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Wyatt v. Wyatt3/7/2003
No. 5671
I. INTRODUCTION
Having appealed his first-degree murder conviction for the death of his wife, Ronald Wyatt obtained a stay of the wrongful death civil lawsuit his late wife's estate brought against him. In exchange, he agreed with her estate in open court that ownership of disputed real and personal property would vest in the estate if his criminal appeal was unsuccessful. Wyatt argues that the agreement did not encompass his separate property. We hold that it did, and therefore affirm the superior court's interpretation of the agreement and its refusal to let him use the property to hire defense counsel in the civil action. We also affirm as to all other issues he raises.
II. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
Ronald Wyatt was charged in October 1992 with murdering his wife of almost eight years, Diane Wyatt. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder in 1993 and the Alaska Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction in 1997. We affirmed in May 1999.
Diane Wyatt's sister, Susan Vik, was appointed special administrator of Diane's estate in October 1992 to collect and manage the estate's assets. On behalf of the estate, Vik filed a civil wrongful death suit against Wyatt in October 1992. The estate sought and obtained a restraining order against Wyatt to ensure that he would not disturb assets that the estate could potentially claim. Wyatt stipulated that his bank accounts would be frozen pending the criminal case. He could use those accounts only for living expenses and defense counsel in the criminal prosecution.
In August 1994 the estate moved for partial summary judgment to establish Wyatt's liability for Diane's death. In September 1994 the estate again moved for partial summary judgment and argued that Wyatt had no constitutional right to counsel in the civil action. This motion responded to a letter Wyatt wrote the superior court requesting more time to retain substitute defense counsel in the civil case after his criminal lawyer withdrew from Wyatt's civil case in May 1994, and after the court-imposed deadline for pro bono services for the civil action had expired. The court granted the estate's summary judgment motion on the issue of Wyatt's right to counsel. Wyatt moved for reconsideration, arguing that proceeding with the civil trial would adversely affect his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in his criminal appeal. In November 1994 the superior court granted the estate's other motion for summary judgment on the issue of Wyatt's liability for Diane's death, based on the preclusive effect of Wyatt's criminal conviction. In December 1994 Wyatt moved for reconsideration.
During a February 1995 hearing in the civil case, Wyatt, the estate, and the superior court discussed staying the wrongful death trial pending the criminal appeal. Wyatt, representing himself, asked the court to stay the civil proceedings until his criminal appeal was resolved. Counsel for the estate suggested transferring all of the property to the estate pending the appeal. If the appeal were successful, the property would be disgorged and its status could then be litigated. The parties and the court considered this proposal at some length. The court explained that if Wyatt's appeal were unsuccessful and his conviction was affirmed, the stay would be lifted and the estate "could then transfer that property to anybody, to use it, do whatever they wanted to with it." Wyatt answered, "If the appeal is not successful." The court stated, "Exactly." It then confirmed that if the appeal was successful, the property would return to its pre-agreement legal status. The court asked Wyatt if "everything" the court had explained was "clear
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