Pryor v. Pryor

177 Cal.App.4th 1448

99 Cal. Rptr. 3d 853

ELIZABETH PRYOR, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. JENNIFER LEE PRYOR, Defendant and Respondent.

No. B207398.

Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Four.

September 29, 2009.

Holland & Knight, Bruce S. Ross, Linda Rottman and Vivian L. Thoreen for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Kibre & Horwitz, Howard L. Horwitz and Eric G. Stockel for Defendant and Respondent.

OPINION

EPSTEIN, P. J.

Elizabeth Pryor appeals from an order dismissing her petition to annul the marriage of her late father, Richard Pryor, and respondent Jennifer Lee Pryor.¹ We conclude that Elizabeth lacks standing to petition to annul the marriage and affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY

Richard was a well-known comedian and actor. He had six children, including Elizabeth. Richard was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the mid-1980's. He was married to Jennifer in 1981 and they divorced in 1982. On June 8, 2001, pursuant to a confidential marriage license, Richard and Jennifer remarried. Richard died on December 10, 2005. At some point after his death, Elizabeth discovered his 2001 remarriage to Jennifer.

On July 13, 2007, styling herself as successor in interest to Richard, Elizabeth petitioned to annul Richard's 2001 marriage to Jennifer on the ground of fraud.² Jennifer responded with a motion to quash the petition on the grounds that Elizabeth lacked standing and that the petition was time-barred under Family Code section 2211, subdivision (d).³ Elizabeth then filed an amended petition for annulment pursuant to section 2210, subdivision (d) (fraud), adding the allegation that the confidential marriage license was void. Jennifer moved to strike the allegation that the marriage should be annulled because the confidential marriage license was void (§§ 300, 350). She also renewed her effort to quash the proceeding on the ground that Elizabeth lacked standing and that the petition was time-barred under section 2211, subdivision (d) and California Rules of Court, rule 5.121(a)(1), (4).

The trial court granted Jennifer's motion. The court considered Greene v. Williams (1970) 9 Cal.App.3d 559 [88 Cal.Rptr. 261] (Greene) and In re Marriage of Goldberg (1994) 22 Cal.App.4th 265 [27 Cal.Rptr.2d 298] (Goldberg) and harmonized their holdings. It concluded that Greene "stands for the proposition that a nullity action alleging a voidable marriage does not survive the death of a spouse. Goldberg, on the other hand, allows a nullity action alleging a voidable marriage to proceed where a spouse initiates the action and then dies prior to its conclusion." The court rejected Elizabeth's argument that section 2211 "evidences a legislative intent that a nullity action based on fraud survives the death of the defrauded spouse."

The court entered an order of dismissal with prejudice and this timely appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

Elizabeth contends de novo review is appropriate, arguing that a motion to quash in family law is analogous to a demurrer. The standard of review on a question of annulment is substantial evidence (In re Marriage of Ramirez (2008) 165 Cal.App.4th 751, 756 [81 Cal.Rptr.3d 180]), while questions of statutory interpretation are subject to de novo review. (Elsenheimer v. Elsenheimer (2004) 124 Cal.App.4th 1532, 1536, .)

Reversal is compelled, Elizabeth argues, by section 2211, "interpretive case law," survivability of a cause of action for fraud, and Code of Civil Procedure section 338, the three-year statute of limitations for actions based on fraud. She also contends that public policy compels reversal, arguing that caregivers should not be able to exploit their wards' dependence for their own benefit. According to Elizabeth, the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (Elder Abuse Act or Act)⁴ is designed to prevent such exploitation, and an affirmance here would allow Jennifer to evade the policies underlying that Act by marrying Richard.

A. Annulment Statutes

(1) We begin our analysis with the statutory framework. "Our fundamental task in construing a statute is to ascertain the intent of the lawmakers so as to effectuate the purpose of the statute. [Citation.] We begin by examining the statutory language, giving the words their usual and ordinary meaning. [Citation.] If there is no ambiguity, then we presume the lawmakers meant what they said, and the plain meaning of the language governs. [Citations.] If, however, the statutory terms are ambiguous, then we may resort to extrinsic sources, including the ostensible objects to be achieved and the legislative history. (People v. Coronado [(1995)] 12 Cal.4th [145,] 151 [48 Cal.Rptr.2d 77, 906 P.2d 1232].) In such circumstances, we `"select the construction that comports most closely with the apparent intent of the Legislature, with a view to promoting rather than defeating the general purpose of the statute, and avoid an interpretation that would lead to absurd consequences." [Citation.]' ([Citation]; see Escobedo v. Estate of Snider (1997) 14 Cal.4th 1214, 1223 [60 Cal.Rptr.2d 722, 930 P.2d 979].)" (Day v. City of Fontana (2001) 25 Cal.4th 268, 272 [105 Cal.Rptr.2d 457, 19 P.3d 1196], italics added.) We must construe the language of a statute "`in the context of the statute as a whole and the overall statutory scheme, and we give "significance to every word, phrase, sentence, and part of an act in pursuance of the legislative purpose."'" (Smith v. Superior Court (2006) 39 Cal.4th 77, 83 [45 Cal.Rptr.3d 394, 137 P.3d 218], quoting People v. Canty (2004) 32 Cal.4th 1266, 1276 [14 Cal.Rptr.3d 1, 90 P.3d 1168].)

(2) "It is well settled in California that `the Legislature has full control of the subject of marriage and may fix the conditions under which the marital status may be created or terminated....'" (Lockyer v. City and County of San Francisco (2004) 33 Cal.4th 1055, 1074 [17 Cal.Rptr.3d 225, 95 P.3d 459], quoting McClure v. Donovan (1949) 33 Cal.2d 717, 728 [205 P.2d 17].) The Supreme Court in McClure explained: "With the right of action for annulment of a marriage so statutory in nature, it is for the Legislature to prescribe when and by whom such litigation may be commenced ...." (McClure v. Donovan, at p. 728, italics added; see also Estate of Gregorson (1911) 160 Cal. 21 [116 P. 60] (Gregorson).)

We first dispose of Elizabeth's claim that the marriage of Jennifer and Richard was void rather than voidable, and therefore subject to collateral attack. Her theory is that the confidential marriage license was forged and therefore rendered the marriage illegal. Estate of DePasse (2002) 97 Cal.App.4th 92 [118 Cal.Rptr.2d 143], on which Elizabeth relies, is distinguishable. In that case, a couple who had lived together was married without a marriage license because of the alleged wife's illness and imminent death. In a probate action involving the alleged husband's claim to half his wife's estate, the Court of Appeal held that the issuance of a marriage license is mandatory for a valid marriage in California. (Id. at pp. 95, 102-103.)

Here, Elizabeth acknowledges a marriage license was issued, but claims Richard's signature was forged. This brings her action within the fraud provisions of § 2210, which we next discuss. Section 2200 provides that incestuous marriages are void, and section 2201 provides that bigamous and polygamous marriages are either void or voidable "depending on the circumstances." (Estate of DePasse, supra, 97 Cal.App.4th at pp. 105-106.) In contrast, fraud is a ground which may render a marriage voidable under section 2210. (Estate of DePasse, at p. 106; see also Gregorson, supra, 160 Cal. at p. 26 [contrasting validity under predecessor of § 2210 with "[a] marriage prohibited as incestuous or illegal and declared to be `void' or `void from the beginning'" as a legal nullity whose validity may be asserted in any proceeding in which the fact of marriage may be material].)

(3) Section 2210 provides that marriages are voidable and may be adjudged a nullity if specified conditions existed at the time of the marriage. These include: (1) where one or both parties were minors and did not have the consent of a parent to marry (§ 2210, subd. (a)); (2) bigamy (§ 2210, subd. (b)); (3) where one party is of unsound mind (§ 2210, subd. (c)); (4) where the consent of either party was obtained by fraud (§ 2210, subd. (d)); (5) or by force (§ 2210, subd. (e)); and (6) where either party was physically incapable of entering into the marriage, and the incapacity appears incurable (§ 2210, subd. (f)).

Section 2211 is the companion to section 2210. The introductory sentence of that statute provides: "A proceeding to obtain a judgment of nullity of marriage, for causes set forth in Section 2210, must be commenced within the periods and by the parties, as follows ...." (§ 2211, italics added.) This passage plainly and unambiguously defines not only the limitations periods for nullity actions based on various grounds, but standing as well. We disagree with Elizabeth's strained reading of this passage, to the effect that "must" is not mandatory. The limitations period and standing provisions differ, depending on the ground for annulment invoked.

(4) Elizabeth argues Jennifer fraudulently induced Richard to marry her in 2001. A proceeding to nullify a marriage for fraud must be commenced "by the party whose consent was obtained by fraud, within four years after the discovery of the facts constituting the fraud." (§ 2211, subd. (d), italics added.) The plain meaning of this language is that only a defrauded spouse may institute an action for annulment based on fraud, within four years of discovery of the fraud.

An examination of the other subdivisions of section 2211 demonstrates that the Legislature chose to broaden standing to seek an annulment in certain other circumstances. For example, subdivision (a) addresses actions where a party or parties marry before the age of consent. Until the minor spouse...