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Lewis v. Lewis9/22/2003
. Appellant, Carla J. Lewis, appeals from the judgment of the Portage County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division, which granted appellant a divorce from appellee, Darrell L. Lewis, and effectuated a division of property between the couple. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the trial court in part, reverse in part, and remand the matter for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
. Appellant and appellee were married on June 17, 1995, and no children were born as issue of their marriage. At the time of their marriage, appellant ("Carla") owned a home in Atwater, Ohio with a fair market value of $59,800 and a mortgage in the amount of $27,000. In 1999, the parties bought a residence in Florida for $30,000. The second home was titled in both parties' names. The $30,000 was obtained by refinancing the Atwater home. A new mortgage was established on the Atwater property in the amount of $58,000. In other words, the parties borrowed $30,000 against the Atwater property to buy a second home in Florida free and clear.
. In dividing the parties' assets, the trial court found that the Atwater home was worth $70,000 at the time of the final hearing on July 2, 2002, which meant the house had appreciated $10,200 during the marriage. The trial court awarded the Atwater house to Carla, found the appreciation to be marital, and concluded that appellee ("Darrell") was entitled to one-half of the appreciation which amounted to $5,100. The trial court did not specify what the amount of the mortgage was on the Atwater home at the time of the final hearing nor which party was responsible for its payment, but we assume the court intended Carla to pay the mortgage as she was awarded the house, and there was no indication that Darrell was responsible for any of this debt.
. Regarding the Florida residence, at the time of the final hearing, the trial court found that it had a fair market value of $47,000 with no mortgage. Thus, the property had appreciated $17,000 from the time the couple purchased the house. The court ordered the property to be sold with the net proceeds being divided equally between the parties. Each party had an option to keep the house and buy out the other party's share for $23,500.
. Additionally, during the parties' marriage, Darrell was injured in an automobile accident. As a result, he received $20,175 from a personal injury settlement. While Carla was aware of the accident and the lawsuit, she was never informed of the settlement and, allegedly, her signature had been forged on the settlement check. The trial court awarded the full settlement to Darrell.
. Finally, there was evidence presented that Darrell's mother had given $29,000 to the parties during their marriage. Carla claimed that the money was a gift to Darrell, but Darrell alleged that it was a loan to both parties. The trial court found that the conveyance was a loan and that each party was responsible for paying back Darrell's mother for one-half of the total, or $14,500.
. Carla timely filed a notice of appeal from the trial court's decision granting the parties a divorce. She has now set forth three assignments of error:
. "[1.] The trial court erred to the prejudice of appellant in neglecting to find that appellant was entitled to a $30,000.00 interest as separate property in the real estate purchased in Florida during the marriage in 1999.
. "[2.] The trial court erred to the prejudice of appellant in neglecting to grant appellant an award from the personal injury settlement received by appellee.
. "[3.] The trial court erred to the prejudice of appellant in findi
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