Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal; May 14, 1986; Louisiana; State Appellate Court
On November 8, 1978, Jesse J. Sellers initiated a petition for judicial separation from Anna Mae Landry, resulting in a judgment for separation on June 8, 1979. A subsequent agreement was made to partition community assets at a later date. Jesse filed for partition on April 2, 1984, leading to a hearing that identified community assets and liabilities, and a judgment was issued on July 30, 1984. After Jesse's application for a new trial was granted for reargument, a new judgment was signed on March 15, 1985, reaffirming the community assets and liabilities.
Anna Mae Landry appealed both the July 1984 and March 1985 judgments. During their marriage from 1943 until separation in 1978, the couple had acquired community assets, including their home and a 1977 Mercury Marquis, while incurring liabilities such as mortgage payments and other costs related to the family home and automobile. The trial court determined that Jesse had made several payments on these obligations post-separation. Additionally, it ruled that Anna Mae was entitled to half of the attorney's fees she incurred for the interdiction of Jesse but denied her fees from the separation proceedings.
The identified community assets included two lots in Abbeville, Louisiana, valued at $30,000, and the 1977 Mercury Marquis valued at $2,300, totaling $32,300 in community assets, which were not contested on appeal. The trial court also recognized specific community liabilities, although details of those liabilities are not fully provided in this excerpt.
Community liabilities at trial include:
1. Mortgage balance due to Vermilion Savings Loan Association: $1,302.00
2. Half of mortgage payments made by Jesse J. Sellers on May 17, 1979: $39.98
3. Mortgage payments made by Jesse J. Sellers from June 17, 1979, to May 17, 1984 (60 months): $4,797.60
4. Family home repairs paid by Jesse J. Sellers: $4,812.63
5. Taxes paid on family home by Jesse J. Sellers: $504.27
6. Insurance on Mercury Marquis paid by Jesse J. Sellers: $935.55
7. Half of attorney's fee for the interdiction of Jesse J. Sellers paid by Anna Mae Landry: $191.98
8. Insurance on the family home paid by Jesse J. Sellers: $1,644.00
Total community liabilities amount to $14,228.01, with a net community value of $18,071.99.
Anna Mae argues that Jesse should receive only half reimbursement for separate funds he expended on community obligations after the community property regime ended. Conversely, Jesse claims full reimbursement from community assets or half the value of the property used from Anna Mae's separate property. The court agrees with Anna Mae. Under Louisiana Civil Code (La. C.C.) articles 2365 and 2367, if a spouse’s separate property is used to satisfy a community obligation, they are entitled to reimbursement of half the value at the time of use, limited to community assets unless related to ordinary marital expenses or child support, in which case reimbursement can occur even without community assets.
In the referenced case, Davezac v. Davezac, the court found that a spouse should receive half reimbursement for payments made from community funds, ensuring equitable sharing of community assets and obligations. Thus, the trial court can reimburse the full amount Jesse expended from community assets or reimburse half the value of the separate property he used from Anna Mae's funds.
Additionally, the court finds that the full amounts of attorney's fees paid by Anna Mae for both the interdiction and separation proceedings should also be recognized as community obligations.
The judgment dated March 15, 1985, is amended to include these attorney's fees, with costs of the appeal equally assessed between the parties. The judgment is affirmed as amended.
