Summary 2008 WY 32

Summary of Decision issued March 24, 2008

Summaries are prepared by Law Librarians and are not official statements of the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Case Name: Jasper v. Brinkerhoff

Citation: 2008 WY 32

Docket Number: S-07-0124

Appeal from the District Court of Teton County, the Honorable Nancy J. Guthrie, Judge

Representing Appellant (Plaintiff): Kenneth S. Cohen of Jackson, Wyoming.

Representing Appellee (Defendant): Douglas J. Mason of Mason & Mason, PC, Pinedale, Wyoming.

Facts/Discussion: Jasper filed a complaint seeking to set aside what she deemed a fraudulent conveyance of real property made by her former husband Brinkerhoff. Jasper and Brinkerhoff were divorced in New York in 1986. Under the terms of the divorce, Brinkerhoff was to pay Jasper alimony until she remarried or died. Jasper averred that while the two parties were in litigation over past due alimony and attorney’s fees awards. Brinkerhoff transferred his interest in the home owned by him and his new wife to his wife as trustee for the Brinkerhoff Family Trust.
Jasper’s Motion to Amend her Complaint: The Court assumed that the district court intended to deny Jasper’s motion to amend her complaint by its failure to consider or rule on her motion.
Did the District Court Err in Granting Summary Judgment for Brinkerhoff: The Court reviews the same materials as did the district court and follow the same standards as applied in the court below. The Court concluded that the district court was correct in concluding that Jasper was a “creditor”. However, the uncontroverted evidence established that Brinkerhoff was not insolvent after the contested conveyance nor had he transferred property with an actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud Jasper of her alimony payments.

Holding: The failure of the district court to consider or grant Jasper’s motion to amend her complaint was not an abuse of discretion. The record on appeal established that there were no genuine issues of material fact, and that Brinkerhoff was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Affirmed.

J. Hill delivered the decision.

Link: http://tinyurl.com/35ry47 .

[SPECIAL NOTE: This opinion uses the "Universal Citation." It was given an "official" citation when it was issued. You should use this citation whenever you cite the opinion, with a P.3d parallel citation. Please note when you look at the opinion that all of the paragraphs are numbered. When you pinpoint cite to a quote, you should cite to this paragraph number rather than to any page number. If you need assistance in putting together a citation using the Universal Citation form, please contact the Wyoming State Law Library.]