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Adams v. Adams12/20/1988
Defendant appeals from a judgment ordering him to pay $618.34 per month in alimony and mortgage payments and directing that he contribute $2,000 towards plaintiff's attorney fees. We affirm.
Plaintiff, Janet Walker Adams, and defendant, Litz Edward Adams, married on 15 August 1981. They separated on 31 July 1985. The following day, Ms. Adams filed a complaint seeking divorce from bed and board and temporary and permanent alimony. Ms. Adams based her prayer for permanent alimony on alleged indignities and alcohol abuse by her husband. In his answer, Mr. Adams denied those allegations, and he charged Ms. Adams with indignities and with abandonment. On 31 October 1985, Ms. Adams amended her complaint to aver that her husband had "engaged in open and notorious adulterous activities" since the date of their separation.
Ms. Adams' claim for permanent alimony was heard in two phases between January and March 1987. The first phase ended on 2 February when a district court jury returned answers to
seven "issues" addressing, primarily, the fault grounds alleged by both parties. The jury found that Ms. Adams had committed indignities against her husband and had abandoned him without just cause. The jury also found that Mr. Adams had committed adultery as alleged by Ms. Adams. It found that Mr. Adams had not offered indignities against Ms. Adams and had not abused alcohol.
After the verdict, the questions of Ms. Adams' dependency and of the amount of alimony to be awarded her were heard before the district court judge. She entered judgment on 26 May 1987. Included in the judgment were 25 findings of fact. Among other things, the judge found that Mr. Adams was 38-years-old; that he was "essentially the owner, operator, manager and primary beneficiary of the income" of LEA Auto Brokers, Inc.; that LEA had deposits of $1,212,292.78 and expenses of $1,149,195.05 between February 1986 and January 1987; that Mr. Adams' monthly gross income during that year was approximately $5,258; that Mr. Adams had "reasonable and necessary monthly living expenses, exclusive of payments on indebtedness," of $1,714.50; and that Mr. Adams had debts totaling $26,145, not including his obligation to make payments on two mortgages on the marital home. The judge found Mr. Adams to be a supporting spouse under N.C. Gen. Stat. Sec. 50-16.1(4) (1987).
The judge included among her remaining findings that Ms. Adams was 43-years-old; that she had had little income from outside employment during her marriage to Mr. Adams; that she owned a design business called Adams Interiors; that she had an associate's degree in interior design and was pursuing an advanced degree in the subject; that Adams Interiors grossed $86,383 in 1985 and $142,000 in 1986; that Ms. Adams' net monthly income from her business was $611 in 1985 and $853.80 in 1986; that Ms. Adams "ha demonstrated an earning capacity since the separation . . . substantially in excess of her contributions during the mar[riage] . . ."; and that Ms. Adams' "current necessary and reasonable monthly living expenses" were approximately $2,280. The judge further found that Ms. Adams had inadequate financial resources and that she was a dependent spouse within the meaning of Section 50-16.1(3). The judge found also that the jury's determination of the fault issues supported a
reduction, pursuant to Section 50-16.5(b), of the amount of alimony to be awarded Ms. Adams.
The judge ordered Mr. Adams to pay Ms. Adams $400 per month as permanent alimony. She further directed him to contribute $2,000 toward Ms. Adams' attorney fees and that he pay $218.34 per month on the second mortgage on the marit
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