Opinion ID: 2361145
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Value of Real Estate

Text: Next, Ellen contests the court's findings regarding several pieces of real estate. We reject her attempt to relitigate the parties' factual disputes. On appeal, this Court does not disturb the findings of the trial court unless, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party and excluding the effect of modifying evidence, a finding is clearly erroneous. Semprebon v. Semprebon, 157 Vt. 209, 214, 596 A.2d 361, 363 (1991). Disregarding this standard, Ellen essentially argues that this Court should accept evidence that was rejected by the trial court. That court found that a number of values suggested by Ellen were inflated, some grossly, and that others were simply without foundation. Moreover, the court was not impressed by the testimony of the real estate broker who served as an expert witness for Ellen, finding that many of the broker's property valuations were wide of the mark. As the trier of fact, it was the province of the trial court to determine the credibility of the witnesses and weigh the persuasiveness of the evidence. Bruntaeger v. Zeller, 147 Vt. 247, 252, 515 A.2d 123, 126 (1986); see also Kanaan v. Kanaan, 163 Vt. 402, 405, 659 A.2d 128, 131 (1995) (trial court's findings accorded wide deference on review because court is in unique position to assess credibility of witnesses and weight of evidence); Mullin v. Phelps, 162 Vt. 250, 261, 647 A.2d 714, 720 (1994) (role of Supreme Court in reviewing findings of fact is not to reweigh evidence or to make findings of credibility de novo). Addressing Ellen's specific claims, we first note that the values assigned by the court to Pheasant Hill Lot 4, Bayview Lot 3, and Bayview Lot 4 fell somewhere between the values claimed by the broker and those claimed by Tom. The court was within its discretion to choose a value within the range of the evidence presented. Semprebon, 157 Vt. at 214, 596 A.2d at 364. The court accepted Tom's testimony that a so-called Bayview Orchestra Lot did not exist. And finally, the court was understandably skeptical of the broker's values for the Pheasant Hill Reserve Building Lot and the Black Walnut lots, as she based her calculations on the assumption that the lots were approved and available for sale. The broker admitted on cross-examination that the Reserve Building Lot was not permitted and that her purported valuation was not in fact the market value of the lot as it existed at the time of the trial. Tom, in turn, testified that the Reserve Building Lot was held in common by all the Pheasant Hill lot owners, and could not be developed without their unanimous consent; that most of the Black Walnut lots are the subject of a pending agreement with nearby landowners that would restrict development on those lots; and that one of the Black Walnut lots has no available place for a septic system, and may actually become a liability for Tom. Based on this evidence, the court's findings that the Reserve Building Lot had no value as a separate lot and that the possibility of a positive financial return on the Black Walnut lots [wa]s too remote for inclusion in th[e] marital estate are not clearly erroneous. See Kanaan, 163 Vt. at 407, 659 A.2d at 132 (court not bound to follow opinions of expert witnesses); Bruntaeger, 147 Vt. at 252, 515 A.2d at 126 (trial court's factual determinations will stand if supported by credible evidence, even if inconsistencies or contrary evidence exist).