In Re Marriage of Hendle

The husband appeals from an interlocutory judgment of dissolution. 1 Although the notice of appeal purports to *816 appeal from the entire judgment, only the portion thereof involving disposition of community property is argued in the brief on appeal. We treat the case as involving only the portion of the judgment so attacked.

The parties were married for a little over two years. The record indicates that it had not been a happy association, involving periods of separation. The trial was devoted primarily to the issue of community property. The evidence, to say the best for it, was confusing, partly because some of the property involved was located in Mexico and the documents concerning that property were in Spanish which no one could translate with any accuracy. What the record does disclose is that, at most, the community property consisted of the following items:

Although the parties were not very clear as to the values involved, the record supports the trial court’s statement, made at the close of the trial, that the community liabilities exceeded the value of the community property. The decree herein attacked gave to the wife parcel No. 6735 in Mexico and one-half…

I dissent.

The major issue involved on this appeal is whether the parties had entered into a valid oral stipulation with respect to the division of their community property; there was no written agreement. The question at issue, therefore, is whether Civil Code section 4800, subdivision (a), was satisfied in terms of the parties’ having entered into an “oral stipulation of the parties in open court.” The majority finds that the proceedings below resulted in a valid “open-court” stipulation within the meaning of Civil Code section 4800, subdivision (a).

The basis of the majority’s opinion is that appellant husband became bound by the court’s division of the community property because, as a litigant, he sat idly by in open court while a stipulation was read and approved by the court. The majority opinion takes the view that the husband’s subsequent denial of the authority of his trial counsel to enter into the alleged stipulation came too late.

The definition of a stipulation is well established in the law. “A stipulation is an agreement between counsel respecting business before the court [citation], and like any other agreement or contract, it is essential that the parties or…

KINGSLEY, Acting P.J.

The husband appeals from an interlocutory judgment of dissolution. [1] Although the notice of appeal purports to appeal from the entire judgment, only the portion thereof involving disposition of community property is argued in the brief on appeal. We treat the case as involving only the portion of the judgment so attacked.

The parties were married for a little over two years. The record indicates that it had not been a happy association, involving periods of separation. The trial was devoted primarily to the issue of community property. The evidence, to say the best for it, was confusing, partly because some of the property involved was located in Mexico and the documents concerning that property were in Spanish which no one could translate with any accuracy. What the record does disclose is that, at most, the community property consisted of the following items:

(1) A parcel of land, in Mexico, identified as No. 6735, on which a house in bad repair was located;

(2) Another parcel of land, in Mexico, identified as No. 6739, on which several rental units were located;

(3) A house in Los Angeles County; and,

(4) The furniture in the Los Angeles…