife argues the premarital agreement is invalid under A.R.S. § 25-202(C)(1) because she signed it under duress. To constitute duress, an act must be wrongful and preclude the exercise of free will and judgment. USLife Title Co. of Ariz. v. Gutkin, 152 Ariz. 349, 357 (App. 1986); Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 175 cmt. b (1981).

¶10 Husband provided the proposed premarital agreement to Wife at least two months before the wedding. Wife testified that she refused to sign it and told Husband why she refused. She claimed Husband never brought up the premarital agreement again until he presented it to her only minutes before the wedding. Husband’s testimony, however, was that, when first presented with the proposed agreement, Wife told him she would sign whatever he needed her to because she was not interested in his assets, but that she then came up with various reasons why she could not sign the agreement on the many times he asked her to between April and June 2003. Accordingly, Husband again presented the premarital agreement on the wedding day and asked his assistant to be present to notarize it.

¶11 The parties’ testimony as to Wife’s voluntariness directly contradicted each other. On appeal, we do not reweigh conflicting evidence or redetermine the preponderance of the evidence. In re Estate of Pouser, 193 Ariz. 574, 579, ¶ 13 (1999).

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Bluebook (online)
Williams v. Stapley-Williams, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-stapley-williams-arizctapp-2018.