Court Opinion

ID: 9792156
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:24:13.967456+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:40.806730
License: Public Domain

DURHAM, Justice,
concurring in the result:
I concur in the majority’s result but write separately to express my sympathy for the court of appeals’ position. The trial court did not merely fail to make sufficient factual findings; it quite blatantly refused to take evidence on certain topics and ignored others. Moreover, another remand will surely cost both parties more in attorney fees through no fault of their own. Thus, the court of appeals attempted to put an end to a bad situation, rather than prolonging it. However, I must agree with the majority that the facts in the record simply do not permit us or the court of appeals to draw any reasonable conclusion on a variety of topics.
Some of the particularly problematic actions of the trial court included the following: The court refused Ms. Willey’s request to take Mr. Willey’s deposition and conduct discovery concerning Mr. Willey’s current economic condition; the judge refused because he thought he had to base his decisions on the parties’ economic status as of the trial date, although nothing in the court of appeals’ opinion required such a limitation. *235The court of appeals stated quite clearly that “appropriate- findings on the reasonableness of the [attorney] fees and each party’s ability to pay should be included.” Willey v. Willey, 866 P.2d 547, 556 (Utah Ct.App.1993). Why the trial court decided that current information about the parties’ status was not relevant is difficult to understand. The majority has not specified that findings about the parties’ current economic conditions are necessary. I think they are. In making alimony decisions, the court must look forward and make estimates about each party’s needs and abilities. In this case, because so much time has passed since the divorce, the court can review what the parties have actually experienced since that time rather than relying on estimates and speculation. Without such fact finding, neither the trial court- nor the court of appeals can make reasonable decisions about attorney fees.
Furthermore, the trial court stated in its findings of fact that it could find no evidence in the record as to why Ms. Willey’s medical expenses would continue to be $660 per month. But Ms. Willey clearly testified that given her preexisting medical condition, the cheapest insurance she could find was a COBRA plan through her husband’s employer which cost $560 per month. Mr. Willey did not challenge this amount; in fact, he estimated her unreimbursed medical care expenses at $660 per month. Only a few minutes later in the trial, however, Ms. Willey testified that the $560 monthly premium for health insurance covered her children as well as her. The testimony went on to suggest that insurance for herself alone might cost around $500 a quarter, but then she also said that the $500 would not insure her alone. Therefore, the record lacks support for either the trial court’s or the court of appeals’ award. Another remand is therefore a necessary evil. :
As the majority observes, “[T]he marital estate is insignificant in comparison to the legal fees incurred in its allocation.” However, a very significant portion of the fées accrued to this point appears to have resulted from the three appeals and two remands necessitated by the trial court’s failure to make adequate findings of fact and the court of appeals’ unsuccessful efforts to meliorate, not by the parties’ actions or inadequate lawyering. See Willey v. Willey, 914 P.2d 1149, 1156-57 (Utah Ct.App.1996). Hence, the trial court should not penalize Ms. Willey for the paucity of the estate and the inefficiency of the courts by reducing the size of her attorney fee. Rather, the trial court should, as recommended initially by the court of appeals, consider both parties’ ability to pay the fees and consider what “reasonable” fees are, given three necessary appeals and two remands.
ZIMMERMAN, C.J., concurs in Justice DURHAM’S concurring in the result opinion.