Nevada Supreme Court to examine woman’s claim to ex-husband’s pension

By Cy Ryan

Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011 | 11:52 a.m.

The Nevada Supreme Court has agreed to examine whether an ex-spouse's pension can be added to their alimony obligations if it wasn't a part of the original divorce decree.

Calling it a matter of "statewide interest," the court will be looking at the issue through the case of Craig Doan, who claims that for seven years he fulfilled his obligation to pay alimony to his ex-wife, Catherine Doan of Las Vegas, but is contesting her recent claim to 50 percent of his pension, which was not part of the original divorce settlement.

Craig Doan, of Corpus Christi, Texas, filed his appeal without the assistance of an attorney, but Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Douglas said that appointing an attorney to represent Craig Doan "will assist the court in resolving this appeal."

He directed District Judge Cheryl Moss, the judge on the divorce case, to choose a pro bono attorney to represent Craig Doan.

In his court documents, Craig Doan says Catherine Doan "received almost everything, including the house, car, home furnishing and $1,143 a month for seven years." He said he agreed to that settlement so he could keep all of his FAA pension. "To take away a portion of my pension now would ruin me financially," he said.

The Supreme Court said the issue is "whether and under what circumstances" district court may apportion a person's pension if it is not included in the original divorce decree.

Craig Doan claims there was an "off the record" settlement hearing during which Judge Moss said the pensions were to be left untouched. Judge Moss says she can find no record of such a hearing.

Moss originally rejected Catherine Doan's petition to re-open the alimony question six years after the original settlement. But then she reconsidered, saying "omitting Craig's retirement resulted in unjust enrichment."

The judge concluded that it was "a mutual mistake on the part of the parties as to why the retirement was omitted from the decree of divorce." She awarded Catherine Doan 50 percent of Craig's pension.

The divorce, after 18 years of marriage, has been contentious, with Craig trying unsuccessfully to have Cathy cited for fraud on the court and the two battling over custody of their poodle.