AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

• The case involves a dispute between the petitioner-appellee and the respondent-appellant regarding spousal support issues, including arrearages, and child support issues. The district court issued an order that was purported to be final regarding these matters but referred the calculation of spousal support arrearages to arbitration.

Procedural History

• District Court of Bernalillo County, Gerard J. Lavelle, District Judge: Issued an order that was intended to be final on spousal and child support issues but referred spousal support arrearage calculation to arbitration.

Parties' Submissions

• Respondent-Appellant: Argued against the finality of the district court's order, seeking to appeal the decision.
• Petitioner-Appellee: [Not applicable or not found]

Legal Issues

• Whether the district court's order, referring spousal support arrearage calculation to arbitration and addressing spousal and child support issues, constitutes a final, appealable order.

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal for lack of a final, appealable order.

Reasons

• The Court, per Judge Michael D. Bustamante, with Judges Roderick T. Kennedy and Linda M. Vanzi concurring, provided several reasons for dismissing the appeal:
  The Court expressed concerns about the finality of the district court's order, noting that the referral of spousal support arrearages to arbitration did not divest the court of the power to rule further on the matter, thus the order was not final (para. "MEMORANDUM OPINION").
  The Court highlighted that the district court's order did not resolve more than a previous order regarding spousal support arrearages, which also failed to fully resolve spousal support issues and lacked the necessary certification language for appeal (para. "MEMORANDUM OPINION").
  Concerns were raised about the intertwined nature of spousal and child support issues, suggesting that resolving one could impact the other, further questioning the finality and separability of the order for purposes of appeal (para. "MEMORANDUM OPINION").
  The Court clarified that dismissing the appeal did not prevent the respondent from obtaining review of the district court’s rulings in the future, provided that an order with the proper certification language is obtained and a persuasive argument for its propriety is made (para. "MEMORANDUM OPINION").