Court Opinion

ID: 9789394
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 01:35:50.982347+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:22.246296
License: Public Domain

MATTHEWS, Justice,
joined by RABI-NO WITZ, Chief Justice, dissenting.
I dissent from that portion of the majority opinion affirming the special master’s and trial court’s estimate of rent and insurance expenses in 1979.
The rent for 1979 was calculated by averaging the rent paid in the preceding three years. By 1979, however, the bar had been expanded from approximately 1200 to 4000 square feet. While the special master and the trial court were free to disallow unverified expenses claimed by Horton, in my view an estimate of rent which fails to take into account this major expansion is clearly erroneous.
Likewise, I believe the estimate of $3,253 for 1979 insurance expenses, based on the average insurance expenses for the preceding three years, is clearly erroneous. Horton presented checks totalling $14,413.44 written to various insurance companies for various items of coverage, including workers’ compensation, vehicle insurance, and fire and liability insurance. Of the eleven checks, seven were drawn from the Squire’s Rest account, were signed by Eileen Hansen, and were identified as being for workers’ compensation insurance. These seven checks totalled $9,159.90. The remaining checks were drawn from the Squire’s Country account and were signed by Horton. Horton indicated that the Squire’s Rest account was not used to pay for expenses incurred by his other business entities. There is no evidence to the contrary. Therefore, I would allow $9,159.90, plus a reasonable estimate of the fire and liability insurance for Squire’s Rest, as expenses for 1979.