Court Opinion

ID: 9606496
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 02:50:22.556157+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:57:13.675269
License: Public Domain

WEBB, Justice.
The resolution of this appeal depends on the interpretation of the words of the agreement “if the parties have lived continuously separate and apart for that full period” (one year). It is undisputed that the parties engaged in sexual intercourse during that period. If these words are not ambiguous and to live separate and apart means the parties may not engage in sexual intercourse during that period, summary judgment was properly granted for the appellee. We believe that we are required to hold under Murphy v. Murphy, 295 N.C. 390, 245 S.E. 2d 693 (1978) and State v. Gossett, 203 N.C. 641, 166 S.E. 754 (1932), that the words are not ambiguous and the parties did not live continuously separate and apart during the year after the agreement was signed. In Murphy, the plaintiff brought an action for divorce on the ground of one year’s separation. A separation agreement had been signed by the parties and the defendant brought a cross action to set it aside. The cross action was tried first. We held it was error for the district court to charge the jury that it took more than sexual intercourse for the parties to resume the marital relationship. In Gossett, the defendant was prosecuted for nonsupport of his wife. He defended on the ground that he and his wife had signed a separation agreement which relieved him of the duty to support her. This Court found no error in a charge in which the jury was told that if they found the parties entered into an agreement in which they agreed to live separate and apart and the defendant visited his wife on several occasions and had intercourse with her, they should treat the separation agreement as if it were of no validity.
*485Murphy and Gossett hold that sexual intercourse is all it takes to void an agreement in which the parties agree to live separate and apart. We believe these cases hold there is a precise meaning to “living separate and apart” and a husband and wife do not live separate and apart if they have sexual relations. The words as used in the separation agreement in this case are not ambiguous. The contingency upon which the husband was to receive the wife’s interest in the marital residence did not occur. The wife was entitled to summary judgment in her favor.
The appellant contends and the dissents in the Court of Appeals and this Court say that this is an agreement drawn pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 50-20(d) which allows an agreement dividing property during the marriage. For that reason, says the appellant, the agreement in this case is enforceable although the parties had sexual relations within one year of the signing of the agreement. The appellant relies on Love v. Mewborn, 79 N.C. App. 465, 339 S.E. 2d 487, disc. rev. denied, 317 N.C. 704, 347 S.E. 2d 43 (1986) and Buffington v. Buffington, 69 N.C. App. 483, 317 S.E. 2d 97 (1984). We believe our decision in this case is consistent with N.C.G.S. § 50-20(d) as well as Love and Buffington. N.C.G.S. § 50-20(d) provides that married persons may provide for division of marital property while they are cohabiting. Love and Buffing-ton hold that such agreements are enforceable under the statute. We do not hold in this case that such an agreement is unenforceable. The terms of the agreement in this case provide that for the defendant to receive the marital home the parties must live separate and apart for one year after the parties separate. They did not do this and under the terms of the agreement the appellant is not entitled to have the house conveyed to him. We do not hold that Murphy governs and the separation agreement is void. We do hold that at the time the agreement was executed Murphy and Gossett had defined “to live separate and apart” in such a way that the words meant that a husband and wife could not have intercourse if they were to live separate and apart. We hold the separation agreement should be enforced according to the meaning of these words.
The dissents would apply a subjective test to determine the intent of the parties at the time the separation agreement was made. See 1 E. Farnsworth, Contracts § 7.9 (1982) for a discussion of the objective and subjective theories of assent. The dissents *486would have us attempt to search for the meaning the parties gave to the words regardless of the understanding which is normally-given to them. In this case we believe we should use an objective test. The words “live continuously separate and apart” have a definite meaning. Larry Higgins’ attorney could have told him the meaning of the words at the time the agreement was signed. A party to a contract should not be allowed to say he gave a different meaning to words which are not ambiguous.
We are advertent to N.C.G.S. § 52-10.2 which overrules Murphy and Love. The effective date of that statute is 1 October 1987. We did not consider it in the resolution of this case.
The decision of the Court of Appeals is
Affirmed.