In a recent NC COA decision out of Catawba County, Williams v. Williams 07 CVD 3914, the husband and wife owned a closely-held business that was marital property. There was conflicting evidence regarding the value of the business and even the "expert" valuation [the husband was the 'expert' in this case] of the business changed dramatically between the value he gave during direct examination and what he gave during cross-examination. Additionally, there was no testimony of evidence regarding certain assets on the date of separation.
Regarding the business valuation, the NC COA stated that it "...ha(s) consistently reiterated that there is no single best method for assessing the value of a marital business interest, and our appellate courts have recognized various approaches." Citing Sharp v. Sharp, 116 N.C. App. 513, 527, 449 S.E.2d 39, 46 (1994) However, "...the approach utilized must be sound,” and “the trial court must determine whether the methodology underlying the testimony in support of the value of a marital asset is sufficiently valid and whether that methodology can be properly applied to the facts in issue.” Citing Robertson v. Robertson, 174 N.C. App. 784, 786-87, 625 S.E.2d 117, 119 (2005) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). “The trial court's findings of fact regarding the value of a [] business should be specific, and the trial court should clearly indicate the evidence on which its valuations are based, preferably noting the valuation method or methods on which it relied.”
After a review of the pleadings and the testimony, the COA vacated the judgment sent the matter back to the trial court.
