Garfein v. Garfein
California Court of Appeal
16 Cal. App. 3d 155 (1971)
- Written by Whitney Kamerzel , JD
Facts
Jack Garfein (plaintiff) and Carroll Baker (defendant) were married and subsequently divorced. Garfein was a movie director, and Baker was an actress. During the marriage, Garfein helped Baker negotiate a movie contract with Paramount Pictures (Paramount). Baker was to perform in one movie a year for six years for Paramount. Baker would earn $200,000 for the first two years and $300,000 for the last four years. Paramount was required to pay Baker that sum each year regardless of whether they actually called her to be an actress in the movies. After Baker performed in the first movie, Paramount did not call her to act again. When Paramount did not pay Baker, she sued Paramount and received a judgment requiring Paramount to pay Baker the sums required by the contract during the years specified by the contract. The judgment was acquired during Baker’s marriage. After Garfein and Baker divorced, Garfein claimed that the judgment was entirely community property because the judgment was acquired during the marriage. The trial court held that the payments Baker would earn after the divorce were her own separate property. Garfein appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Kingsley, J.)
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