In the Matter of McLoughlin v. McLoughlinIn the Matter of McLoughlin v. McLoughlin
{¶ 2} Douglas and Diana McLoughlin were married on November 15, 1978. The couple has one child, who was emancipated at all times relevant herein. Beginning in 1973 and continuing to the present, Douglas ("appellee") has worked for the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and participated in the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System ("OPERS"). During the marriage, Diana ("appellant") worked intermittently in unskilled positions and acquired few, if any, pension funds of her own other than social security.
{¶ 3} After 22 years of marriage, appellant moved from the marital home, in part to pursue a new relationship. Having determined their marriage was over, the two began to discuss the terms of their dissolution, including the division of the marital property. The parties ultimately agreed to divide most of their marital assets equally, with the exception of appellee's OPERS account. Rather than equally dividing the full value of his OPERS account, appellee proposed that only the contributions made to the account during the marriage should be split. Thus, he provided appellant with a letter from OPERS that stated, in pertinent part: "Your contributions from October 21, 1979 (closest available date) through September 23, 2001 (closest available date) totaled $83,828.22." The letter made no reference to the actual cumulative value of the account, but it did include contact information, such as a website and phone numbers.
{¶ 4} After delivering his proposed settlement agreement, appellee suggested to appellant that she should retain an attorney to review the proposal and advise her regarding its contents. Several months later, appellant met with a local attorney, Ray King, for a consultation. Mr. King offered to independently value the marital assets, including the OPERS account, but appellant felt an evaluation was unnecessary. She indicated that she thought the agreement was fair and requested no further assistance from Mr. King.
{¶ 5} Subsequently, on September 26, 2002, both parties executed the separation agreement, as well as Loc.R. 17 financial affidavits. The separation agreement, supplemented by the financial affidavits, identified and divided all of the martial assets. Appellee's OPERS and Ohio Deferred Compensation accounts were disclosed in the affidavit, although the value of the accounts was not listed. As he had proposed, only the value of the contributions made to appellee's OPERS account during the marriage — approximately $83,828 — was divided by the agreement.
{¶ 6} The parties petitioned for dissolution and filed the separation agreement with the court on September 30, 2002. The case was referred to a private judge, who adopted the terms of the separation agreement as an order of the court. In addition to dividing the property, the agreement included a statement that each party had fully identified all known assets and liabilities. The agreement further specified that, in reliance upon that full disclоsure, "each of the Parties knowingly and voluntarily waives his or her right to formal discovery available in a divorce or legal separation action." The agreement also knowingly and voluntarily waived findings of fact pertaining to the valuation of each item of property for purposes of equitable distribution. On November 27, 2002, the court filed the decree of dissolution.
{¶ 7} After the dissolution, appellant retained Attorney Randy Happeney to complete a qualified domestic relations order, which would transfer appellee's Ohiо Deferred Compensation account into appellant's name pursuant to the terms of the dissolution decree. Mr. Happeney reviewed the agreement and raised his concerns about the OPERS division. Consequently, appellant filed a motion for relief from judgment pursuant to
{¶ 8} Appellant's motion for relief from judgment alleged that the division of the marital assets was not equitable because appellee failed to disclose, or actively misrepresented, the value of his pension with OPERS at the time of the dissolution negotiatiоns. Appellant further asserted that she relied on the information given to her by appellee to her detriment. Her estimate placed the actual value of the pension at a minimum of $425,000. Appellee did not oppose the motion.
{¶ 9} On September 24, 2003, the trial court issued a decision and entry finding that appellant alleged sufficient operative facts to warrant an evidentiary hearing on her motion for relief from judgment. Approximately one week later, appellee filed an objection to the entry and asserted that the trial court lacked jurisdiction over the matter. Appellant filed a memorandum in opposition to the objection, to which appellee replied. On November 13, 2003, the trial court issued a decision and entry overruling appellee's objection and expressly retaining jurisdiction over the case. Appellee appealed the trial court's November 13, 2003 entry. However, on February 4, 2004, we dismissed the appeal for lack of a final appealable order.
{¶ 10} After the case was remanded, counsel for the parties submitted an agreed scheduling order. The order contained all dates typically found in the case schedule of an active case (disclosure of witnesses, discovery cut-off, dispositive motions, pre-trial conference, and trial). The trial court signed the order.
{¶ 11} On February 22, 2005, in conformity with the agreed schedule, appellant filed a "Motion for Summary Judgment." Although titled a motion for summary judgment, appellant's motion sought judgment on her pending
{¶ 12} On June 2, 2005, the triаl court issued a decision and judgment entry granting appellee's motion for summary judgment and denying appellant's motion for summary judgment, as well as her motion for relief from judgment. The trial court first noted that the parties did not dispute any of the facts surrounding the negotiation for, or the creation of, the separation agreement incorporated into the decree of dissolution. The trial court then evaluated appellant's arguments for relief from judgment under each of the enumerated factors of
{¶ 13} Following the trial court's June 2, 2005 decision and entry, appellant filed a timely notice of appeal. Appellant asserts three assignments of error:
FIRST ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW IN FAILING/REFUSING TO GRANT APPELLANT'S CIV.R. 60(B) MOTION AND FOLLOW THE BINDING PRECEDENT OF IN THE MATTER OF HOBBS, (JUNE 11, 1992), FRANKLIN APP. NO. 91AP-1478, UNREPORTED, 1992 W.L. 132460; WOOD V. WOOD,
(1997), FRANKLIN APP. NO. 97APE01-77,
SECOND ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR
THE TRIAL COURT'S GRANT OF SUMMARY JUDGMENT TO PETITIONER/APPELLEE DOUGLAS K. MCLOUGHLIN WAS ERROR AS A MATTER OF LAW AS APPELLEE FAILED TO DISCLOSE OR MISREPRESENTED AND VALUE OF A MARITAL ASSET.
THIRD ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR
EVEN ASSUMING, ARGUENDO, THAT IN THE MATTER OF HOBBS, (JUNE 11, 1992), FRANKLIN APP. NO. 91AP-1478, UNREPORTED, 1992 W.L. 132460; WOOD V. WOOD, (1997), FRANKLIN APP. NO. 97APE-01-77,
{¶ 14} Though displayed in three different forms, appellant's assignments of error are all interrelated and present the singular issue of whether the trial court erred in failing to grant appellant's motion for relief from judgment under
{¶ 15} When a case is filed in any division of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, the case is given, pursuant to the division's local rules, a case schedule which includes a trial date. Once a case has proceeded to settlement or judgment, or has been appealed or stayed, it is terminated from the court's docket. At that time, the case schedule terminates as well.
{¶ 16} It would be illogical for the court's docketing schedule to otherwise operate. For example, there is no reason to require parties to disclose witnesses or participate in a trial after they have fully settled their dispute. Similarly, because a
{¶ 17} In this instance, for reasons not apparent on the record, counsel filed an agreed case scheduling order. While the trial court had found justification for scheduling a hearing on the
{¶ 18} The difference between proceeding under a summary judgment standard versus submitting evidence for relief from judgment by written briefing (rather than oral argument) is an important one.
{¶ 19} However, counsels' confusion does not undermine the viability of the court's decision. The original motion before the trial court was one for relief from judgment. Typically, an evidentiary hearing is needed before a court can rule on the merits of such a motion: "`If the movant files a motion for relief from judgment and it contains allegations of operative facts which would warrant relief under Civil Rule 60(B), the trial court should grant a hearing to take evidence and verify these facts before it rules on the motion.'" Kay v. MarcGlassman, Inc. (1996),
{¶ 20} In this instance, the facts were uncontested; the parties differed only in their legal interpretation. While the parties' cross-motions should have been entitled "memorandum in support/opposition to relief from judgment" rather than "motion for summary judgment," the evidence submitted with those motions, including affidavits, depositions and exhibits, sufficiently argued the parties' disparate positions. Therefore, the trial court was not required to hold an oral evidentiary hearing priоr to ruling on the motion for relief from judgment.
{¶ 21} Accordingly, in so far as appellant's second assignment of error challenges the trial court's grant of summary judgment, the assignment of error is overruled. The erroneous captions on the parties' filings and the trial court's failure to correct those errors amount to no more than harmless error. The faulty labels prejudiced neither party. Each was given the opportunity to present the merits of his or her position. Moreover, the court did not err in ruling on the motion for relief from judgment without an oral hearing based on the evidence submitted and the uncontested facts.
{¶ 22} The central issue before the court then, is whether the trial court erred in denying appellant's motion for relief from judgment. Whether to grant a
{¶ 23} To successfully petition the court for relief from judgment, the moving party must demonstrate that she: (1) has a meritorious defense or claim to present if relief is granted; (2) is entitled to relief under one of the grounds stated in
{¶ 24} A court must be diligent in its analysis when a party seeks relief from a dissolution of marriage. Whereas a divorce proceeding is adversarial in nature, when a marriage ends in dissolution, the couple must jointly petition the court and present a separation agreement voluntarily executed by both parties. If, at any time prior to the actual journalization of dissolution, either party becomes dissatisfied with the separation agreement, the court cannot proceed with the dissolution. In other words, as the Ohiо Supreme Court has observed, "mutual consent is the cornerstone of our dissolution law." Knapp v. Knapp (1986),
{¶ 25} Appellant asserts that she is entitled to relief from judgment due to a lack of mutuality. Appellant argues that there wаs never an actual agreement between the parties because appellee failed to disclose, or misrepresented, pertinent information regarding his OPERS pension. Pursuant to Loc.R. 17, each party to a dissolution must file "an affidavit listing all income, assets and liabilities of the parties, whether jointly or separately held, together with any other relevant information concerning such listing that is within their knowledge." Because of the mutuality underlying dissolution proceedings, Ohio courts have held that, under certain circumstances, a party's failure to abide by the terms of Loc.R. 17 may be sufficient grounds for granting relief from judgment under court's equitable powers and
{¶ 26} In her first assignment of error, appellant contends that the trial court failed to apply the binding precedent of this court in Hobbs; Kelly v. Nelson (Dec. 29, 1992), Franklin App. No. 92AP-1014; and In re Wood (Aug. 12, 1997), Franklin App. No. 97APE01-77. In Hobbs, we held that the trial court did not err in accepting and entering the parties' agreed judgment entry, which vacated a dissolution decree because the husband had failed to identify all of the different entities in which he held a financial interest. Though the husband had disclosed a partnership interest as a possible "pass through liability," he failed to identify ownership of 50 percent of the nonvoting stock in five companies or those companies' sub-holdings. We rejected the husband's claim that his wife was fully aware of all of his assets. "Indeed, were this court to conclude that a husband's or wife's knowledge of his or her spouse's holdings excuses compliance with the rule, the rule would become meaningless."Hobbs, supra.
{¶ 27} Additionally, in Kelly, we found that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting relief from judgment under
{¶ 28} Finally, in Wood, we reversed the trial court, which had denied the wife's
{¶ 29} Appellant asserts that the trial court was obliged to follow our rulings in the above matters to the present case, and find her entitled to relief from judgment because appellee failed to disclose the full value of his OPERS account in his Loc.R. 17 affidavit. We disagree. In both Hobbs and Kelly, we affirmed the trial courts' decisions to vacate based on one party's complete failure to identify an asset in his affidavit and settlement agreement, thus vitiating the concept of mutuality underlying dissolution.
{¶ 30} Furthermore, the statement in Wood indicating that the concept of full disclosure includes not only the identification, but also the value of assets must be analyzed in the appropriate context. There, neither party had done more than answer "yes" on the disclosure forms, indicating only that each had retirement assets. No further information was provided, such as the type of retirement account or the name of the institution servicing the retirement account, from which the value of the asset could be discovered. In those circumstances, it would be impossible for either party to comprehend the value of the asset disclosed. Accordingly, contrary to appellant's assertion, our decision in Wood does not create an additional requirement. Instead, it stands in line with the holdings оf Hobbs andKelly: when an asset is completely omitted from the agreement, a party may be entitled to relief from judgment under Loc.R. 17 and
{¶ 31} It is further important to note that our previous holdings in Hobbs, Kelly and Wood specify that such an omission may be sufficient grounds for relief under
Among the factors to be considered by the trial court in determining whether relief from a decree of dissolution based on an incomplete separation agreement should be granted under
In re Murphy (1983),
{¶ 32} Given the evidence of record, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying appellant's motion for relief from judgment. As noted by the trial court, appellant "chose to sit on her rights," and failed to takе any action to insure her own interests. Accordingly, we agree with the trial court's conclusion that "equity does not demand that the judgment be set aside when [appellant] did not make even a cursory examination of the assets or debts and when [appellee] took no actions to prevent her from doing so." Appellant's first assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 33} Alternatively, in her third assignment of error, appellant contends that the trial court erred in failing to grant her relief from the dissolution decree pursuant to
{¶ 34} Under
{¶ 35} In support of her argument, appellant returns to her argument that there can be no consent or mutuality underlying the dissolution if she was mistaken as to the nature of the division of appellee's OPERS account. Appellant cites the Nardecchia
court's statement that "[a]ll that [the wife] was required to show was that * * * (2) a mistake of fact had occurred that was material to one of the issues to be determined by the decree of dissolutiоn." Id. at ¶ 17. However, in Nardecchia, both of the parties had mistakenly undervalued their respective OPERS accounts. The mistake was mutual, not unilateral. Furthermore, "relief for a unilateral mistake of a material fact will be denied where the mistake is the result of the party's own negligence." McBroom v. McBroom, Lucas App. No. L-03-1027,
{¶ 36} The trial court did not err in refusing to grant relief under
{¶ 37} Under
{¶ 38} Under
{¶ 39} After a review of the record before us, we find that appellant failed to demonstrate that she is entitled to relief from judgment under
{¶ 40} Having considered and overruled each of appellant's assignments of error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Judgment affirmed.
Brown and Sadler, JJ., concur.