Ricketson v. Metts
Ricketson v. Metts
Opinion of the Court
Appellant and appellee were formerly husband and wife. Appellee filed her original complaint, seeking statutory partition of property in which she alleged an undivided one-half interest under a warranty deed. Appellant answered, asserting that under the parties’ settlement agreement incorporated into their divorce decree, appellee’s interest in the property was “burdened” by his right to posses
The case was set for trial and a jury was empaneled. However, before the trial commenced, the trial court entertained what was, in effect, appellee’s oral motion for judgment on the pleadings. See OCGA §§ 9-11-7 (b) (1); 9-11-12 (c). A hearing was conducted, wherein the trial court considered only the warranty deed and the settlement agreement, which documents were part of the pleadings, and the parties’ respective contentions regarding the effect those documents had on appellee’s right to seek partition of the property. After the hearing, the trial court held that, as a matter of law, appellee’s interest in the property was not “burdened” by the right of use that appellant contended was created by the settlement agreement. Hortman v. Childress, supra. Accordingly, the trial court ordered partition. Appellant appeals.
In relevant part, the settlement agreement in the instant case provides: “The fee simple title to the . . . property now vests in the parties hereto subject only to purchase money deed to secure debt .... As between the parties hereto, [appellant] shall have possession of the property above described and [appellant] acknowledges and agrees that he shall pay and be responsible for any and all future payments accruing on all debts secured by the fee simple title to the . . . property. ... In addition, [appellant] shall be responsible for and pay all ad valorem taxes and special assessments on the property . . . and shall pay for and maintain hazard insurance on the house situate [d] on said property in a sum comparable to the fair market value of said property.” It is clear that this language is analogous to that construed in Hortman v. Childress, supra, which language was distinguished from that appearing in the agreement construed in Rathkamp v. Rathkamp, supra. The instant agreement provides that the parties’ fee simple title is subject only to the deed to secure debt and also that appellant’s possession is of unspecified duration. Fee simple title cannot be subject only to the deed to secure debt and also be subject to appellant’s right to use the property. Thus, “[t]he settlement agreement in the case at bar is clearly an agreement to divide the property of the marriage. The evident purpose of [the agreement] was to reaffirm each party’s undivided interest in the [subject] property. It also provided that appellant, rather than appellee, would enjoy the use . . . [thereof]. However, there is no language manifest in [the agreement] which compels the conclusion that the parties intended to place any kind of burden on appellee’s interest in the [subject] property. If such a burden had been intended by the parties,
Appellant attempts to avoid this result by asserting that parol evidence is admissible to explain the “ambiguous” language of the parties’ agreement. “[A] contract is not ambiguous . . ., unless and until an application of the pertinent rules of interpretation leaves it uncertain as to which of two or more possible meanings represents the true intention of the parties. [Cit.]” Pisano v. Security Mgt. Co., 148 Ga. App. 567, 568 (251 SE2d 798) (1978). After the rules of construction are applied to the instant agreement, no ambiguity as to the parties’ intent remains. Hortman v. Childress, supra. Accordingly, parol evidence would not be admissible to show a contrary intent. See Early v. Kent, 215 Ga. 49 (1) (108 SE2d 708) (1959).
Appellant also asserts that he should be allowed to prove an oral agreement between the parties, whereby appellant was to have possession of the property until the parties’ minor son reached the age of majority. This alleged oral agreement is inconsistent with the written agreement, under which, as discussed above, appellee’s interest in the property would not be subject to any burden whatsoever. The written evidence of appellee’s interest in the property controls over the inconsistent alleged oral agreement. See Lee v. White, 249 Ga. 99 (286 SE2d 723) (1982). Appellant’s contention that appellee “made suqh a promise orally . . . eannot be eonsidered in the faee of an express, written eontraetual provision dealing with the matter. [Cits.]” Randall v. Cruce, 145 Ga. App. 861, 862 (245 SE2d 28) (1978). The written agreement purports to establish the parties’ respeetive interests in the property, and the interests so established eannot be ehanged by a parol agreement. Ver Nooy v. Pitner, 17 Ga. App. 229 (2) (86 SE 456) (1915).
It follows that the trial eourt did not err in granting appellee judgment on the pleadings as to the issue of her unburdened and undivided one-half interest in the property. Aeeordingly, the trial court correctly ordered partition.
Judgment affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
It is true that a common owner may petition a court for a parti
It appears, from a reading of the contract, that the parties agreed not to partition the property immediately. Instead, the husband was to have possession and pay “all debts” secured by the property as of the date of the agreement, all taxes and assessments, and hazard insurance premiums. As indicated in the contract paragraph declaring fee simple ownership, there was only the purchase money loan. The husband contends that he has made all of these payments and that, pursuant to the terms of the supplemental oral agreement concerning the terms under which he would have possession, he is still entitled to it. The wife wants the property sold by partitioning.
The contract provides no period of time or happening under which the husband’s right of possession is to cease other than non-' payment of the described expenses. Does that by operation of law give the wife the right to seek partition of the property the day after the agreement drawn by her attorney was signed? If not, how is she entitled to partition now? What event has transpired or time period expired which prevents the husband’s continued possession? The contract is silent as to this feature.
Unlike the cases cited by the Court, there is a missing crucial term in this contract as written, and that is the duration of the agreed-upon possession. It is obvious on the face of the contract that the parties intended some amount of possession. Did they intend that the husband have the right to possession so long as he lived, assuming he made the payments called for? Or until the loan was paid, since thereafter he could not make payments on debts secured by the property? By applying the rules of construction to this contract, the period or event intended by the parties cannot be ascertained and may be subject to proof by parol evidence. Were we to say that possession was to remain so long as the wife did not wish to partition, we would be supplying the missing ingredient for the parties. This is the effect of the Court’s decision. But the cardinal rule of construction is to ascertain the intention of the parties. Brown v. Farkas, 195 Ga. 653 (2) (25 SE2d 411) (1943), cited in Hortman v. Childress, 162 Ga. App. 536 (292 SE2d 200) (1982).
When both those paragraphs of the settlement contract which relate to the home are read together, there is an ambiguity in the sense that the parties did not write out how long they intended this possession to be for. Upon an application of the rules of construction of contracts, the ambiguity remains, so it becomes a question for the fact-finder. Chalkley v. Ward, 119 Ga. App. 227, 228 (166 SE2d 748) (1969). That may be supplied by parol evidence. OCGA § 24-6-2.
I do not read the word “only” in the first paragraph to render the second paragraph’s provision regarding possession as void. It seems to relate instead to the monetary encumbrances on the property and to make clear that when the husband agreed to make the payments on “all debts” secured by the property “outstanding on August 7, 1979,” the parties believed and understood that the only such financial debt was the purchase money loan evidenced by the deed to secure debt.
In Hortman v. Childress, supra, the court found two conflicting provisions in the agreement, one stating “the property jointly owned
I would hold that the property may, in fact, still be burdened by the agreement regarding possession, under the terms as set out in the agreement and under evidence as to expiration date. If the parties did agree what the term or condition of possession was, the proof of it will control whether plaintiff is currently entitled to possession. If they did not, of course the husband would not be entitled to prevent partition when desired by the wife because the contract would have been incomplete.
If it is proved that there was an agreement regarding time or condition, then the situation will be like that in Rathkamp v. Rathkamp, supra, where the court concluded that one party had contractually surrendered his right to partition the property by burdening his undivided interest therein pursuant to a divorce settlement agreement. Here there is not an implied limitation or restriction on property, which as pointed out in Hortman is disfavored. The restriction itself is clear but the drafter of the writing which evidences the agreement did not spell, out its ending point. If what is absent from the writing can be supplied by other communications between the parties, their intendment should be given effect.
What remains for resolution by the factfinder is whether or not the wife’s interest was burdened by the settlement agreement. If they
If it was a joint estate, that is another distinction between Hortman and this case. Here, according to the warranty deed, there is a tenancy in common. See Pindar, Ga. Real Estate Law, § 7-81, regarding joint estates.
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