Court Opinion

ID: 9793145
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:43:35.151813+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:01:47.396837
License: Public Domain

HATHAWAY, Judge,
dissenting.
I disagree with the majority holding that Everson and Van Loan should be given prospective effect only. Rather than announcing a new principle of law, those holdings reflect what the law is and presumably what it was. Generally, in civil cases where a rule is overturned, unless special circumstances warrant the denial of retroactive application, or unless the overruling court has expressly indicated otherwise, it may be assumed that an overruling decision operates retroactively and prospectively. An-not., 10 A.L.R.3d 1371 (Supp.1979), citing numerous cases including Safarik v. Udall, 113 U.S.App.D.C. 68, 304 F.2d 944 (D.C.Cir. 1962), cert. den. 371 U.S. 901, 83 S.Ct. 206, 9 L.Ed.2d 164; Arizona State Tax Commission v. Ensign, 75 Ariz. 376, 257 P.2d 392 (1953), and O’Malley v. Sims, 51 Ariz. 155, 75 P.2d 50 (1938). A fortiori, the rule would seem to apply here where no precedent has been overruled, no startling new doctrine established (the statutes have consistently pointed the way), and the supreme court has not specified prospective application only.
In O’Malley v. Sims, supra, our supreme court adopted the rule set out in Laabs v. Wisconsin Tax Commission, 218 Wis. 414, 261 N.W. 404 (1935):
“Without attempting to deal exhaustively with the subject, it may be said that, generally speaking, courts adhering to the rule that a later decision operates retrospectively, have created the following exceptions:
*386(1) Where contracts have been entered into in reliance upon a legislative enactment as construed by the earlier decisions.
(2) Where a legislative enactment has been declared valid by earlier decisions, and contracts have been entered into in reliance upon the statute and decisions. (Citations omitted)
(3) Where a criminal statute, . . ” 261 N.W. at 405.
The United States Supreme Court discussed the problem in Chevron Oil Company v. Huson, 404 U.S. 97, 92 S.Ct. 349, 30 L.Ed.2d 296 (1971), stating:
“In our cases dealing with the nonretroactivity question, we have generally considered three separate factors. First, the decision to be applied nonretroactively must establish a new principle of law, either by overruling clear past precedent on which litigants may have relied, see e. g., Hanover Shoe, Inc. v. United Shoe Machinery Corp., supra, 392 U.S. [481], at 496, 88 S.Ct. [2224], at 2233, [20 L.Ed.2d 1231] or by deciding an issue of first impression whose resolution was not clearly foreshadowed, see, e.g., Allen v. State Board of Elections, supra, 393 U.S. [544], at 572, 89 S.Ct. [817], at 835 [22 L.Ed.2d 1]. Second, it has been stressed that ‘we must * * * weigh the merits and demerits in each case by looking to the prior history of the rule in question, its purpose and effect, and whether retrospective operation will further or retard its operation.’ Linkletter v. Walker, supra, 381 U.S. [618], at 629, 85 S.Ct. [1731], at 1738 [14 L.Ed.2d 601], Finally, we have weighed the inequity imposed by retroactive application, for ‘[w]here a decision of this Court could produce substantial inequitable results if applied retroactively, there is ample basis in our cases for avoiding the “injustice or hardship” by a holding of nonretroactivity.’ Cipriano v. City of Houma, supra, 395 U.S. [701], at 706, 89 S.Ct. [1897], at 1900 [23 L.Ed.2d 647].” 404 U.S. at 106-107, 92 S.Ct. at 355.
Since I do not believe this case falls within an exception, I would apply Everson and Van Loan retroactively and prospectively. The majority is disturbed with the possibility of reexamining divorces prior to Everson and Van Loan, and cites Martin v. Martin as authority for their position. There the Washington court overruled precedent that a military pension was not property subject to division by a dissolution court and the question before the court was whether to apply the overruling decision to a divorce which occurred nine years prior. The court found that trial courts had been either directly or indirectly taking pensions into account when they divided the property and that “[w]here the existence of the pension was not disclosed, the parties must be conclusively presumed to have relied on the pre-Payne [Payne v. Payne, 82 Wash.2d 573, 512 P.2d 736 (1973)] understanding that military pensions were not property to be disposed of by the divorce court. The parties ought to be bound to the rules as they were generally understood at the time of the divorce.” 581 P.2d at 1088.
I would bind the parties to the rule as confirmed in Everson and Van Loan. Texas, which applied its rule retroactively over dissent in Taggart v. Taggart, 552 S.W.2d 422 (Tex.1977), apparently has had little difficulty in dealing with such retroactive application. One year later, in Valdez v. Ramirez, 574 S.W.2d 748 (Tex.1978), the Texas court was already referring to its “settled marital property rule,” citing Taggart and Cearley v. Cearley, 544 S.W.2d 661 (Tex.1976), and Busby v. Busby, 457 S.W.2d 551 (Tex.1970).
The injustice of foreclosing property interests by judicial fiat is, in my opinion, of much greater concern than problems that may be encountered in their litigation. Retirement pensions, be they government, corporate, or military, are often a substantial, if not the principal, asset of the community. The answer to the question on military pensions having been given in appellate opinions should not operate negatively to eliminate retroactive benefits and afford a windfall because of judicial reluctance to determine unresolved property in*387terests. Courts exist to dispense justice and not to frustrate it.
Since Mr. Reed’s military pension was determined not to have been disposed of in dividing the property at the time of the divorce, it was properly before the trial court for division. I would modify the division to reflect the fact that 27% of the retirement benefits were earned while the parties were domiciled in community property states and would award the petitioner 13.5% of those benefits as her share of the community.