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 divorce proceeding between Barrie Lee Derringer, the Petitioner-Appellee, and David Brian Derringer, the Respondent-Appellant. The district court issued a "Minute Order and Bifurcated Decree of Divorce" that granted the parties a divorce but reserved all other issues for later determination.

Procedural History

• [Not applicable or not found]

Parties' Submissions

• Respondent-Appellant: Filed a memorandum in opposition to the court's calendar notice proposing to dismiss the appeal for lack of a final order. Additionally, filed an emergency motion to dismiss the petition for divorce and the order of protection entered by the district court or, in the alternative, stay the proceedings, order the district judge to recuse herself, and remove the district judge from the bench.

Legal Issues

• Whether the "Minute Order and Bifurcated Decree of Divorce" constitutes a final order for the purposes of appeal.

Disposition

• The appeal was dismissed due to the lack of a final order.

Reasons

• The Court of Appeals, with Judge Roderick T. Kennedy authoring the opinion and Chief Judge Celia Foy Castillo and Judge Linda M. Vanzi concurring, determined that the decree entered by the district court was not final for purposes of appeal. The decree granted a divorce but reserved all other issues, lacked an express determination that there was no just reason for delay as required by Rule 1-054(B)(1) NMRA, and did not contain decretal language indicating that it was intended to be final and appealable. The decree also did not determine all issues of law and fact or dispose of the case to the fullest extent possible. Consequently, the Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal due to its lack of jurisdiction over non-final orders.