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Swanson v. Swanson6/30/2000
principal sum of money is liquid, the party cannot be made whole unless it is granted prejudgment interest on its money from the date on which the party is deprived of those funds.
The money for which Jeane claims prejudgment interest is a liquidated amount, ascertainable by common mathematical processes. Therefore, the focal point of the Court's analysis in this case should be the language of I.C. u 28-10-104, which provides that interest begins to accrue "after the [money] becomes due." While the community is theoretically entitled to reimbursement as soon as a spouse borrows community funds for separate purposes, reimbursement is never an issue as a practical matter until matrimonial harmony is disrupted and divorce proceedings are well under way. Since both spouses have the right to control and manage community property, see I.C. u 32-912, community funds are often used for separate purposes, usually without any formal accounting.
In this case, the trial court held that there was no evidence to show that George fraudulently or unfairly applied community funds toward his separate purposes. The trial court also found that there was no agreement between the parties that the money would ever be asked for. The evidence on the record suggests that Jeane acquiesced to the application of the M-K proceeds to George's separate obligations. We hold that the reimbursed funds did not become due until the court determined that Jeane was entitled to those funds.
V. CONCLUSION
We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in declining to reopen the characterization of the M-K settlement proceeds as community property. We also hold that even if the trial court erred by not reconsidering the reimbursement issue in spite of the Bliss decision, Bliss does not mandate a contrary ruling on that issue. On cross-appeal, we hold that the trial court did not err in reversing its prior award of prejudgment interest to Jeane on the community reimbursements. Because of the mixed result, no costs or fees are awarded on appeal.
Chief Justice TROUT, Justices SCHROEDER, WALTERS and KIDWELL CONCUR.
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