Marriage of Connolly
California Supreme Court
591 P.2d 911 (1979)
- Written by Maggy Gregory, JD
Facts
As part of the community-property distribution part of her divorce proceeding, and at her request, Mrs. Connolly (plaintiff) received a promissory note for the value of her one-half interest in Amdahl Corporation (Amdahl) stock, which was assigned to Mr. Connolly (defendant). At the time of the trial court’s award of the Amdahl stock and promissory note, Amdahl was not a public company. The Amdahl stock was considered a high-risk investment that did not pay any dividends. At a later time, Amdahl became a public company, and the value of Amdahl stock rose dramatically. Mrs. Connolly, who also had custody of the parties’ two young children, filed a motion to reopen the judgment, alleging that, under Marriage of Brigden, 145 Cal. Rptr. 726 (1978), the trial court erred in not dividing the Amdahl stock in kind at the time of the divorce. The trial court denied Mrs. Connolly’s motion, and Mrs. Connolly appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Richardson, J.)
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