Stephens v. Stephens
Stephens v. Stephens
Opinion
This is the second time this case has been before this court. See Stephens v. Stephens,
The facts were as follows. Sudderth served for a number of years as trustee. Upon his resignation in 1994, he filed with the court a final accounting, which showed that Charles had made payments totaling $32,000 on a $60,000 promissory note, with $7,500 being applied to the interest and the remaining $24,500 being applied to the principal. The accounting also included a "Reconciliation of Principal and Interest on Note," which stated that the net principal due on the note was $35,500; that the interest due on the note was $27,500; and that the total amount due on the note was $62,500. When Sudderth resigned as trustee the note was in default. The trial court approved Sudderth's final accounting and resignation and appointed Helen as successor trustee. Helen sued Charles to recover on the note, alleging that the note was in default in the amount of $60,515.84, plus interest. Id.
At trial Sudderth was permitted to testify, over Helen's objection, regarding an oral modification of the payment terms of the promissory note and the accounting method he had used as trustee. He explained the modified payment terms and how he had applied interest payments to a note that was in default. He stated that when he had resigned as trustee only $35,500 was actually left owing on the note. The trial court permitted this testimony; however, it expressly stated in its order that it had refused to consider Sudderth's testimony, because of the Dead Man's Statute, and that it had also relied upon the parol evidence rule and the Statute of Frauds in awarding its $65,872.25 judgment to Helen. We held that the trial court had erred in refusing to consider Sudderth's testimony, reversing the judgment, and remanding the case for the trial court to consider Sudderth's testimony before entering its judgment.Id., at 334. On remand, the trial court, on September 6, 1996, entered a judgment in favor of Helen for $33,872.25; Helen appeals. This case was transferred to this court by the supreme court, pursuant to §
Helen first argues that the trial court's judgment is not supported by the evidence; we agree.
Kennedy Co-Op, Inc. v. Bell,"It is well settled that in a non-jury case, the trial judge is the finder of fact, and a presumption of correctness attaches to his findings and to the judgment based on these findings. The resulting judgment will not be disturbed on appeal unless it is manifestly unjust, palpably wrong, or without supporting evidence."
We, therefore, conclude that the trial court's $33,872.25 judgment on remand is not supported by the evidence. We must, therefore, reverse the judgment and remand the case for the trial court to enter a judgment in favor of Helen in the amount of $35,500, plus any attorney fee and interest that it may determine to be appropriate.
Helen next contends that this court's opinion in Stephens I, and the trial court's subsequent judgment on remand, have permitted an impermissible collateral attack upon the trial court's final judgment of accounting entered on September 15, 1994.1 Our review of the record indicates that this *Page 196
issue was not raised in the trial court. It is well established that an appellate court will not consider an argument raised for the first time on appeal; its review is limited to evidence and arguments considered by the trial court. Abbott v. Hurst,
Finally, Helen argues that this court erred in reversing and remanding Stephens I for the trial court to consider Sudderth's testimony before entering its judgment. However, Helen, inStephens I, failed to file with this court an application for rehearing, pursuant to Rule 40, Ala.R.App.P., or a proposed statement of facts, pursuant to Rule 39(k), Ala.R.App.P., which would have been the proper course to take in seeking a review of a decision of this court. We, therefore, will not revisit our earlier disposition of the issues relating to the Dead Man's Statute, the parol evidence rule, and the Statute of Frauds.
Blumberg v. Touche Ross Co.,"Under the doctrine of the 'law of the case,' whatever is once established between the same parties in the same case continues to be the law of that case, whether or not correct on general principles, so long as the facts on which the decision was predicated continue to be the facts of the case."
Helen's request for an attorney fee on appeal is granted in the amount of $1,500.
REVERSED AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.
ROBERTSON, P.J., and MONROE, CRAWLEY, and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Helen Stephens, as Successor Trustee of an Inter Vivos Trust v. Charles H. Stephens.
- Cited By
- 13 cases
- Status
- Published