## Facts

- Matthew John Bock and Jennifer Lynn Dalbey married and later pursued dissolution in Nebraska.
- The parties filed a joint federal income tax return for 2007 but had not filed returns for 2008 or 2009 when the dissolution decree was entered.
- Bock earned substantially more income than Dalbey.
- The district court ordered the parties to file joint federal and state returns for 2008 and 2009 and allocated any refund or tax due based on each party’s contribution to total adjusted gross income.
- Dalbey objected, asserting federal law grants each spouse the right to elect joint or separate filing status and that compelled joint filing exposed her to potential liability.
- The Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed; the Nebraska Supreme Court granted further review.

## Issues

1. Whether a Nebraska dissolution court has equitable authority to compel spouses to file joint federal and state income tax returns over one spouse’s objection.
2. Whether any tax-related unfairness from a spouse’s refusal to file jointly must be addressed through property division under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-365 rather than by an injunctive order.

## Decision

- The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed the portion of the dissolution decree requiring the parties to file joint returns for 2008 and 2009.
- The court held the order functioned as a mandatory injunction and was an extraordinary remedy not justified where statutory remedies were adequate.
- The court remanded for further proceedings, directing that any tax-related inequities be handled through equitable adjustment of the marital estate under § 42-365.

## Legal Principles

- Questions of law are reviewed independently on appeal.
- A dissolution court may equitably distribute the marital estate under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-365 to reach a fair and reasonable result.
- Mandatory injunctions are harsh, extraordinary remedies, appropriate only where the right is clear, injury is actual and substantial, harm is irreparable, and legal remedies are inadequate.
- When a statute provides an adequate remedy at law, equity should not grant injunctive relief.
- Dissolution courts generally should not base property division on speculative tax consequences unless immediate liquidation or sale of assets is ordered or required.
- Although a court cannot order joint filing, it may consider a spouse’s unreasonable refusal to file jointly as a factor in equitable distribution if supported by evidence of resulting tax disadvantage.
- Compelling a joint return is disfavored because joint filing can impose joint and several liability for deficiencies and penalties, which a court should not force on an objecting spouse when property-division tools are available.

## Conclusion

Nebraska dissolution courts lack authority to compel spouses to file joint income tax returns; instead, any demonstrated financial impact from a refusal to file jointly may be accounted for through equitable distribution of marital assets and debts under § 42-365.


Bock v. Dalbey, 815 N.W.2d 530 (Neb. 2012)