Downer v. Bramet

George Bramet (defendant), a CPA, managed corporations for Chilcott Enterprises for over three decades while married to Gloria Downer (plaintiff); the couple separated in 1971. In 1972, after the separation but arising from Bramet's decades of dedicated work (much of it during the marriage), the Chilcotts deeded him and two other longtime employees equal shares of an Oregon ranch, without any personal relationship between Bramet and the Chilcotts outside work. The couple's 1972 marital settlement agreement never mentioned the ranch interest. After the ranch sold in 1978, Downer sued in 1980 to claim her interest in the proceeds; the trial court granted Bramet's motion for nonsuit, ruling the ranch interest was simply a gift and thus Bramet's separate property. Downer appealed.