John and Dana lived together in Grass Range for 2 1/2 years, then broke up. They bought things during their cohabitation and co-mingled some, but not all of their money.
John sued Dana for return of property and for a TRO after she left. During a preliminary hearing, the trial court allowed Dana the use of the 2001 pickup and a horse trailer to assist her move to Billings and to allow her to work as a horse trainer.
Later, during the final hearing, the parties disputed the value of their joint account at the time of their breakup, the value of assets, and the condition of the pickup before Dana had use of it for the 6 months between the initial hearing and final hearing. John appealed claiming he got far less than Dana. Dana pointed out that there was a lot more money in their joint account one week before separation than John claimed (which remained with John) and that John had failed to list his horse "Trigger" as an asset.
The Montana Supreme Court affirmed in a noncite opinion. Citing Marriage of Harris, 2006 MT 63, the Court noted that "equitable" does not necessarily mean "equal". Citing Hood v. Hood, 2012 MT 158 at paragraph 42, the Court noted that trial judges are in the best position to decide the credibility of witnesses, decide what weight to give such testimony and to decide what is equitable under the circumstances -- and the the Supreme Court will not simply substitute its judgment for that of the trial judge.
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