Court Opinion

ID: 9730545
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 15:15:11.367898+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:07.324208
License: Public Domain

PARKER, Judge
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent.
The majority affirms the trial court’s de-cisión which applies the language of both sentences of paragraph two of the stipulation to determine the amount of maintenance to be paid; they are however, inconsistent. If each sentence is viewed as a complete thought, in accord with customary english usage, the first sentence is seen to state the amount to be paid:
2. Maintenance. As and for fulfillment of his duty to support Petitioner, Respondent shall pay the sum of $6,000.00, in addition to the temporary maintenance payments made as of the date of signing of this stipulation.
The second sentence may then be read in harmony with the first; it states the method and time of payment:
Respondent shall continue to make monthly payments of $300 until the decree is entered; and shall pay $2,000 within 30 days of the entry of the decree, $2,000 within 60 days of the entry of the decree, and the balance within 90 days of the entry of the decree.
Note that the last lump-sum payment is not specified as $2,000 but as a balance because the last lump sum to be paid cannot be determined until the date of entry of the decree is known.
I suggest that the trial court ignored customary english usage as a guide to the meaning of language. I would hold that there is no ambiguity and that the two sentences may be read in harmony.