Court Orders Sale of Property After Wife Refuses to Sign

Tennessee case summary on enforcement of sale of real property after divorce.

James V. Holleman v. Barbara J. Holleman

The husband in this Knox County, Tennessee, case filed for divorce in 2005.  The parties eventually came to an agreement, and the trial court approved a marital dissolution agreement in 2006.  The agreement specified that a piece of property owned by the parties would be put on the market, with the proceeds divided between them.  In the meantime, the husband was responsible for the mortgage, taxes, and insurance.

In 2007, the husband filed a petition for contempt.  He alleged that they had received a reasonable offer for the property, but the wife refused to sign.  The wife objected on the grounds that the husband had not hired a realtor as specified by the agreement.  The property didn’t sell, and the wife later argued that the husband had unjustly enriched himself by collecting rent.  A hearing was held, and the trial court issued its decision in 2012.  The trial court ruled against the wife, but awarded her a share of the rents.

As the case dragged on, the wife also made several motions for the trial judge to be recused.  One of these was eventually granted, and the wife moved to have the new judge recused.  That motion was denied.

Eventually, the trial court ordered the wife to pay sanctions in the amount of $20,000.   The court also ordered the clerk of court to retain a realtor to sell the property.  Acting without an attorney, the wife then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The court first found that the appeal was timely, and then turned to the merits.  The wife argued that earlier orders should have been set aside because they were “void.”  She apparently argued that the court lacked jurisdiction.  But the appeals court quickly noted that the trial court did maintain jurisdiction for all of its orders.

The wife also argued that one of the orders in the case was entered without any hearing.  But here, the appeals court was quick to point out that the wife did not state in her brief the grounds under which the hearing was required.  Therefore, it found that the issue was waived.

The husband asked for attorney’s fees for the appeal.  The appeals court agreed that the wife’s appeal was frivolous, and granted this request.  It remanded the case to the lower court for a determination of the amount.

No. E2018-00451-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 30,  2019).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see The Tennessee Divorce Process: How Divorces Work Start to Finish.