Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout96-06418 , II E. ~ , , 'I (! 'I - . - .' ... ')>1 ~ I I, , , , " I c:J a.. 11 I, "1 ,J~ I. : I, ' 111 [trl,Nnt;l! cr 'II'" " ,~(/ \; i 1,'TI,.If( % orl; I J I,: IIOr " 3 l;iJ:I,' Ill.J .j,1 \,\,1.1,1" rUtll:,/ILVlNI1\ ,,, " I " I , l.',. r ,I I " I , , " , . ~ ! ~ I ~ a ~ ill ! ~~ !g! ..~r- ~ f : t . .. . . . . . . ' . '- I"",J . ,e . I . . - ," ,~" 1 'l'lll!; MAB'nRI 'l'oda)' ie 'l'hursdll)', Apr il J, 2 1997. This iM the date aet for a hearing on the oomplaint J tor annulment tiled by Joanne McCanna. Present in the 4 hearing room are the Plaintifr, Joanne Mocanna, and her a oounsel Charles Reotor, and the Oefendant'a oounael, Robert ~ G. Frey. James McCanna has not appeared today with his 7 oounsell however Mr. Frey has indicated to the Maater that 8 he ia present with his cliont's consont and knowlodge. 9 Is that oorroot, Hr. Frey. 10 MR. FREYl That is corroot. 11 'l'IIE HAS'l'lml Mr. Rootor and Mr. Frey have 12 Digned a stipulation of oounsol rolnting to the oodo seotion 1J dealing with the annulment issue bofore the Hastor and 14 averring cortain fonts whioh they hove agreed oonstitute 1a grounds for annulment. The code section at issue is 2J 16 Pa.C.B.A. 3105(5). 17 The Master is going to submit the stipulation 18 to the Court along with the documents presented by Mr. 19 Rector, whioh include a praecipe to transmit the record and 20 a proposed decree in annulment. In addition the Mllster hilS 21 requested that we have some testimony on the reoord to 22 amplify and verify certain facts set fQfth in the 2J stipulation. That testimony will be part of the reoord and 24 submitted to the Court alung with the stipulation of 25 oounsel. 1 '-, 1 following the oompletion of the testimony 2 today/ the Master will have the testimony transori~~d and 3 prepare an order vaoating his appointment. Mr. Reotor will 4 then request that th6 cllse be transmitted to the court for & review and for the purpooo of entering a final deoree, IS Mr. Frey, do you have any objs&:ltion to the 7 method or prooQsding in this onBe? B MR. l"RI':V I l'lo. 9 'I'IIE MM1'I'ER I Wou ld you S~lear the Id tneSB, 10 please. 11 Whereupon, 12 JOAl'll'lE MoCAl'll'lA 13 having been oalled as a witness, testified as folloWSl 14 PIREC'I' EXAMltlA'I'IOtl 1& BY MR. RECTOR I 16 Q Ms. McCanna, I would like to ask you several 17 questions. Firstly, I would like you to verifY to the 1B Master that you have reviewed the stipulation ot oounBel and 19 oan verity that its oontonts are true and acourate to the 20 best or your knowlodgo? 21 A Yes, I have. 22 Q Are the contonts tX'UII and accurate to the 23 best of your knowledge? 24 A Yell, they are. 2a Q All right. Ms. MoCanna, I want to next 2 -.... ,-" neok, and I had saine faoial soarring. Q When did that aooident ocour? 1\ July of '09. Q Now, of course, we stipulllted to the faot that you and your husband married on Septambor 5 of 1992. Now, I want to you ask tirstly, with respect to that A Q A Q injuries? 1\ Q 3 ,....., 1":'\ 1 II Ve.. :I Q Waa hID aWal.'e / Joanne / of your intention to 3 proceed and attempt to obtain some more monies in 4 ..tt:lement? & A VIDIS. ~ Q Was he aware of that before you got marL'ied? 7 A Ve., he was. B Q okay. Now, I wont: to direot your attention ~ ne~t to -- oh, and the other issue I want to touoh upon. 10 Your residence, as we've ftgreed to on the stipulation, is 11 53& B&:luth Middlesex Road in Carlisle. Oid you own that home 12 yourself prior to getting married? 13 AVe:.. 14 Q 'l'hat's in your own namQ? 1& AVes. lIS Q continues to bo? 17 AVes. 1B Q Ms. MCCanna, after you married Mr. McCanna 19 can you give the Master an idea of hoW Mr. MoCanna ohangsd 20 fOllowing your septembor of 199~ marriage? 21 A Money became everything/ that's all he ever 22 talked about. lie was constantly asking me about the 23 litigation we had pending for the auto aocident. 24 Q Did he give you any indication of what his 25 intentions were if you received any more monies from that 4 1 2 3 4 & IS 7 B !) 10 11 12 13 14 1a 16 17 1B 19 20 21 ~2 23 24 25 -.-...., aooident? ^ Not at that tims. Q But at somQ ~ubs~quQnt point and time? AVes. a What did he tell you? ^ ~len I told him I didn't reooive any more monies .. Q Let's baok up. Oid ho toll you what his intentions were if you roceived ~ny monoy tram thut aooident, how he wanted to use it? A At a lator timo, but nut Q What did he tell you? ^ When r told him that I wllsn't going to be reoeivinq any monies, ho said, well, what good are you. He said, I had plans for th~t. I was going to uso that for oollege money for the kids. lie sa id, I don' t have any money for them for collego now. Q Okay. Now, let's l:lack up also. 'I'here are no ohildren of this marriage! is that correot? A Right. Q The children in question were children of your husband to a prior marriage? AVes. Q Okay. Ms. MOCanna, after you married, did your husband make any financial contributions to the 5 - 1 hou..hold? :l A No. 3 Q Now lst'l diloulIS that. At the Um. you 4 married were you still working at that Quaker oats company & in Shlremanstown? IS 7 B 9 10 11 12 going to contribute fina"oially to the household? 1] ^ Before or after? 14 Q Ever. 1a A The reason he gave me before we were married 16 was, he wasn't going to contribute anything the agreement 17 before he moved in was that he would pay half ot all of the 1B bills. Whenever he moved in he didn't give me any money and 19 it was, like, I thought you wore going to help me out. 20 And he said (witness crying). 21 Q Take your time. Did he Indicato -- 22 THE MASTERc Now, wait. r want to know what 23 he said. Let's give her a little -- a chance to recover her 24 thinking here. But I wBnt to know what he said. After he 26 moved in, you said he didn't -- he agreed to pay the bills A Yus. Q Where was he working? ^ PI'G. Q PPG Industries down in Mt. Holly? A Right. Q find did he give you a reaaon Why he wasn't 6 ~ 1 b.f~r. he moved in, or share the billsl but after he moved 2 in then he said .- 3 'I'IIE WI'I'NEBB I JU8t a minute. lie said that .. 81nooa he st1 11 had IS houll. payment thftt ho d idn / t fee 1 he ~ should have to contribute anything to my houeehold -- to our ~ household. Bo he said he WOUldn't oontribute anything until 7 he sold the house -- his house, and he wasn/t going to gell B it until we got married. 9 BY MR. RECTORI 10 Q Okay. And at ~ome point after you got 11 married, did ho sell hie hQuse? 12 13 14 la 16 17 1B 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ^ Ves. Q Okay. And after he sold his hous., at that point, did he begin contributing finanoially to your marriage? ^ No. Q Now, let/s talk about that finanoial oontribut1on. Are hill two children living in the house? A Yes. Q Who is supporting those ~id8? A I am. Q Are you providing everything for their needs? A Yes. Q Are you paying all of the household bills? A Yes. 7 -""'\ ,- , '. 1 :I J 4 15 IS 7 B 9 10 11 12 1J 14 1& 16 17 lB 19 20 21 22 23 24 215 Q Now, after you get ma~ri.d and after he ..lls hi. hous., does your husband givs you ft reason why he still isn't Clontributing any money tt) the mllrr1ftqe? ^ Yes. Q What did he tell you? ^ lie said he wanted to get his savinge aooount built up befor~ he stn~ted helping me with bills. Q Did he tell you how long that might take, in hi. opinion, to get it built up to where he wanted to have it built up" ^ lie didn't eound like it was going to be that long. Q okoy. ^ My family Was getting upset over this whole thing. My mother said, you better talk to him or she said, I'm going to oome over and throw him out. That was in Deoember. Q Deoember of what year? A "32. Q So that was the first Christmas you guys wore married? A Right. Q Ms. MoCanna, I want to direot your attention neKt to that period or time, the fall of '92 in to '~J. You testified that you were injured in this automobile acoident. B ---', -- A_ time wont on how did your husband reaot to ths oontinuing litiqation end the ewpootation that there might be more money ooming in? ^ He was asking me about it all of tho time. Q All right. Ourin~ tho samo period/ the fall of /92 and /93 spring and summer, wao your husband also making Any reque~t8 with ruspeot to the deed to the marital home? 1 2 J 4 15 ~ 7 B 9 10 11 l:2 lJ 14 la l6 17 1B 19 20 2l 22 Q All right. tlow, let's get baok to the 2J contributions to the marriage -- the finanoial 24 oontribution~, and I want to bring you up to about June of 2& 1994. Can you state whether or not up until June ot 1994 ^ Yes. lie was concerned that his name waMn't on the deed. Q Oid that create some triution between you and him? A When the interest rates dropped in the fall of '9J and :r: refinanoed, and beoause his name wasn't on the deed/ he had to sign II paper. Q Was that a release? ^ I'm not sure what it was. Q Okay. lIow did he roact to that? A Oh, he was upset. BCD said, you know, you just make me flllel like I'm nothing. He wouldn't talk to me for a week or two. 9 "'" - 1 your hu.b~nd oontinued not to oontribute to the merital a houllhoLd? J ^ Hight. . Q How, oan you tell the Maeter what ooourred in & June or 1994, and I/m epeakinq speuifioally about anything IS you may have told your husband about your personal injury 7 nttlement? Q ^ Ita was very Ilnxious when I got home trom the 9 hearing as to whether r qot anything and I aaid, well, they 10 have to make a decision 011 it. I said, it really doesn't 11 look like I'm going to be getting anything other than the 12 lawyer bills and the medical bills that I already had, 1J beoause an)thing I got trom the settlement I would havo to 14 repay all at the modioal bills that the inauranoe oompany 15 paid. 16 Q okay. !'low, at the time we had that 17 arbitration, you actually received some additional monies in 1B that arbitration, did you not? 19 AVes. 20 Q How much? 21 A A little over $60,000.00. 22 Q Did you tell your husband that? 23 A No. 24 Q Why not? 2a A Because aa soon as he would get his ~ands on 10 "' ,- 1 it/ it would b, Qone, a Q Now/ what did you tell your huspand then 3 after that award was made about the situation? 4 1\ That there wouldn/t be any more monies oQminq 15 in. IS Q okay. Was that in June of 1994 -- about June 7 Of 1994 when that whole thing transpired? B A'!}4. 9 Q You told him and how did he reaot when you 10 told him that thero would bo no more monoy from the 11 settlement? 12 A ~11at/s when he started saying that I was 13 worth nothin9, you know, what good was I. That's when he 14 wee saying about tl.ol money for the college for the kids. 1a Q Okay. And oan you state whether or not it 16 was at that point in time that you began living Beparate and 17 apart from your husband? lB 1\ Yes. 19 Q Just to be olear on this, you were 20 nonetheless living in tho same house? 21 A '{es. 22 Q '{our house? 23 A '{es. 24 Q At about this time, did you begin to ask your 25 husband if he would leave the marital home? 11 -. r- 1 A Yee. a Q What was his response? 3 A He waan't leaving thu house. He didn/t want 4 to upset the kids. "e felt that this was his house too. & Q Can you state whether or not up through thu 6 summer and fall Qf 1994 whether he made any finanoial 7 oontributions to thu household, t~e kid's bills, anything n like that? 9 A 1'10. 10 Q tlow, at some point in time, Joanne, did you 11 roquest strike that. At some point in timo, did you 12 olose your joint aooount out? 13 A Yes. 14 Q Why did you close it out? 1& A I waB tired of taking money off my oredit 16 oard to have enough money to pay the bills. 17 Q Were you working at Quaker Oats at that time, 1B and we are speaking now of the summer and fall of 1994? 19 A Hight. 20 Q And were you working 40 hour weeks or were 21 you working overtime? 22 A I waB working a lot of overtime. 23 Q Can you give the Master an idea, despite the 24 overtime, of how that joint account was working out at that 2a time? 12 " ,"" ,-, 1 A It wasn't working out. I would 90 to pay the :z bUls and than wouldn' t be any monsy in then. 3 Q When waM it that you opened your joint 4 aooount exOUse mo. strike thnt. When did you opdn your ~ individual aooount? IS A I beUevlt it Willi April of '95. 7 Q April of '95. Did you tell your husband that B you had opened up your own acoount? 9 A 1'10. 10 Q Okay. At some point did he learn about It? 11 ^ Yes. 'l'he IItatement, oame in. 12 Q How did he react to that? lJ A Oh, he wall upset. 14 Q tlow/ during that time period, up through 1~ April of '9a, did you once again ask your husband leave? lIS A Yes. 17 Q Did he? 1B A 1'10. 19 Q Can you give the Master an idea of how Boon 20 after you closed tho joint account and opened your uwn 21 account/ that your husband left the home? 22 A I didn' t close the joint account. 23 Q Okay. 24 A It was approximately a month after he found 2& out that I opened up my own account that he left on his own. 13 - ,...... 1 2 3 .. IS 6 7 Q 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1B 19 20 21 22 23 24 2& Q Okay. Oid you continue oontributing any monies to the joint aooount or did you put your monies into the individual aooount? II He was so upset about the individual aooount that I kept my monies in the joint nooount until he left, then I went to my own aooount. Q When was it that he left the marital home? A June of '95. Q lind, Joanne, I Wl\nt to direct your attention lastly to one of the final conversations you had with your husband before he left, what if anything did he say to you about money when he left? A Ho said, I know it looks liko I was just arter you for your money. He said, I'm sorry. Q What did you say in response? II I said, yeah, it does. Q Is that ronlly tho laBt conversation you had with him? A Yes. MR. RECTORr 'I'hat's all of the questions r have, Mr. Elicker. THE MASTER I Mr. Frey, do you have any quelllHons'? MR. FREVI No. THE MASTER! Just eo I understand. When you 14 -""" ,-, 1 moved in with your huebnnd, you Weren't married? 2 Till!; WI'l'tH':BB I Right. 3 'I'IIE MAS'I,'EI~1 130 that When he l18id -- before 4 you moved into together -- that he was going to share & ewpense. and then he didn't sh~re ewpenaes, you weren't 6 married at that partioular time that you moved in together? 7 TilE WI'I'NESB I Right. B 'I'HE MAS'I'ERI And then it was Inter that you 9 got married? 10 'l'ltE WI'l'tlEafl I Right. 11 BY THE "ASTER I 12 Q Wh ile you wel~e lL v ing together? 13 A Um-hum. 14 Q He didn't at that time, after you Weru 15 married, contribute anythinll either to the expenses? 16 A Yes. 17 Q Had you asked him to make any contributions 16 after you got married? 19 A '{es. 20 Q And what did he tell you? 21 A That's when he was trying to build up his 22 savings. He wasn/t going to pay anything until r agreed to 23 marry himl we got married and he still wouldn't pay anything 24 because he hadn't sold the house. He sold the house and he 25 still didn't contribute anything because he wanted to build 15 ~"" ,-- 1 beoaus. the bill. were alway. in my name through the ~ marriag., 80 th~y We~. my responsibility. 3 Q You said that YOll opened your individual 4 aooount? & ^ Vus. IS Q And did you put any money / atter you Qpened 7 your individual aooount, into the joint aooount? DAVes. 9 Q And for what pur.pose did you do that? 10 A Just to pay the bills. 11 Q And then it waD shortly after you opened your 12 individual aooount that he left? 13 A Yes. 14 Q How did you foel about this whole 15 relationship as far as how you were used, treated as a wife, 16 how did you feel about this? 17 A Very degraded. lB Q Did you feel thnt you were used? 19 A Yes. 20 Q In what respect? 21 A Just tho promises before the marriage weren/t 22 anything like I thought the marriage was going to be. 23 Q None of the promises were kept about what he 24 would do to help you or with the financial life of the 25 family? 17 .-.... 1 ^ Veah. Wu hAd no rOIAtionshap like A husband 2 And wite would haye. 3 Q VOll hlllt nil rUlAtlonship. Could you ellplain 4 that a little moru, what you mUAn by that? I) ^ 'I'he on I Y t1mo8 hll wnu hAPPY was whltn I WIlS ~ workln9 overtime or watuhlnq hiD kldu. 7 Q no YlIur relationship consisted mostly of you B oontributlnq to hlu rlnnflullll ullistunoQ and his children? 9 AVes. 10 Q M"t Illuu Y'lu'ro tllkinq oare of his ohildren 11 in a sonse of provldlnq II homo, dolnq the monls? 12 A Wo II, ho worko,l Ilh I rt work. 110 works a swing 13 shift. 110 I~orku wookofldu DO I I<opt his kids a lot. 14 '1'lIt: M^H'I'~:1l1 All right. Anythin'il elso HI oounsul? 16 Mil. IlECTOIlI No. 17 Mil. f'IUr,VI tlothlng. 1 B 'l'lm MAIl'I'~~1l1 Wo w ill prepare the transcript 19 and .end It up with tho stipulation, and then you can submit 20 your documonts to transmit it. Thank you very muoh, and 21 thank you, Mr. Froy. 22 MR. f'REVI Thank you. 23 (Whel'eupon, oourt adjourned at 9152 a.m.) 24 21'1 lB ", ,.., ,- II Lt-, I I. .. t..I' lit -' . ~.' J. - i ,; :-;, ,~ I ~ \ r .'\ ..j. <ill' ,"-I " " ~ (0-1 ~ I I 1() ., C J l' r: _ ~ ,1(,) ),. 1..0.1 'lU. I' c,..;. " 1/1 d , J ..-,'I ~ I'l.. -" III " .... \!, ..;: : '. \ " '(, \It'. ~. , , ~ (); , I"~ ,'. ' ~. '. I,' "lll ,',' >'1 \1 ~ ..I ,i(l ~ r'" , , ... .. II ~. I' r.. I (\~ '., LJ' ',) - JO ANNE MCCANNA, Plaintiff V. JAMES MCCANNA, Defendant : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA NO. 96- ~'~VILACTION : CIVIL ACTION - LAW : iN ANNULMENT NOTICE TO DEFEND AND CLAIM RIGHTS You have been sued in court. If you wish to defend against the claims set forth in the following pages, you must take prompt action. You are warned that if you fail to do so, the case may proceed without you and a decree of divorce or annulment may be entered against you by the court. A judgment may also be entered against you for any other claim or relief requested in these papers by the Plaintiff. You may lose money or property of other rights important to you, including the custody or visitation of your children. When the ground for the divorce is indignities or irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, you may request marriage counseling. A list of marriage counselors is available at the Office of the Prothonotary. IF YOU DO NOT FILE A CLAIM FOR ALIMONY, DIVISION OF PROPERTY, LAWYER'S FEES OR EXPENSES BEFORE A DIVORCE OR ANNULMENT IS GRANTED, YOU MAY LOSE THE RIGHT TO CLAIM ANY OF THEM. YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO, OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP. COURT ADMINISTRATOR, 4TH FLOOR CUMBERLAND COUNTY COURTHOUSE ONE COURTHOUSE SQUARE CARLISLE, PA 17013 TELEPHONE: (717) 240-6200 I verify that the statements made in this Affidavit are true and correct. I understand that false statements herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. Section 4904 relating to unswom falsification to authorities. Jo~nne McCanna JO ANNE MCCANNA, Plaintiff V. JAMES MCCANNA, Defendant : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : NO. 96-6418 CIVIL ACTION : CIVIL ACTION - LAW : IN ANNULMENT ACCEPTANCE OFSERVlCE I accept service of the Complaint for Annulment on behalf of the Defendant, James McCanna, and certify that I am authorized to do so. Date: ~, ~uire IN THE COURT OF COM/~_ON PLEAS OF CL~BERLAATD COUNTY, P~NNSYLVANIA Plaintiff NO. 641R MOT%ON FOR APPOLNTM~NT OF M~kSTER JoAnn~ McOmnnm (Plain:iff) ~ moves the cour~ to appoint a master with respect to :he following claims: ( ) Divorce ( ) Distribution of Propert7 ( ) ~o~ ( ) Counsel Fees ( ) ~o~7 Pendents Li:e ( ) Costs ~d ~pe:as and in support of the motion (1) Discovery, is complete as co the cia/ms(s) for which appoink~nen: of a master is requested. (2) The defeuda=: (has) ~ appeared in the ac=ion (by his a:=orney, Robert G. Frev ,Esquire). (3) The s:a:urory ground(s) for~9~ (is) ~ Fraud annulment (4) Delete the inapplicable paragraph(s): (a) The ac:ion is no: con:es:ed. ~) An agreement has been rea:ned wi:h respect to following claims: claims: or fact. The ac:ion is con:es=ed with respect '-o =he following (5) The ac:ion ~~ (does not involve) complex issues of law (6) The hearing is expected to take 1 (hours) (7) Addi=±onal information, if any. relevant to =he mo:ion: A=~o~ey for (PlaY,Iff) O~ER ~POINTI~G ~S~R By/~e Cour=: f~ JoANNE McCANNA, Plaintiff vs. JAMES McCANNA, Defendant IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION LAW : : NO. 96-6418 CIVIL 19 : : IN DIVORCE ORDER AND NOTICE SETTING HEARING To: JoAnne McCanna Charles Rector James McCanna Robert G. Frey , Plaintiff Counsel for Plaintiff , Defendant Counsel for Defendant You are directed to appear for a hearing to take . testimony on the outstanding issues in the above captioned divorce proceedings at the Office of the Divorce Master, 9 North Hanover Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 3rd day of April , 1997,__ at 9:00 a.m, at which place and time you will be given the opportunity to present witnesses and exhibits in support of your case. By the Court, Harold E. Sheely, Presi~_~ Judge Date of Order and Notice: 12/30/96 By: Divorce Master IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP. Court Administrator Fourth Floor, East Wing Cumberland County Courthouse Carlisle, PA 17013 Telephone (717) 240-6200 Testimony will be on grounds for annulment. IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION - LAW Plaintiff vs. Defendant File No. NOTICE TO RESUME PRIOR SURNAME Notice is hereby given that the Plaintiff/Defendant in the above matter, having been Granted a Final Decree in Divorce on the /&~ day of ~v,l , 19 ~ hereby elects to resume the prior surname of ~.o~ , and gives this written notice pursuant to the provisions of 54 P.S. S 704. DATE: SiGnature C COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA: : COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND : SS. On the ~ day of ~~ , 19~r7 , before me, a Notary Public, personally appeared the above affiant known to me to be the person whose name is subscribed to the within document and acknowledged that he/she executed the foregoing for the purpose therein contained. seal. In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and official Notary Public 1,4Y ~}1~1~1~ EXPIAI~ DECEMEIEI~ ~. ~ JoANNE McCANNA, Plaintiff vs. JAMES McCANNA, Defendant : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION - LAW : : NO. 96-6418 CIVIL 19 : : IN DIVORCE STATUS SHEET DATE: ACTIVITIES: .~.~, ~ /~,~,.~...,..,,.,~TZ,.~v ~~~.. JOANNE McCANNA, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF Plaintiff : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : vs. : NO. 96 - 6418 CIVIL : JAMES McCANNA, : Defendant : IN ANNULMENT ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this day of ~ , 1997, counsel having submitted a stipulation in support of the complaint in annulment followed by the testimony of the Plaintiff in support of the claim for annulment and to corroborate and amplify the facts set forth in the stipulation, the appointment of the Master is vacated, and counsel can submit the stipulation and testimony placed on the record to the Court requesting a decree in annulment. cc: Charles Rector Attorney for Plaintiff Robert G. Frey Attorney for Defendant BY THE COURT, ~aroldE. Shelly, P.J. JO ANNE MCCANNA, Plaintiff V. JAMES MCCANNA, Defendant : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : NO. 96-6418 CIVIL ACTION : : CIVIL ACTION - LAW : IN ANNULMENT STIPUI ATION OF COUNSEL Charles Rector, Esquire, counsel for Plaintiff, Jo Anne McCanna, and Robert G. Frey, Esquire, counsel for Defendant, James McCanna, hereby stipulate as follows: 1. Plaintiff is Jo Anne McCanna who currently resides at 535 S. Middlesex Road, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 17013. She is 44 years old having been born on March 15, 1953, and is employed at the Quaker Oats Company in Shiremanstown, Pennsylvania. 2. Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 17013. He is 44 years old having been born on April 25, 1952, and is employed at PP&G Industries in Mount Holly Springs, Pennsylvania. 3. The Complaint in Annulment was filed on November 21, 1996, and service was perfected by written acceptance of service executed by Defendant's attorney, Robert G. Frey, Esquire, and filed on December 2, 1996. 5. Pennsylvania. Defendant is James McCanna who currently resides at 110 Meals Drive, The parties were married on September 5, 1992, in Winchester, Virginia. Both parties were born and raised within the Commonwealth of 6. There are no children of this marriage. 7. Plaintiff seeks an annulment from Defendant based upon fraud pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S.A. 3305(5). 8. Plaintiff, Jo Anne McCanna, represented at her marriage that she would faithfully perform her marital duties. 9. At the time of the marriage, Defendant, although representing to perform his marital duties, intended, in fact, to not perform the marital duties. Rather, he intended a token performance of the marital duties in an effort to secure free room and board for himself and his children of a previous marriage, to attempt to obtain monies from Plaintiff's personal injury settlement and to attempt to obtain an interest in her home prior to divorcing her. Defendant's fraudulent conduct included, but was not limited to the 10. following: (a) (b) Following their marriage, Defendant made no financial contributions to the household despite working full time and, in fact, depleted the parties' joint account which was funded almost exclusively by Plaintiff. Plaintiff financed all household necessities including those of Defendant's children with no financial assistance from Defendant. Upon being told by Plaintiff that she would receive no more insurance money from a serious car accident in which she was involved prior to the marriage, Defendant began to verbally mistreat her, the substance of which mistreatment included statements like, "you don't have any money, what good are you." 11. In April, 1995, Plaintiff confirmed to Defendant that she would no longer assume sole responsibility for all of the family's financial obligations and, in fact, opened a second checking account. After realizing Defendant's fraud and his marriage to her for her money, Plaintiff discontinued voluntary cohabitation with Defendant in April, 1995. 12. Defendant moved out approximately one month later and stated to Plaintiff inter alia, "1 guess it looks like I married you for your money." 13. Defendant, although having been properly notified of the Masters' hearing through his attorney, has chosen to not appear. 14. Counsel for the parties agree that the facts contained herein constitute grounds for annulment pursuant to 23 Pa. C.S.A. 3305. Counsel for both parties are authorized by and through their respective clients to execute this Stipulation and hereby acknowledge the averments contained herein in lieu of proceeding with a hearing on these matters before E:~,~obert Elicker, · Charles Recto~, Esq'uire, as counsel ~or Plaintiff, Jo Anne McCanna Date: ~/J/? ?' II, Esquire, Master in Divorce. Robert G. Fray, Esquire, as coun~ for Defendant, James McCanna ~ Date: /-//-~/?7 1 THE MASTER: Today is Thursday, April 3, 2 1997. This is the date set for a hearing on the complaint 3 for annulment filed by Joanne McCanna. Present in the 4 hearing room are the Plaintiff, Joanne McCanna, and her 5 counsel Charles Rector, and the Defendant's counsel, Robert 6 G. Frey. James McCanna has not appeared today with his 7 counsel; however Mr. Frey has indicated to the Master that 8 he is present with his client's consent and knowledge. 9 Is that correct, Mr. Frey. 10 MR. FREY: That is correct. 11 THE MASTER: Mr. Rector and Mr. Frey have 12 signed a stipulation of counsel relating to the code section 13 dealing with the annulment issue before the Master and 14 averring certain facts which they have agreed constitute 15 grounds for annulment. The code section at issue is 23 16 Pa.C.S.A. 3305(5). 17 The Master is going to submit the stipulation 18 to the Court along with the documents presented by Mr. 19 Rector, which include a praecipe to transmit the record and 20 a proposed decree in annulment. In addition the Master has 21 requested that we have some testimony on the record to 22 amplify and verify certain facts set forth in the 23 stipulation. That testimony will be part of the record and 24 submitted to the Court along with the stipulation of 25 counsel. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Following the completion of the testimony today, the Master will have the testimony transcribed and prepare an order vacating his appointment. Mr. Rector will then request that the case be transmitted to the Court for review and for the purpose of entering a final decree. Mr. Frey, do you have any objection to the method of proceeding in this case? MR. FREY: No. THE MASTER: Would you swear the witness, please. Whereupon, JOANNE McCANNA having been called as a witness, testified as follows: DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. RECTOR: Q Ms. McCanna, I would like to ask you several questions. Firstly, I would like you to verify to the Master that you have reviewed the stipulation of counsel and can verify that its contents are true and accurate to the best of your knowledge? A Yes, I have. Q Are the contents true and accurate to the best of your knowledge? A Yes, they are. Q All right. Ms. McCanna, I want to next 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 direct your attention to something that occurred immediately before you married Mr. McCanna. Were you injured in an automobile accident? A Yes, I was. THE MASTER: Would you please speak up because she has to take this down. BY MR. RECTOR: Q And can you give us a brief idea of what your injuries were? A I had injuries to both of my jaws, my hip, my neck, and I had some facial scarring. Q When did that accident occur? A July of '89. Q Now, of course, we stipulated to the fact that you and your husband married on September 5 of 1992. Now, I want to you ask firstly, with respect to that personal injury you suffered, did you receive any monies before you got married on that settlement? injuries? A Yes, I did. How much? $34,000.00. Was your husband-to-be aware of your A Yes. Was he aware of the settlement? 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A proceed and attempt to obtain settlement? A Q A Q next to -- oh, Your residence, Yes. Was he aware, Joanne, of your intention to some more monies in Yes. Was he aware of that before you got married? Yes, he was. Okay. Now, I want to direct your attention and the other issue I want to touch upon. as we've agreed to on the stipulation, is 535 South Middlesex Road in Carlisle. yourself prior to getting married? Did you own that home A Yes. Q That's in your own name? A Yes. Q Continues to be? A Yes. Q Ms. McCanna, after you married Mr. McCanna can you give the Master an idea of how Mr. McCanna changed following your September of 1992 marriage? A Money became everything; that's all he ever talked about. He was constantly asking me about the litigation we had pending for the auto accident. Q Did he give you any indication of what his intentions were if you received any more monies from that 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 accident? monies -- A Not at that time. But at some subsequent point and time? Yes. What did he tell you? When I told him I didn't receive any more Q Let's back up. Did he tell you what his intentions were if you received any money from that accident, how he wanted to use it? A At a later time, but not -- Q What did he tell you? A When I told him that I wasn't going to be receiving any monies, he said, well, what good are you. He said, I had plans for that. college money for the kids. for them for college now. I was going to use that for He said, I don't have any money Q Okay. Now, let's back up also. children of this marriage; is that correct? A Right. Q The children in question were children of your husband to a prior marriage? A Yes. Q Okay. Ms. McCanna, after you married, did your husband make any financial contributions to the There are no 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 household? A No. Q Now let's discuss that. At the time you married were you still working at that Quaker Oats Company in Shiremanstown? A Yes. Q Where was he working? A PPG. Q PPG Industries down in Mt. Holly? A Right. Q And did he give you a reason why he wasn't going to contribute financially to the household? A Before or after? Q Ever. A The reason he gave me before we were married was, he wasn't going to contribute anything -- the agreement before he moved in was that he would pay half of all of the bills. Whenever he moved in he didn't give me any money and it was, like, I thought you were going to help me out. And he said -- (witness crying). Take your time. Did he indicate -- THE MASTER: Now, wait. I want to know what he said. Let's give her a little -- a chance to recover her thinking here. But I want to know what he said. After he moved in, you said he didn't -- he agreed to pay the bills 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Q Now, after you get married and after he sells his house, does your husband give you a reason why he still isn't contributing any money to the marriage? A Yes. Q What did he tell you? A He said he wanted to get his savings account built up before he started helping me with bills. Did he tell you how long that might take, in to get it built up to where he wanted to have Q his opinion, it built up? A long. Q A He didn't sound like it was going to be that Okay. My family was getting upset over this whole thing. My mother said, you better talk to him or she said, I'm going to come over and throw him out. That was in December. Q December of what year? A '92. Q So that was the first Christmas you guys were married? A Right. Q Ms. McCanna, I want to direct your attention next to that period of time, the fall of '92 in to '93. You testified that you were injured in this automobile accident. 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 As time went on how did your husband react to the continuing litigation and the expectation that there might be more money coming in? A He was asking me about it all of the time. Q All right. During the same period, the fall of '92 and '93 spring and summer, was your husband also making any requests with respect to the deed to the marital home? A Yes. He was concerned that his name wasn't on the deed. Q Did that create some friction between you and him? A When the interest rates dropped in the fall of '93 and I refinanced, and because his name wasn't on the deed, he had to sign a paper. Q Was that a release? A I'm not sure what it was. Q Okay. How did he react to that? A Oh, he was upset. He said, you know, you just make me feel like I'm nothing. He wouldn't talk to me for a week or two. Q All right. Now, let's get back to the contributions to the marriage -- the financial contributions, and I want to bring you up to about June of 1994. Can you state whether or not up until June of 1994 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 your husband continued not to contribute to the marital household? A Q Right. Now, can you tell the Master what occurred in June of 1994, and I'm speaking specifically about anything you may have told your husband about your personal injury settlement? A He was very anxious when I got home from the hearing as to whether I got anything and I said, well, they have to make a decision on it. I said, it really doesn't look like I'm going to be getting anything other than the lawyer bills and the medical bills that I already had; because anything I got from the settlement I would have to repay all of the medical bills that the insurance company paid. Q arbitration, that arbitration, did you not? A Okay. Now, at the time we had that you actually received some additional monies in Yes. How much? A little over $60,000.00. Did you tell your husband that? No. Why not? Because as soon as he would get his hands on 10 1 it, it would be gone. 2 Q Now, what did you tell your husband then 3 after that award was made about the situation? 4 A That there wouldn't be any more monies coming 5 in. 6 Q Okay. Was that in June of 1994 -- about June 7 of 1994 when that whole thing transpired? 8 A '94. 9 Q You told him and how did he react when you 10 told him that there would be no more money from the 11 settlement? 12 A That's when he started saying that I was 13 worth nothing, you know, what good was I. That's when he 14 was saying about the money for the college for the kids. 15 Q Okay. And can you state whether or not it 16 was at that point in time that you began living separate and 17 apart from your husband? 18 A Yes. 19 Q Just to be clear on this, you were 20 nonetheless living in the same house? 21 A Yes. 22 Q Your house? 23 A Yes. 24 Q At about this time, did you begin to ask your 25 husband if he would leave the marital home? 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A Yes. What was his response? He wasn't leaving the house. He didn't want to upset the kids. He felt that this was his house too. Q Can you state whether or not up through the summer and fall of 1994 whether he made any financial contributions to the household, the kid's bills, anything like that? A Q No. Now, at some point in time, Joanne, did you request -- strike that. At some point in time, did you close your joint account out? A Yes. Q Why did you close it out? A I was tired of taking money off my credit card to have enough money to pay the bills. Q were you working at Quaker Oats at that time, and we are speaking now of the summer and fall of 19947 A Right. Q And were you working 40 hour weeks or were you working overtime? overtime, time? A I was working a lot of overtime. Q can you give the Master an idea, despite the of how that joint account was working out at that 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A It wasn't working out. I would go to pay the bills and there wouldn't be any money in there. Q When was it that you opened your joint account -- excuse me. Strike that. When did you open your individual account? A I believe it was April of '95. Q April of '95. Did you tell your husband that you had opened up your own account? A No. Q Okay. At some point did he learn about it? A Yes. The statement came in. Q How did he react to that? A Oh, he was upset. Q Now, during that time period, up through April of '95, did you once again ask your husband leave? A Yes. Q Did he? A No. Q Can you give the Master an idea of how soon after you closed the joint account and opened your own account, that your husband left the home? A A out that I opened up my own account that he I didn't close the joint account. Okay. It was approximately a month after he found left on his own. 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Q Okay. Did you continue contributing any monies to the joint account or did you put your monies into the individual account? A He was so upset about the individual account that I kept my monies in the joint account until he left, then I went to my own account. Q When was it that he left the marital home? A June of '95. Q And, Joanne, I want to direct your attention lastly to one of the final conversations you had with your husband before he left, what if anything did he say to you about money when he left? A He said, I know it looks like I was just after you for your money. He said, I'm sorry. with him? have, Q What did you say in response? I said, yeah, it does. Is that really the last conversation you had A Yes. MR. RECTOR: Mr. Elicker. THE MASTER: questions? That's all of the questions I Mr. Frey, do you have any MR. FREY: No. THE MASTER: Just so I understand. When you 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 moved in with your husband, you weren't married? THE WITNESS: Right. THE MASTER: So that when he said -- before you moved into together -- that he was going to share expenses and then he didn't share expenses, you weren't married at that particular time that you moved in together? THE WITNESS: Right. THE MASTER: And then it was later that you got married? BY THE MASTER: Q A Q THE WITNESS: Right. While you were living together? Um-hum. He didn't at that time, after you were married, contribute anything either to the expenses? A Yes. Q Had you asked him to make any contributions after you got married? A Yes. Q And what did he tell you? A That's when he was trying to build up his savings. He wasn't going to pay anything until I agreed to marry him; we got married and he still wouldn't pay anything because he hadn't sold the house. He sold the house and he still didn't contribute anything because he wanted to build 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 up his savings. So he said that if you got married he would Q contribute? A Q Right. Then he said -- and he sold the house after you got married? Yes. Then he said, well, when I sell my house I'll A Q contribute? A Q Right. Then he said, well, I want to build up my savings and then I'll contribute? A Yes. Q So there was always another reason why he didn't make a contribution? A Yes. Q And never did he make a contribution, correct? A No. When he did start putting money into the checking account, he would put his check in but he would take more out than he would put in. Q Was this consistent? A Yes. So that's why I got -- some months I had to take money from my credit card to put into the checking account so I would have enough money to pay bills 16 because the bills were always in my name through the marriage, so they were my responsibility. Q You said that you opened your individual account? 1 2 3 4 5 A Yes. 6 Q And did you put any money, after you opened 7 your individual account, into the joint account? 8 A Yes. 9 Q And for what purpose did you do that? 10 A Just to pay the bills. 11 Q And then it was shortly after you opened your 12 individual account that he left? 13 A Yes. 14 Q How did you feel about this whole 15 relationship as far as how you were used, treated as a wife, 16 how did you feel about this? 17 A Very degraded. 18 Q Did you feel that you were used? 19 A Yes. 20 Q In what respect? 21 A Just the promises before the marriage weren't 22 anything like I thought the marriage was going to be. 23 Q None of the promises were kept about what he 24 would do to help you or with the financial life of the 25 family? 17 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A Yeah. We had no relationship like a husband and wife would have. Q You had no relationship. Could you explain that a little more, what you mean by that? A The only times he was happy was when I was working overtime or watching his kids. Q So your relationship consisted mostly of you contributing to his financial existence and his children? A Yes. Q And also you're taking care of his children in a sense of providing a home, doing the meals? A Well, he worked shift work. He works a swing shift. He works weekends so I kept his kids a lot. counsel? THE MASTER: Ail right. Anything else MR. RECTOR: No. MR. FREY: Nothing. THE MASTER: We will prepare the transcript and send it up with the stipulation, and then you can submit your documents to transmit it. Thank you very much, and thank you, Mr. Frey. MR. FREY: Thank you. (Whereupon, court adjourned at 9:52 a.m.) 18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CERTIFICATE I hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence are contained fully and accurately in the notes taken by me in the proceedings of the above cause and that this copy is a correct transcript of the same. The foregoing record of the proceedings of the above cause is hereby approved and directed to be filed. Da · ! E. Robert Elicker, II Divorce Master 19 JO ANNE MCCANNA, Plaintiff V. JAMES MCCANNA, Defendant IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA NO. 96-6418 CIVIL ACTION CIVIL ACTION - LAW IN ANNULMENT PRAECIPE TO TRANSMIT RECORD To the Prothonotary: Transmit the record together with the following information, to the Court for entry of a decree in annulment: 1. Grounds for an annulment: 23 Pa.C.S.A. 3305(5) [Fraud] 2. Date and manner of service of the Complaint: 12/02/96 Acceptance of Service 3. Complete either paragraph (a) or (b). NEITHER APPLICABLE (a) Date of execution of the affidavit of consent required by Section 3301 (c) of the Divorce Code: by the Plaintiff , by the Defendant (b) (1) Date of execution of the plaintiff's affidavit required by Section 3301(c) of the Divorce Code (2) Date of service of the plaintiff's affidavit upon the Defendant: 4. Related claim pending: NONE 5. Date and manner of service of the notice of intention to file praecipe to transmit record, a copy of which is attached, if the decree is to be entered under section 3301 (d) of the Divorce Code: Not Applicable Date: Charles Rector, Esquire Attorney for the Plaintiff IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY State of Pennsylvania JO ANNE MCCANNA, Plaintiff V. JAMES MCCANNA, Defendant NO. 96-6418 CIVIL ACTION Decree in Annulment AND NOW, ,"4,~., 7 /~," ,1997, it is ordered and decreed that the marriage of Jo Ann McCanna, plaintiff, and James McCanna, defendant, is hereby annulled. The Court retains jurisdiction of the following claims which have been raised of record in this action for which a final order has not yet been entered: NONE. The parties' Property Settlement Agreement dated May 20, 1996, is incorporated herein by reference for enforcement purposes only.