Ginger Cove Common Area Co. v. Wiekhorst, 296 Neb. 416

Ginger Cove sued Wiekhorst for unpaid annual assessments; two co-defendants appear to have been dismissed for lack of service/prosecution.
Wiekhorst filed a counterclaim alleging breach of fiduciary duty.
A discovery dispute led to an October 2015 order finding Wiekhorst in contempt and striking his counterclaim as a sanction; the case was dismissed and later reinstated at various times in early October and December 2015.
Wiekhorst moved in January 2016 to vacate the sanctions; the district court denied that motion in February 2016. A bench trial later resulted in judgment against Wiekhorst in April 2016; he timely appealed.
Wiekhorst challenged the denial of his motion to vacate and asserted lack of timely notice of the reinstatement and sanctions hearings; the record did not include the relevant hearing transcripts or other proof contradicting the trial court’s journal entry.
The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed, finding the sanction and denial orders interlocutory and reviewable on appeal from the final judgment, but that Wiekhorst failed to present a record to overcome the trial court’s journal entry.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Feb. 2016 order denying motion to vacate is a final appealable order	Wiekhorst: appealable because it eliminated his counterclaim and denied relief	Ginger Cove: not final; challenge should await final judgment	Court: Not final—order did not affect a substantial right; interlocutory and reviewable after final judgment
Whether the Oct. 2015 sanctions order was final	Wiekhorst: sanctions order eliminated his counterclaim and was final	Ginger Cove: sanctions were a discovery sanction and interlocutory	Court: Sanctions order was interlocutory (discovery ruling), not a final order
Whether Wiekhorst received constitutionally adequate notice of reinstatement and sanctions hearings	Wiekhorst: transcript shows no proof of timely notice; due process violated	Ginger Cove: court’s journal entry states proper notice; presumption of verity applies	Court: Journal entry controls absent proof to the contrary; Wiekhorst failed to produce such evidence
Whether appellant preserved record to challenge denial of motion to vacate	Wiekhorst: bill of exceptions/transcript supports his claim	Ginger Cove: appellant must present record; no hearings transcripts present	Court: Wiekhorst failed to present the pertinent hearing records; appellant bears burden; affirm trial court

Guardian Tax Partners v. Skrupa Invest. Co., 295 Neb. 639 (jurisdictional principles for appeals)
Obad v. State, 277 Neb. 866 (standard of review for motions to vacate)
Deines v. Essex Corp., 293 Neb. 577 (definition of final order affecting substantial rights)
In re Adoption of Madysen S. et al., 293 Neb. 646 (final order requirements)
Big John’s Billiards v. State, 283 Neb. 496 (avoidance of piecemeal appeals)
Furstenfeld v. Pepin, 287 Neb. 12 (discovery orders not generally appealable interlocutorily)
Cattle Nat. Bank & Trust Co. v. Watson, 293 Neb. 943 (final order analysis)
State v. Deckard, 272 Neb. 410 (journal entries import verity)
Alder v. First Nat. Bank & Trust Co., 241 Neb. 873 (journal entry verity and appellant burden)
Pierce v. Landmark Mgmt. Group, 293 Neb. 890 (appellant duty to present record)