Opinion ID: 855368
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: ¶1 This case arises out of prolonged and complicated divorce proceedings. Dennis Goggin (Dennis) and Tamara Goggin (Tammy) separated in 2005, ending a marriage that had lasted approximately ten years. The couple has spent nearly the same number of years litigating their divorce. Throughout the process, Dennis has engaged in a variety of contemptuous and obstructionist acts and has repeatedly violated the court’s discovery orders. With this behavior, he successfully undermined the divorce court’s ability to obtain a complete and accurate assessment of the marital assets. ¶2 Ultimately, the divorce court awarded Tammy all of her fees and costs related to appointing a receiver and hiring expert forensic accountants. The court also awarded all of her attorney fees GOGGIN v. GOGGIN Opinion of the Court and out-of-pocket expenses. Further, the court awarded Tammy a disproportionate amount of the marital assets. Specifically, the court (A) credited to Tammy the full amount of the assets Dennis dissipated; (B) declined to award Dennis a credit or setoff for the value of separate property he contributed to the purchase and development of the marital residential property; and (C) declined to award him a credit or setoff for the value of managerial efforts he contributed to his businesses while the divorce was pending. Dennis appealed. ¶3 We conclude that the divorce court did not abuse its discretion1 in awarding Tammy all of the fees and costs she incurred related to the receiver and the forensic accountants. But we conclude that the court exceeded its discretion to the extent that it awarded Tammy attorney fees and out-of-pocket costs in excess of the amount Dennis actually caused her to incur. Similarly, we conclude that the court exceeded its discretion to the extent that any portion of its award was based upon its finding that Dennis had entered into, and breached, an oral contract with Tammy regarding the business they started. ¶4 With respect to the divorce court’s distribution of the marital property, we conclude that the court exceeded its discretion in awarding Tammy the full amount of dissipated assets without first estimating the maximum amount of assets that Dennis may have dissipated. Further, we conclude that the court erred in declining to consider whether Dennis was entitled to a credit or setoff for the separate property he contributed to the purchase and development of the marital residential property. Indeed, we conclude that the divorce court may have misunderstood the effect of the district court’s prior ruling in this case. But because it properly applied the doctrine of unclean hands, we conclude that the court 1 Appellate courts reviewing a district court’s use of its discretionary authority commonly use the phrase “abuse of discretion” to describe acts that exceeded that authority. But we note that this phrase may sometimes suggest a more pejorative connotation than is intended. Accordingly, in this opinion, we employ a variety of similar phrases in our analysis, such as considering whether the court “overstepped the bounds of its discretion,” “exceeded its discretion,” or whether the act was “an appropriate exercise of its discretionary authority.” For precedential purposes, however, we note that these phrases are synonymous with “abuse of discretion.” 2 Cite as: 2013 UT 16 Opinion of the Court properly exercised its discretionary authority when it declined to award Dennis a setoff or credit for his managerial contributions to his businesses.