James E. Jackson v. Julie Blazer
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledJune 3, 2020
Docket2D17-4686
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE REHEARING
MOTION AND, IF FILED, DETERMINED
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
OF FLORIDA
SECOND DISTRICT
JAMES E. JACKSON, )
)
Appellant, )
)
v. ) Case No. 2D17-4686
)
JULIE BLAZER, )
)
Appellee. )
)
Opinion filed June 3, 2020.
Appeal from the Circuit Court for
Hillsborough County; Marion L. Fleming,
Senior Judge.
Anthony M. Candela of Candela Law Firm,
P.A., Riverview, for Appellant.
Julie Blazer, pro se.
PER CURIAM.
James E. Jackson appeals from a final judgment dissolving his marriage
to Julie Blazer. Although he raises seven issues on appeal, we find merit in only one.
In reaching a decision with respect to equitable distribution, the court classified a
Chevrolet truck and an Infiniti car held by Mr. Jackson and a Nissan Altima held by Ms.
Blazer as marital assets and a loan associated with the Nissan Altima as a marital
liability. See ยง 61.075(3)(a), (b), Fla. Stat. (2015) (requiring that a family court equitably
distributing marital assets classify the parties' assets as marital or nonmarital). The only
evidence bearing on the classification of the assets at the hearing leading to the entry of
the final judgment, however, was that the husband acquired the pickup truck prior to the
marriage and the Infiniti after the petition for dissolution was filed and that the wife
acquired the Nissan and took out the associated loan after the filing of the petition for
dissolution. There was no other evidence bearing on how the vehicles and the loan
should be classified. As such, all three vehicles and the liability corresponding to the
Nissan should have been classified as nonmarital. See ยง 61.075(6)(b)(1) (defining
assets acquired before marriage as nonmarital), (7) (setting the filing of the dissolution
petition as the cutoff date for determining whether assets are marital in the absence of
an agreement setting a different date); Smith v. Smith, 169 So. 3d 220, 221 (Fla. 2d
DCA 2015) (holding that the trial court erred in classifying a vehicle acquired
postpetition as a marital asset); Doerr v. Doerr, 751 So. 2d 154, 155 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)
(holding that a vehicle acquired prior to the marriage was a nonmarital asset absent
evidence indicating that it was otherwise to be treated as marital).
Accordingly, we reverse the final judgment of dissolution and remand for
the trial court to recalculate the equitable distribution in the final judgment in light of the
correct classification of the vehicles and loan. To the extent that recalculation affects
any other aspect of the final judgment, the trial court is free to reconsider that aspect of
the judgment. In all other respects, we affirm the final judgment without comment.
Affirmed in part; reversed in part; remanded with instructions.
SILBERMAN and SALARIO, JJ., and CASE, JAMES R., ASSOCIATE SENIOR JUDGE,
Concur.
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