Case Name: Margaret Mary Desmond CRUPI, Appellant, v. James J. CRUPI, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2001-05-18
Citations: 784 So. 2d 611
Docket Number: No. 5D00-1241
Parties: Margaret Mary Desmond CRUPI, Appellant, v. James J. CRUPI, Appellee.
Judges: PETERSON, J., concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 784
Pages: 611–617

Head Matter:
Margaret Mary Desmond CRUPI, Appellant, v. James J. CRUPI, Appellee.
No. 5D00-1241.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.
May 18, 2001.
Mark D. Shelnutt of Mark D. Shelnutt, P.A., Ocala, for Appellant.
Larry Collins, Ocala, for Appellee.

Opinion:
PLEUS, J.
Margaret Mary Desmond appeals an order which denied her motion to set aside a Mediated Settlement Agreement in a divorce action with her former husband. After denial of her motion, the Mediated Settlement Agreement was incorporated into the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.
This is a case in which the trial judge arrived at a correct result but for the wrong reasons. The judge based his decision on the rationale and factors enumerated in Casto v. Casto, 508 So.2d 330 (Fla.1987). The Supreme Court's opinion in Casto notes that there are essentially two separate grounds for invalidating pre- or post-nuptial agreements. The first deals with fraud, duress, coercion, misrepresentation or overreaching. The second is "unfairness," or as it is sometimes called, the "fair and reasonableness challenge." Unfairness involves an agreement which makes an unfair or unreasonable provision for that spouse, given the circumstances of the parties. The trial court, in following Casto, found there was a presumption of concealment or a presumed lack of knowledge. It then found the presumption was overcome because Desmond was sufficiently aware of the marital assets and income of the parties. The problem with the rationale of the trial court is that Casto involved a post-nuptial agreement. The agreement in this case is a mediated settlement agreement concluded through the expertise of a trained and certified mediator and in the course of a contested dissolution proceeding. The inquiry on a motion to set aside an agreement reached through mediation is limited to whether there was fraud, misrepresentation in discovery, or coercion.
In Casto, the parties' post-nuptial agreement preceded by approximately one year the husband's first filing of a dissolution petition. Id. at 332. The Mediated Settlement Agreement entered into in the instant case, in contrast, was entered into in the middle of a contested proceeding pursuant to court-ordered mediation. It was not made simply with the possibility of a future dissolution taking place but during the course of the litigation, litigation in which both parties were represented by counsel and in which the usual rules of discovery apply. In such a context, we agree with the statement made by the Fourth District in Petracca v. Petracca, 706 So.2d 904, 912 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) that "The Casto line of cases . logically has no application when the challenging spouse has had the benefit of litigation discovery through independently chosen counsel to learn the full nature and extent of the finances of the other spouse."
Petracca involved a stipulated settlement agreement made in the course of what the court termed "overheated" and "fierce" divorce litigation. The Fourth District in Petracca held that the spouse challenging a litigation settlement agreement is limited to showing fraud, misrepresentation or coercion. Inquiry into the "unreasonableness" or "unfairness" of the settlement agreement to either party is not permitted. The same rule should apply regardless of whether the agreement is a stipulated settlement agreement, as in Petracca^ or a mediated settlement agreement, as in this case. In fact, the reasons for such limitations are even more compelling in the case of a mediated settlement agreement.
Desmond's pleadings allege fraud, misrepresentation, coercion and undue influence. She also alleges the Agreement is "extremely unreasonable" regarding her interests. However, at the evidentiary hearing on her motion to set aside, which was entirely appropriate and necessary, the parties focused on the factors necessary to determine "fairness." Instead of limiting the issues to fraud, misrepresentation in discovery, or coercion, the court combined those grounds with the issue of reasonableness and stated:
The critical test in determining the validity of the agreement is whether there was fraud or overreaching on one side, or, assuming unreasonableness, whether the challenging spouse did not have adequate knowledge of marital property and income of the parties at the time the agreement was reached.
The trial court ultimately found "insufficient evidence of coercion, undue influence or duress committed by the husband sufficient to justify setting aside the Mediated Settlement Agreement." While this finding of insufficient evidence by the trial court is all that is necessary for an affir-mance, we write further because an examination of the hearing transcript may prove helpful in similar cases.
At the evidentiary hearing, and in an apparent effort to show coercion, a friend of Desmond's, who was present during the mediation process, testified that Desmond was under the impression that she had to come to an agreement that day; that Desmond was not in her right mind; and that she was very upset and anxiety-ridden, despite having taken a Xanax pill in the morning and again at lunch. Desmond testified that because she had had a couple of bad anxiety attacks, her doctor had prescribed Xanax to her and that on the day of the mediation, she took three pills even though normally she testified one "pretty much put me to sleep." She admitted, however, on cross-examination, that she remembered signing the mediation agreement, specifically recalling "the pressure I felt to sign it." She went on to testify that nobody unduly influenced her on the day of the mediation, but she had "a clear feeling that I had no options but to end it that day;" she concluded her testimony by recalling further that a hurricane was expected to strike the next day.
The Mediated Settlement Agreement itself provides "that each party has read this Agreement and neither party was subject to fraud or duress prior to or during the execution of this Agreement." The trial court specifically found that no representation was made to Desmond that it was necessary for her to execute the Mediated Settlement Agreement.
We agree with the trial court's finding that three Xanax pills, and anxiety and pressure to settle are insufficient proof of coercion necessary to set aside such an agreement. Otherwise, few, if any, mediated settlement agreements would be enforceable.
On the issues of fraud and misrepresentation in discovery, Desmond contended the husband had intentionally misrepresented the assets and debts in his financial affidavit. Under examination, the husband, in fact, confirmed the inaccuracies and inconsistencies in both his financial affidavit and in a document prepared by his accountant. The trial court, however, noted the wife's financial affidavit also contained inaccuracies and inconsistencies, and then made a finding that the wife had her own separate opinions and understandings of the nature and appropriate value of what she considered to be both marital and non-marital assets. The trial court concluded with a specific finding that Desmond knew about the inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the affidavit of her husband but signed the Mediated Settlement Agreement anyway.
The trial court was correct in its conclusion that the evidence of fraud or misrepresentation in discovery was insufficient. We affirm the trial court's denial of the motion to set aside the mediated settlement agreement.
AFFIRMED.
PETERSON, J., concur.
SHARP, W., J., concurs in part and dissents in part, with opinion.