In re Marriage of Okland

• Decision Date: 01 July 2005
• Docket Number: No. 04-0352.,04-0352.
• Citation: 699 N.W.2d 260
• Parties: In re the MARRIAGE OF Debra Kay OKLAND and Timothy Wayne Okland. Upon the Petition of Debra Kay Okland, Appellee, and Concerning Timothy Wayne Okland, Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

699 N.W.2d 260

In re the MARRIAGE OF Debra Kay OKLAND and Timothy Wayne Okland.

Upon the Petition of Debra Kay Okland, Appellee, and

Concerning Timothy Wayne Okland, Appellant.

No. 04-0352.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

July 1, 2005.

Thomas J. Clarke, Jr., Des Moines, for appellant.

Patricia M. Hulting of Terrill, Martens, Hulting & Stockdale, Ames, for appellee.

CADY, Justice.

In this appeal, we must consider, along with the propriety of the district court's modification of various provisions of a dissolution decree, the circumstances under which a party may file a motion to amend or enlarge findings under Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.904(2) after the court grants the opposing party's rule 1.904(2) motion and amends the judgment. The district court refused to consider the substance of the appellant's rule 1.904(2) motion because the court determined the motion was improper. Similarly, the court of appeals declined to reach the merits of the issues raised in this appeal because it determined the appellant's notice of appeal was untimely. We conclude the appeal was filed in a timely manner. We vacate the opinion of the court of appeals and affirm the decree of the district court, as modified by this opinion.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings

Timothy and Debra Okland were divorced on February 25, 1998. The stipulated decree entered by the district court awarded them joint legal custody and joint physical care of their three children, Ashley, Brittany, and Joshua. Among other provisions, the decree required Timothy to pay monthly child support of $549 and required Debra to maintain health insurance for the benefit of the children under her employer-provided health insurance plan. Timothy and Debra were also each required to pay one half of the children's medical expenses not paid by insurance. The decree set forth a specific procedure for payment of unreimbursed medical expenses:

Within 30 days [of] receipt of an uninsured debt, the party receiving documentation of said debt shall be obligated to forward said documentation to the other party. Within 30 days of receipt of said documentation, that party shall be responsible to reimburse the other party or the healthcare provider their respective share of the uninsured debt. The parties shall cooperate in the exchange of information concerning the children pursuant to this paragraph as well as exchange any and all documents or insurance cards that may be necessary to implement the terms and conditions of this paragraph.

The decree contained additional provisions relating to the support of the children. Under one provision (hereinafter referred to as the "extra expense provision"), the parties agreed to equally share the expenses of the children's "school-related activities, extracurricular activities, clothes, automobiles and automobile insurance." The decree allowed Debra to claim Ashley as an exemption for income tax purposes and allowed Timothy to claim Brittany and Joshua as exemptions on his income tax returns. The court also specifically retained jurisdiction to determine the responsibility of Timothy and Debra for the postsecondary education expenses of the children.

Timothy filed a petition to modify the physical care provisions of the decree in 2003, after Brittany and Joshua began living with him. Ashley had graduated from high school at the time and was attending college. Timothy requested primary physical care of Brittany and Joshua, sought to modify the child support obligation, and petitioned to establish the responsibility of the parties for the children's postsecondary education.

Debra filed a cross-petition for modification of the decree. She sought primary physical care of Joshua, asked to terminate the extra expense provision of the decree, and requested an order be entered to require Timothy to pay her for one half of the uncovered medical expenses incurred by the children since the decree. She also requested that she be awarded all of the children as tax exemptions for income tax purposes and that Timothy be required to pay her one half of the premium for her health insurance plan. Following a trial, the district court modified the decree to award primary physical care of Brittany and Joshua to Timothy and to require Debra to pay monthly child support of $660. The court did not address the other issues raised by the parties. The modified decree was filed by the court on November 26, 2003.

Debra filed a timely post-trial motion under Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.904(2). The motion asked the court to amend the modified decree to terminate her obligation to equally divide the children's "extra expenses," to order Timothy to pay one half of the premium for the children's health insurance plan, to allow her to claim Joshua and Brittany as tax exemptions, and to enter a judgment against Timothy for $9,134.72, her calculation of his portion of the children's uninsured medical expenses.

Timothy did not file a resistance to Debra's motion and did not file a separate rule 1.904(2) motion at this time. On January 5, 2004, the district court filed an order amending the modified decree as Debra requested. On January 15, 2004, Timothy filed a rule 1.904(2) motion requesting that the court vacate its prior order entered in response to Debra's rule 1.904(2) motion. On February 5, 2004, the district court overruled Timothy's rule 1.904(2) motion. The court found Timothy's motion was untimely because it was not filed within ten days of the filing of the modified decree. Rather, Timothy's motion was filed within ten days of the filing of the court's order modifying the decree in response to Debra's rule 1.904(2) motion.

Timothy filed a notice of appeal on March 4, 2004. We transferred the case to the court of appeals. The court of appeals concluded the notice of appeal was filed more than thirty days after the date the modified decree was entered and therefore dismissed the appeal as untimely. We granted further review.

II. Standard of Review

Our review in dissolution cases is de novo. In re Marriage of Benson, 545 N.W.2d 252, 253 (Iowa 1996); Iowa R.App. P. 6.4. "`Although our review of the trial court's award is de novo, we accord the trial court considerable latitude in making this determination and will disturb the ruling only when there has been a failure to do equity.'" In re Marriage of Romanelli, 570 N.W.2d 761, 763 (Iowa 1997) (citing In re Marriage of Spiegel, 553 N.W.2d 309, 319 (Iowa 1996)).

III. Timeliness of Appeal

Generally, a notice of appeal from an order, judgment, or decree must be filed within thirty days from the time the judgment is entered. Iowa R.App. P. 6.5(1). This time period is altered, however, when a motion for new trial, motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or a rule 1.904(2) motion is filed in a timely manner.¹ Id. In this event, notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days after entry of the ruling on the motion. Id. Thus, the rule tolls the thirty-day period until the ruling on the motion is entered.

Rule 1.904(2) permits the court to enlarge or amend its findings and conclusions and to modify or substitute the judgment or decree. Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.904(2). A motion under this rule must be filed within ten days after the judgment or decree was entered. See id. (stating motion must be filed within time to file motion for new trial); id. r. 1.1007 (stating motion for new trial must be filed within ten days of the filing of the verdict). The nonmoving party is permitted, but not required, to file a resistance. Id. r. 1.904(2).

When a rule 1.904(2) motion is filed, the new time period to file a notice of appeal from a judgment or decree can be easily calculated if only one party files a single rule 1.904(2) motion following the entry of a judgment or decree. Under this circumstance, the rule is straightforward. See Iowa R.App. P. 6.5(1). The time period starts when the ruling on the motion is entered by the district court. Id. Yet, when multiple motions or multiple movants are involved, questions arise as to when the thirty-day period to appeal begins to run. We have confronted the application of Iowa Rule of Appellate Procedure 6.5(1) in conjunction with Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.904(2) on past occasions.

In Doland v. Boone, 376 N.W.2d 870 (Iowa 1985), we were presented with a situation in which the plaintiffs filed a second application for reinstatement after the district court denied their first application for reinstatement following the entry of an order by the court dismissing the case. Doland, 376 N.W.2d at 872. The district court denied the second motion, and the plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal within thirty days after the entry of the order but more than thirty days following the order denying the first motion. Id.

We held the plaintiffs failed to file a notice of appeal in a timely manner because the second motion had no legal significance. Id. at 875. The second motion did not extend or restart the time to appeal from the entry of the order denying the first motion because a party is not entitled to a rehearing on a ruling by the court on the motion unless the ruling changed or set aside the order. Id. Thus, the notice of appeal had to be filed within thirty days after the entry of the order denying the first motion. See id. at 876 (concluding notice of appeal was untimely).

In Farm Credit Bank v. Faught, 492 N.W.2d 422 (Iowa 1992), the district court entered judgment for the plaintiff, and the defendants filed a rule 1.904(2) [then known as rule 179(b)] motion in a timely manner. Farm Credit Bank, 492 N.W.2d at 423. The court granted the motion and entered judgment for the defendants. Id. The plaintiff then filed a rule 1.904(2) motion within ten days following the entry of the new judgment. Id. The district court denied the plaintiff's motion, and the plaintiff filed a notice of appeal within thirty days following the denial of its motion, but more than thirty days...