Appeal from the Nebraska Court of Appeals on appeal thereto from the District Court for Washington County, Judge John E. Samson
Attorneys: David Pontier (Koenig | Dunne, P.C., L.L.O. for Appellant) and Donald A. Roberts (Roberts Law, L.L.C. Appellee)
Civil: Dissolution of Marriage
Proceedings below: In Stava v. Stava, 32 Neb.App. 840, 6 N.W.2d 567 (2024), the Court of Appeals affirmed as modified a decision from the district court decision that classified real property as nonmarital and gave Appellant monetary credit for appreciation during the marriage. The Court sustained Appellant’s petition for further review and transferred this case from the docket of the Court of Appeals to its docket.
Issues: Appellant makes the following assignments of error on petition for further review: 1) The Nebraska Court of Appeals erred in upholding the district court’s classification of Tax Lot 14 and Tax Lot 15 as Appellee’s premarital properties, as both tax lots were encumbered by secured loans at the time of marriage, and said loans were paid down over the course of the parties’ 20-year marriage with marital funds; 2) The Nebraska Court of Appeals erred in upholding the district court’s application of the active appreciation rule to Tax Lot 14 and Tax Lot 15, as said rule is inapplicable to marital property; and 3) Alternatively, the Nebraska Court of Appeals erred in finding that Appellee had met his burden of proof to satisfy the passive appreciation exception to avoid equitably dividing presumed marital appreciation in Tax Lot 14 and Tax Lot 15.