The Associated Press

Mon, May 5, 2008 (11:17 a.m.)

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons won a court ruling Monday sealing files in his divorce case and providing for a closed-door trial.

While the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in December that most civil case records must be open, Carson City District Judge Bill Maddox cited a state law that allows for sealing of divorce records and the trial at the request of either person involved.

The governor had asked that the records be sealed on Friday, when he filed for divorce from Dawn Gibbons and requested an order ousting her from the governor's mansion. Some matters, including the divorce complaint, the judge's orders and the eventual judgment, will be public.

Evidence in the case will be sealed, and during the trial nobody other than the Gibbonses, family members, their lawyers and their witnesses can be present, the judge wrote in his order.

The order also blocks any moves by Jim Gibbons or Dawn Gibbons to sell or in any other way dispose of any community or separate property, or to transfer, cash in, or change beneficiaries on any insurance coverage, or retirement or pension benefits.

Dawn Gibbon's attorney Cal Dunlap did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday.

In the divorce complaint, Jim Gibbons' attorney Gary Silverman listed incompatibility as grounds for ending the couple's marriage of nearly 22 years. The complaint also states that "the cause of action for divorce" occurred in Reno, but offers no specifics.

Silverman also said he requested "a court ruling concerning the living arrangements" at the taxpayer-supported mansion in Carson City. Dawn Gibbons is staying there while the 63-year-old governor lives in their home in Reno.

The governor's complaint says Dawn Gibbons, 54, should pay all attorney fees. Dunlap has said he will "vehemently" oppose that request and has questioned the wording of the complaint.