Yelverton v. Yelverton


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Docket Number: 2008-CA-01852-SCT

Supreme Court: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 02-04-2010
Opinion Author: Kitchens, J.
Holding: Affirmed in part, reversed and remanded in part.

Additional Case Information: Topic: Divorce: Habitual cruel and inhuman treatment - Evidentiary hearing
Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, C.J., Carlson and Graves, P.JJ., Dickinson, Randolph, Lamar and Pierce, JJ.
Non Participating Judge(s): Chandler, J.
Procedural History: Bench Trial
Nature of the Case: CIVIL - DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 03-05-2008
Appealed from: Harrison County Chancery Court
Judge: Carter Bise
Disposition: The chancellor denied Jim Yelverton's motion for reconsideration.
Case Number: 02-00364

  Party Name: Attorney Name:   Brief(s) Available:
Appellant: JAMES B. YELVERTON




MICHAEL JAMES MALOUF, JR., MELISSA ANN MALOUF



 
  • Appellant #1 Brief

  • Appellee: RHONDA H. YELVERTON DAMON SCOTT GIBSON  

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    Topic: Divorce: Habitual cruel and inhuman treatment - Evidentiary hearing

    Summary of the Facts: Rhonda Yelverton filed for divorce from James Yelverton on the ground of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment. The parties temporarily reconciled and bought a property. Thereafter, Rhonda decided to proceed with the divorce, and the chancellor entered an order requiring Jim to pay $4,000 per month in temporary child support and $2,500 per month in temporary alimony. After a trial, Rhonda was given custody of their two minor children, and Jim was ordered to pay $2,500 per month in child support. The chancellor ordered that the marital domicile and the property bought by the couple after reconciliation be sold and the proceeds divided equally between the parties. Jim was allowed to retain his forty-eight percent ownership interest in his car dealership, Jim Yelverton Imports, Inc., but was ordered to pay Rhonda $250,000 in lump-sum alimony in minimum monthly installments of $5,000 per month. Rhonda also was awarded $2,500 per month in periodic alimony plus twenty-five percent of Jim’s annual income over $150,000. Jim was required to pay Rhonda’s attorney fees and court costs. Jim was found in contempt for failure to pay the temporary alimony and child support and was ordered to pay the arrearage within sixty days of the final judgment. Rhonda filed another contempt action based on Jim’s continued failure to pay. The chancellor found Jim in willful contumacious contempt. Jim appealed, raising issues regarding lump-sum alimony, periodic alimony, child support, and attorney’s fees, but he did not appeal the custody award or the contempt issue. The case was assigned to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the judgment. The Supreme Court granted certiorari and reversed the decisions of the Court of Appeals and the chancery court, and remanded the matter with instructions. Without conducting a hearing, the chancellor entered a judgment reducing child support from $2,500 per month to $2,400 per month, keeping lump-sum alimony the same at $250,000 but without a minimum monthly payment, reducing periodic alimony from $2,500 to $2,000 per month, and keeping intact the original award of attorney’s fees to Rhonda. Jim appeals.

    Summary of Opinion Analysis: Consistent with the Court’s instructions in remand of the first appeal, the chancellor shall conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine the following: the value of marital assets, including the value of Jim’s interest in Yelverton Imports (marital assets shall be valued at a time no later than the date of divorce, and shall be based on evidence presented at the remand hearing); the amount of periodic alimony and child support due up until the time of the remand hearing, which shall be determined based on circumstances that have occurred up until the time of the remand hearing; and the amount of periodic alimony and child support going forward from the time of the remand hearing, which shall be determined based on the circumstances existing at the time of the remand hearing.


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