John David Moore, Appellant v. Nancy Moore, Appellee

Summary

The court held that the divorce decree was final and appealable because it resolved all issues and provided enforceable alternative methods for distributing the remaining property. It held that the increase in value of a business acquired before marriage remained nonmarital under the plain language of the property-division statute, rejecting the judicially created active-appreciation doctrine, and remanded for reconsideration of the property distribution and alimony together. The court found no abuse of discretion in the circuit court’s consideration of the statutory alimony factors or in its consideration of property division and alimony as complementary remedies. Justice Wynne, dissenting, and Chief Justice Brill, concurring in part and dissenting in part, would not have overruled the longstanding active-appreciation precedent without a developed request from the parties.