Burns v. Burns, 296 Neb. 184

Michael and Kerry Burns divorced in 2004; postdivorce litigation produced multiple modifications and appeals. A contempt proceeding between them was pending in the Adams County district court.
Judge James E. Doyle IV, appointed by the Nebraska Supreme Court to sit in the 10th Judicial District for this case, issued a January 6, 2016 order requiring Kerry to appear in Dawson County to show cause for contempt.
An affidavit of personal service (in Kansas) was filed; Kerry did not appear for the Dawson County hearing, but the court held an evidentiary hearing there nonetheless.
On February 24, 2016 the district court found Kerry in contempt and imposed a 10-day jail sanction with a purge provision.
Kerry moved to vacate on the ground the court lacked authority to hold an evidentiary hearing outside Adams County; the district court denied the motion, concluding Neb. Rev. Stat. § 24-303 authorized the out-of-county hearing.
The Nebraska Supreme Court reviewed whether § 24-303 permits a district court sitting in one county to order a party to appear and hold an evidentiary contempt hearing in another county and whether the earlier orders were void.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Kerry)	Defendant's Argument (Michael)	Held
Whether a district court may order a party in a contempt proceeding to appear and conduct an evidentiary hearing in a county other than the county where the cause is pending	Orders are void for want of jurisdiction because § 24-303 requires trials and evidentiary hearings be held in the county where the case is pending unless statute or stipulation permits otherwise	This is a venue issue; § 24-303 (as amended) no longer restricts nonjury hearings to the pending county, so the court had authority	Held for Kerry: § 24-303 does not authorize holding evidentiary hearings outside the pending county absent statutory authority or consent; the January 6 and February 24 orders were void and must be vacated

Hartman v. Hartman, 265 Neb. 515 (defining abuse-of-discretion standard for vacation of orders)
Talkington v. Womens Servs., 256 Neb. 2 (same standard and limits on vacating judgments)
Blitzkie v. State, 228 Neb. 409 (distinguishing jurisdiction from venue)
Concrete Indus. v. Nebraska Dept. of Rev., 277 Neb. 897 (interpretation of statutory authority for judges)
State v. Marshall, 272 Neb. 924 (judicial notice of court records and appointments)
Hanson v. Hanson, 195 Neb. 836 (acts of court held coram non judice where court sits outside statutory location)