Gomez v. Gomez

303 Neb. 539

930 N.W.2d 515

Elizabeth A. GOMEZ, now known as Elizabeth A. Tonniges, appellant,

v.Patrick W. GOMEZ, appellee.

No. S-18-894.

Supreme Court of Nebraska.

Filed July 5, 2019

Aaron F. Smeall and Jacob A. Acers, of Smith, Slusky, Pohren & Rogers, L.L.P., Omaha, for appellant.

Adam R. Little, of Ballew Hazen, P.C., L.L.O., Lincoln, for appellee.

Heavican, C.J., Miller -Lerman, Cassel, Stacy, Funke, Papik, and Freudenberg, JJ.

Papik, J.

In the course of their divorce proceedings, Patrick W. Gomez and Elizabeth A. Gomez, now known as Elizabeth A. Tonniges, agreed to a stipulated parenting plan. That plan, which was later incorporated in the decree dissolving their marriage, gave Patrick and Elizabeth joint legal and physical custody of their two children and set forth a schedule in which the parents would exercise parenting time. The parenting plan also included a provision that the children "will be enrolled and be participants in the Catholic religion" and set forth several specific Catholic religious activities in which the children would participate. Attendance at Catholic Mass was not mentioned.

Years later, Patrick filed a motion alleging that Elizabeth was not complying with the language in the parenting plan regarding the children’s religious participation. In response to Patrick’s motion, the district court entered an order requiring Elizabeth either to bring the children to Catholic Mass every weekend in which she was exercising parenting time or to allow Patrick to take the children during her parenting time. It also required the children to attend Catholic Mass on Catholic "Holy Days of Obligation" and required Patrick and Elizabeth to coordinate to ensure their attendance on those days. We find that the parenting plan did not require the Mass attendance ordered by the district court. Accordingly, we vacate that portion of the district court’s order requiring Mass attendance. Because there are other parts of the order not challenged by Elizabeth, we otherwise affirm.

BACKGROUND

Dissolution Decree and Parenting Plan .

Patrick and Elizabeth were married in April 2010. During their marriage, the parties had two children, one born in 2011 and the other born in 2013.

Approximately 5 years after their marriage, Elizabeth filed an action for dissolution. In that action, the parties agreed to a stipulated parenting plan that was later approved by the district court and incorporated in a decree dissolving the marriage. Several provisions of that parenting plan are relevant to this appeal.

First, the parenting plan provided that Patrick and Elizabeth would have joint legal and physical custody of their children. With respect to their joint legal custody, the plan elaborated that Patrick and Elizabeth would have "mutual authority and responsibility for making fundamental decisions regarding such things as education, religion and non-emergency medical and/or dental treatment." The plan further required that Patrick and Elizabeth notify each other before making any decision regarding school enrollment, health care, or "participation in religious activities" and that they "discuss these three areas with one another in an effort to reach a consensus on those issues."

The parenting plan also provided details as to how Patrick and Elizabeth would exercise their joint physical custody of the children. Under the plan, Patrick and Elizabeth had equal parenting time with their children. In the ordinary course, one parent would have the children 5 days one week and 2 days the next week and vice versa the following week. The parenting plan also addressed holiday and vacation parenting time.

In addition, the parenting plan included the following provision:

The parents agree that the children will be enrolled and be participants in the Catholic religion (including First Communion and Confirmation). Further, [Elizabeth] shall allow for the children to attend their formal class (CCD) on her Wednesday parenting time. [Elizabeth] will provide transportation to and from Wednesday class on her parenting time, and if at anytime [Elizabeth] is not capable of transporting the children, she shall advise [Patrick] who will then provide transportation.

Patrick’s Motion and District Court’s Order .

Approximately 2 years after the entry of the decree dissolving the marriage, Patrick filed a motion styled as a "Motion to Enforce Decree and Parenting Plan." In the motion, Patrick alleged that Elizabeth was not complying with the provision of the parenting plan requiring that the children "be enrolled and be participants in the Catholic religion." Patrick alleged that Elizabeth was violating this provision by taking the children to Lutheran church services and activities during her parenting time. He asked that the court enter an order allowing him to take the children to Catholic Mass during Elizabeth’s parenting time and prohibiting Elizabeth from allowing the children to participate in activities of any other religious faith.

At a hearing on Patrick’s motion, the district court stated that it interpreted the parenting plan’s language that the children would be "participants in the Catholic religion" to require the children to follow the tenets of the Catholic faith. The court continued, "[O]ne of the tenets according to [Patrick] is the children have to go to weekend ... mass.... And, also, mass on ... Holy Days of Obligation."

The district court later entered a written order. In the order, the district court reiterated its conclusion that the language providing that the children would "be enrolled and be participants in the Catholic religion" required the parties to follow the tenets of the Catholic faith and that those tenets required attendance at Catholic Mass every weekend and on Holy Days of Obligation. Accordingly, the order provided that the children must attend Catholic Mass every weekend and provided that if Elizabeth was not taking the children during her parenting time, she was required to allow them to attend with Patrick. The order also required the children to attend Mass on all Catholic Holy Days of Obligation and required the parents to coordinate to ensure their attendance on those days. Further, the order required the children to attend Catholic Mass while the parents were exercising holiday or vacation parenting time "if it is otherwise feasible to do so." Finally, the order provided that neither party may "take or enroll" the children "in any religion other than the Catholic religion" during their parenting time unless agreed to in writing by both parties.

Elizabeth timely appealed the district court’s order.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

Elizabeth assigns, restated, that the district court erred in (1) interpreting the decree to require attendance at Catholic Mass and (2) granting relief greater than requested by Patrick’s motion.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

The meaning of a divorce decree presents a question of law. Accordingly, an appellate court reviews the interpretation of that decree independently of a determination reached by the court below. See Bayne v. Bayne , 302 Neb. 858, 925 N.W.2d 687 (2019).

ANALYSIS

Standards Governing Interpretation of Decree .

Elizabeth asks us to reverse the order of the district court to the extent it requires the children to attend Catholic Mass every weekend and on Catholic Holy Days of Obligation. While Patrick’s motion was styled as a motion to enforce the decree, the district court’s order did not provide relief other than its interpretation of what the decree required. In doing so, the district court appears to have granted declaratory relief. We have recognized that our case law has generally permitted courts to resolve genuine disputes over the meaning of language in a dissolution decree through declaratory relief. See Carlson v. Carlson , 299 Neb. 526, 909 N.W.2d 351 (2018). Both parties also appear to understand the district court’s order as providing declaratory relief, focusing their arguments on whether the district court properly interpreted the decree. Before turning to the parties' respective positions on that point, we pause to review the standards that govern the interpretation of the decree.

As noted above, the parenting plan was agreed to by Patrick and Elizabeth and presented to the district court by stipulation. We have recognized, however, that once a court, as here, adopts such an agreement and sets it forth as a judgment of the court, "the contractual character of the ... agreement is subsumed into the court-ordered judgment." Rice v. Webb , 287 Neb. 712, 723, 844 N.W.2d 290, 298-99 (2014).

The fact that we are reviewing a judgment as opposed to a contract matters. Contracts found to be ambiguous present a question of fact and permit the consideration of extrinsic evidence to determine the meaning of the contract. See David Fiala, Ltd. v. Harrison , 290 Neb. 418, 860 N.W.2d 391 (2015). Not so with decrees. See Carlson v. Carlson, supra. A decree is a judgment, and once a decree for dissolution becomes final, its meaning, including the settlement agreement incorporated therein, is determined as a matter of law from the four corners of the decree itself. Bayne v. Bayne, supra. The parties' subjective intentions and interpretations of the language or what the court entering the decree intended are irrelevant. See, id. ; Neujahr v. Neujahr , 223 Neb. 722, 393 N.W.2d 47 (1986). This is so even if the language of the decree is ambiguous. See Bayne v. Bayne, supra . See, also, Ryder v. Ryder , 290 Neb. 648, 861 N.W.2d 449 (2015) (resolving meaning of ambiguous dissolution decree as matter of law).

With these standards in mind, we proceed to consider the interpretations of the decree offered by the parties.

Questions Raised by District Court’s Interpretation of Decree .

Patrick and Elizabeth agree that the parenting plan requires that the children take part in those Catholic religious programs explicitly listed therein: "First Communion and Confirmation" and "CCD" classes. The parties divide...