The Irvine Co. v. Coyne CA4/3

FACTS

1 In June 2006, Jeffrey Coyne and his then wife, Christina Coyne, signed a guarantee of lease (the Guarantee), whereby they guaranteed the performance of Newport Hills, Inc. (a corporation owned and operated by Christina), as tenant under a lease with Landlord. The introductory paragraph of the Guarantee stated it was given by “Christina Coyne and Jeffrey Coyne, as husband and wife, on behalf of each of their marital and community property estates and on behalf of the separate property estate of Christina Coyne . . . .” A provision in the Guarantee stated in part: “Under no circumstances shall Landlord have any recourse whatsoever against the separate property estate of Jeffrey Coyne.” In February 2007, the Coynes separated. In May 2007, Jeffrey petitioned the court for dissolution of his marriage with Christina. Three years later, the court entered a dissolution judgment, which awarded, as of May 4, 2010, all items of community property to Jeffrey or Christina as their respective sole and separate property.

1 For ease of reference and to avoid confusion, we refer to Jeffrey Coyne and Christina Coyne by their first names. We intend no disrespect.

2 At some point in time,…