Rutland v.
Rutland,
652 So. 2d
404 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995).
The Orange
County Circuit Court entered a dissolution of marriage judgment that
denied the wife any interest in the husband’s business and granted the
husband a special equity in the marital home.
Ms.
Lippincott appealed this judgment for the wife. The appellate court
found that the husband’s acquisition of 100% of a family business by the redemption of corporate stock
during the marriage was a marital asset
subject to equitable distribution. Secondly, the appellate court ruled
that the husband failed to establish a special equity in the marital
home because his evidence was inadequate to rebut the presumption that
he intended a gift to the wife when he put the property in both names.
The denial of alimony to the wife was affirmed. The judgment was
reversed and remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.
Although the
result for these parties remained the same, the Fifth District has
receded from
Rutland
regarding the corporate stock ruling. See Anson v. Anson, 772 So.
2d 52 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000).
