Court Opinion

ID: 9739812
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 20:21:12.507417+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:14.028925
License: Public Domain

HENDERSON, Justice
(specially concurring).
I am of the belief that a timely concurring opinion may suffice to check an extension of any court’s holding or a newly announced doctrine, and thereby better serve our jurisprudence. A concurring opinion can be of value by sounding a warning that a new holding or doctrine must not be pressed too far. As students of the law, we often see a majority opinion announce a new holding or doctrine which is jurisprudentially sound when applied to the facts before the court, but if given a general application, would be wholly unsound. Concurring opinions, without negatively detracting from the majority opinion can shed light on a majority opinion and permit the student of the law, and the Bar, a greater insight into the scope and breadth of the decision. A different viewpoint arises from different reasoning and often an author of a special writing can agree with the decision, holding, or doctrine, but cannot subscribe to the language embracing the decision. Down the road, in appellate time, an appellate justice discovers himself in an uncomfortable position if he has embraced the language of a decision to which he does not fully subscribe. Thus, I specially concur herein.
In Wehrkamp v. Wehrkamp, 357 N.W.2d 264 (S.D.1984), we essentially held that a college degree is not “property” to be divided nor is the potential earning capacity stemming therefrom distributable property. We left the door open for rehabilitative alimony, but said that it did not fit the facts.
I concur with the entirety of this decision but cannot accept the language of that aspect of the opinion denominated under “DEFENDANT’S CLAIM FOR ALIMONY AND/OR LUMP SUM COMPENSATION.” I am fearful, as I prefaced above, that this aspect of the opinion widens the door to such extent that a college degree becomes susceptible to a distribution of sorts — as property. I note that, conceptually, courts have adjudicated upon lump sum compensation, reimbursement alimony, restitution alimony, and rehabilitative alimony. To me, rehabilitative alimony is an award of a monthly sum of money to rehabilitate a deserving spouse so that he or she may obtain the skills necessary to fend for himself or herself in life, by education or job training. Once lump sum compensation, alimony by reimbursement, or alimony by restitution is created by a trial court, it is recognition of a college degree as distribu*264table property — it is accomplishing indirectly that which the court does not wish to directly accomplish. I would restrict the holding to rehabilitative alimony and would not permit the other concepts to come into play in meting out the equities.