Opinion ID: 1199728
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Did Mrs. Phipps Preserve the Issue of the Enforceability of the Agreement?

Text: At Mr. Phipps' motion for summary judgment, the following colloquy took place between Mrs. Phipps' attorney and the magistrate judge: MRS. PHIPPS [per her attorney]: [T]he real issue here in this proceeding that we brought is not the Social Security payments ... Then you get back to the issue of now can the Court order him to continue making those payments from Social Security, and I would agree that the Court cannot order him specifically to pay one-third of those over ... And the Court also can say, okay, you don't pay that one-third Social Security benefits as you agreed to do. I can't make you do it, but if you don't, then you have to make them up somewhere else ... THE COURT: [W]ill you agree then the Court cannot  that Social Security benefits are not attachable and the Court cannot compel assignment of those, involuntarily. MRS. PHIPPS [per her attorney]: Involuntarily. Mr. Phipps alleges that this discussion and Mrs. Phipps' written arguments to the magistrate judge discloses her concession that the agreement violated 42 U.S.C. Sec. 407 and was unenforceable. Thus, he says, this issue was not properly before the magistrate judge or the district judge. This contention is without merit. In the above colloquy, Mrs. Phipps agreed that 42 U.S.C. Sec. 407 prohibits the assignment of Social Security benefits. Thus, the magistrate judge would not have the power to attach such benefits when entering a judgment against Mr. Phipps. Mrs. Phipps did not concede, however, that the agreement itself assigned Mr. Phipps' Social Security benefits or that such benefits could not be used as a measure of how much Mr. Phipps was to pay her on a monthly basis. A close analysis of Mrs. Phipps' briefs to the magistrate judge also weakens Mr. Phipps' contention. In her first brief, Mrs. Phipps stated: Defendant further argues that defendant is under no obligation under Federal law to share social security benefits with the plaintiff. That issue was previously briefed, and as set forth in those briefs, there is no assignment of those benefits by Court Order, and the defendant could voluntarily spend money from Social Security benefits to meet other obligations. ... In her second brief, she stated: [D]efendant is basically arguing that there was never an agreement by the defendant to pay a portion of social security benefits to the plaintiff, and if so, that agreement is void.... The payments from social security are not void if voluntarily made by the defendant to pay an existing obligation.... It would be inequitable to now have the Court go back and determine that because social security benefits were not assignable, that the defendant could receive more than one-half of the community property assets, thereby voiding an agreement almost ten years old. (Emphasis added). We fail to see what issue Mrs. Phipps is arguing, if it is not the enforceability of the agreement pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 407. Mrs. Phipps certainly could have argued the issue more thoroughly, but exhaustive argument is neither required nor desired by our appellate rules and the interests of judicial efficiency. Mr. Phipps next alleges that Mrs. Phipps did not comply with I.A.R. 35 and thus did not preserve the issue of the agreement's enforceability in her appeal to the district court. Again, we see no merit in this contention. I.A.R. 35 contains the following provisions: (a) Appellant's Brief. The brief of the appellant shall contain the following divisions under appropriate headings: ... (4) Issues Presented on Appeal. A list of the issues presented on appeal, expressed in the terms and circumstances of the case but without unnecessary detail. The statement of the issues should be short and concise, and should not be repetitious. The issues shall fairly state the issues presented for review. The statement of issues presented will be deemed to include every subsidiary issue fairly comprised within.... (6) Argument. The argument shall contain the contentions of the appellant with respect to the issues presented on appeal, the reasons therefor, with citations to the authorities, statutes and parts of the transcript and record relied upon. On the day after the district court announced that it would hear the matter as an appellate proceeding (rather than as a trial de novo), Mrs. Phipps complied with I.A.R. 35(4) by filing a statement of issues on appeal, which specifically included the issue of the enforceability of the agreement in light of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 407. Mrs. Phipps' brief to the district court incorporated therein her brief to the magistrate judge, which, as stated above, specifically argued the issue of the enforceability of the agreement in light of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 407. Mr. Phipps' argument, therefore, is unpersuasive. The issue of whether or not the agreement between Mr. and Mrs. Phipps violates 42 U.S.C. Sec. 407 was properly before the magistrate judge and the district judge.