Court Opinion

ID: 9767185
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 05:12:11.354031+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:29.298922
License: Public Domain

GUDGEL, Judge,
concurring by separate opinion:
I concur in the result reached by the majority but deem it appropriate to state my views separately. The issue presented is whether the portion of the decree of dissolution which incorporates the parties’ property settlement agreement by reference is a “judgment” as defined in CR 54.01 and used in KRS 360.040.
CR 54.01 defines a “judgment” as “a written order of a court adjudicating a claim or claims in an action or proceeding.” However, KRS 360.040, which specifies that judgments shall bear interest, obviously does not apply to all judgments, but only to those awarding a sum of money which is due and payable immediately. For example, judgments granting declaratory or in-junctive relief ordinarily do not bear interest, nor does a judgment which awards a sum payable monthly as child support.
In my view, the statute which governs the resolution of the issue in this case is KRS 403.180. This statute authorizes parties to a dissolution proceeding to enter a written separation agreement containing provisions for maintenance and disposition of property. Subsection (2) of the statute makes the terms of such agreements binding on the court in a dissolution action unless it finds that the agreement is unconscionable. If the court finds that the agreement is not unconscionable, the court has no discretion and must approve the agreement. Here, the court found the agreement to be conscionable and incorporated it by reference into the decree of dissolution. By doing so, the court did not enter a judgment which adjudicated a claim of appellant for maintenance or a division of marital property, but merely judicially insulated the terms of the private agreement from any subsequent claim that the agreement was unconscionable. Thus, once the court determined that the agreement was not unconscionable and approved it, there was nothing left to adjudicate. The parties’ agreement itself had already settled their claims against each other and was binding on the court. Therefore, the portion of the decree of dissolution which approved that agreement was not a “judgment” within the meaning of that word as defined in CR 54.01 and used in KRS 360.040. Hence, the court did not err in denying appellant’s motion for interest.
For the reasons stated, I would affirm the judgment below.