PHYLLIS M. KEATY, Judge.
Former husband appeals a judgment ordering him to pay his former wife $5,030.00 in conjunction with their community property partition. For the following reasons, we amend and affirm as amended.
Russell Shane Gautreaux and Tiffany Elaine Deshotel Gautreaux were married on November 17, 1990. On October 26, 2009, Russell and Tiffany filed a Petition to Terminate Matrimonial Regime and Enter into Separation of Property Agreement wherein they stated that they had been informed of and fully understood the rules and principles governing matrimonial regimes and that they believed that it was in their best interests to terminate their community property regime. Attached to the petition was a copy of a proposed Community Property Partition and Agreement Establishing Separate Property Regime (Partition) which partitioned the property that Russell and Tiffany acquired during their marriage. By judgment dated October 27, 2009, the trial court granted the parties' request to terminate their community property regime and establish a separate property regime. The Partition, which the parties signed and had notarized on October 27, 2009, was attached to and made a part of the judgment.
On May 6, 2010, the parties filed a Petition for Divorce pursuant to La.Civ.Code art. 103(1), and following a confirmation hearing, a Judgment of Divorce was granted and signed. On September 30, 2014, Russell filed a Motion to Enforce Settlement and Petition Seeking a Declaratory Judgment (Motion to Enforce) alleging that Tiffany had refused to sign documents regarding a 2.99 acre tract of land (the tract), in violation of the Partition and requesting that the trial court order Tiffany to sign such documents. Russell alleged in the Motion to Enforce that during their marriage, he and Tiffany owned the tract, along with Russell's son, Andrew. The three of them had entered into a contract (the contract) with Shawn Fontenot agreeing to sell the tract to him while he and Tiffany were married.
In a pleading titled Rule Seeking Partial Partition of Community Property, Russell sought reimbursement of the following expenses: $69.01 for 2009 taxes; $69.01 for 2010 taxes; $240.46 for 2011 and 2012 taxes; $200.00 for advertising; $190.00 for management; $1,563.00 for three years of grass maintenance; and $9,500.00 for payment to Mr. Fontenot.
Russell filed a Motion for New Trial and/or Motion for Amendment of Judgment (Motion for New Trial and/or to Amend) seeking to have the trial court amend the Judgment "to confirm and reflect that a total reimbursement credit for the repurchase price of $9,500.00 should be granted" or, alternatively, to grant a new trial because the judgment was contrary to the law and evidence. Tiffany opposed the motion. By judgment dated August 25, 2015, the trial court denied Russell's Motion for New Trial and/or to Amend. Russell moved for a devolutive appeal and is before this court, in proper person, arguing that the trial court erred: 1) in concluding that the property purchased by him was community property and in ordering him to pay Tiffany one-half of the proceeds of the sale of the property; 2) in calculating any credit due Tiffany in the event such property was community property; and 3) in denying his Motion for New Trial and his Motion for Amendment of Judgment to correct its error in calculating the credit due him.
Harruff v. King, 13-940, pp. 4-5 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/14/14), 139 So.3d 1062, 1066, writ denied, 14-1685 (La. 11/7/14), 152 So.3d 176.
At the outset, we note that Russell's appellant brief, which he filed in proper person, simply recites his version of the facts. It sets forth no legal arguments nor does it cite any jurisprudence in support of his argument that the judgments rendered by the trial court should be reversed. Further, while Russell attached a copy of counsel-filed Motion for New Trial and/or to Amend to his brief, his stated reason for doing so was to adopt the motion for use as his statement of the case. In her appellee brief, Tiffany fails to offer any argument or to cite any jurisprudence in opposition to Russell's arguments on appeal, instead simply reciting her version of the facts. Rather than ask that the trial court judgments be affirmed, however, Tiffany contends that Russell owes her "the full sum of her reimbursement claim [, or] $11,750.00." Because Tiffany did not appeal or answer Russell's appeal, we will not consider her claim. See La.Code Civ.P. art. 2133.
In his first assignment of error, Russell contends that the trial court erred in concluding that the tract was community property and in ordering him to pay Tiffany one-half of the proceeds of the sale of the tract. Russell appealed the June 11, 2015 judgment ordering him to pay Tiffany $5,030.00 as well as the August 25, 2015 judgment wherein the trial court denied his motion for new trial of the June 11, 2015 judgment. He did not appeal the April 13, 2015 judgment wherein the trial court amended the October 27, 2009 Partition to include the tract. As a result, the merits of the April 13, 2015 judgment are final and unappealable. See, e.g., dela Vergne v. dela Vergne, 99-364 (La.App. 4 Cir. 11/17/99), 745 So.2d 1271.
In his second assignment of error, Russell contends that, even if the tract is community, the trial court erred in calculating that Tiffany was due any credit after taking into account the expenses he incurred in reacquiring the tract, in maintaining the tract, and finally, in finding another buyer to purchase the tract. As explained above, the trial court gave Russell credit for one-half of the $9,500.00 (or $4,750.00) he spent on repurchasing the tract and one-half of the $378.50 (or $189.25) in property taxes he paid on the tract for the years 2009 to 2012. The trial court denied Russell's claim for the remaining expenses based on its finding that he "failed to provide receipts of sufficient proof necessary for recovery."
At trial, Russell testified that after his divorce from Tiffany, he paid $9,500.00 from his separate property to Mr. Fontenot to get him to release the land back to him. Tiffany did not dispute Russell's testimony on that point. Thus, even if Russell was not legally obligated to repay Mr. Fontenot the amount he had expended thus far on the contract, the $9,500.00 payment came from Russell's separate funds as the payment occurred on February 28, 2011, after the date the Partition was signed, i.e., October 27, 2009, and after the parties' May 6, 2010 divorce. Thus, the trial court should have subtracted that amount from the $15,000.00 that Russell received from the sale of the tract to Mr. Thibodeaux before deducting the remaining expenses and splitting the residual profit between Russell and Tiffany, and its failure to do so was manifestly erroneous.
On the other hand, we find no merit to Russell's argument that the trial court erred in failing to award him reimbursement for the $200.00 he claimed to have spent on advertising the tract for sale, the $190.00 he claimed to have spent on managing the tract, and the $1,563.00 he allegedly spent for three years of cutting the grass on the tract. Russell failed to produce any receipts or cancelled checks documenting the amounts he sought to be reimbursed, explaining that he had simply calculated amounts that he felt were reasonable given the services he had performed involving the tract. Russell further explained that the events had happened years before and that either he never got or he failed to keep any such documentation of his actual expenses. Given the lack of testimonial and evidentiary support offered by Russell, the trial court's finding that he failed to meet his burden of proving he should be given credit for the claimed expenses is not manifestly erroneous.
Based on the above findings, we subtract the $9,500.00 that Russell paid to Mr. Fontenot from the $15,000.00 that Russell received from the sale of the tract to Mr. Thibodeaux, which results in a figure of $5,500.00. Subtracting from that amount one-half of the $378.50 (or $189.25) in property taxes Russell paid on the tract for the years 2009 to 2012 leaves the nets proceeds of the sale at $5,310.75 to be distributed between Russell and Tiffany. One-half of $5,310.75 is $2,655.37. Accordingly, the judgment will be amended to award Tiffany $2,655.37.
In his final assignment of error, Russell contends that the trial court erred in denying his Motion for New Trial and/or to Amend to correct its error in calculating the credit due him. Given our resolution of Russell's second assignment of error, this issue has become moot, and we need not address it.
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the trial court in favor of Tiffany Elaine Deshotel Gautreaux and against Russell Shane Gautreaux is amended to award Tiffany $2,655.37 and is affirmed as amended. All costs of this appeal are assessed against Tiffany Elaine Deshotel Gautreaux.