Opinion ID: 2518323
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The District Court's Refusal to Take Additional Evidence of Intent

Text: ¶ 38 Parduhn argues that the district court improperly prevented him from presenting evidence at the equitable distribution hearing. According to Parduhn, the bifurcated trial that took place prior to our decision in Parduhn I did not encompass equitable issues. Because he did not anticipate the possibility of an equitable distribution at that time, Parduhn did not present evidence bearing on equitable considerations. Accordingly, he claims that the district court was obligated to consider the additional evidence he offered to introduce on remand. ¶ 39 We disagree. In cases of equity, we review a district court's factual findings for clear error, RHN Corp., 2004 UT 60 at ¶ 35, 96 P.3d 935, and accord significant deference to the court's balancing of the facts and equities, see Hughes, 2004 UT 22 at ¶ 20, 89 P.3d 148. Because we defer both to the district court's findings of fact and to its balancing of those facts, we will also defer to its conclusion that it had a sufficient factual basis for reaching an equitable distribution. Our mandate in Parduhn I did not require that the district court hold an additional evidentiary hearing, and we conclude that the district court acted within its discretion in declining to do so. [7] ¶ 40 We are similarly unpersuaded by Parduhn's contention that he could not have anticipated the possibility of an equitable distribution at the time of the original trial in this matter. Indeed, the district court's order of August 27, 2001, noted that [t]he parties agreed that the trial evidence factually would not be altered by the Buchi survivors' reliance on section 31A-21-104. We accordingly reject Parduhn's claim that the district court should have received and considered additional evidence before rendering its equitable distribution.