Unequal division of the value of shares in a company where a spouse is employed
Supreme Court judgment 10 September 2020, HR-2020-1760-A, (case no. 19-120344SIV-HRET), civil case, appeal against judgment.
A (Counsel Eirik Wensell Raanes) v. B (Counsel Sicilie Knudsen Tveøy)
Justices: Øie, Møse, Matheson, Normann, Thyness
A businessman sold his shares in the company in which the business activities were carried out, and continued the activities in two new companies that he established together with others. When dividing the property with his separated spouse, he demanded unequal division of the total value of the new companies, see section 59 subsection 1 of the Marriage Act. The Supreme Court found like the previous instances that the request could not succeed. It was assumed that the value of the assets in the company he left had been low when the marriage was entered into. Unclear factors in the relationship between the company assets and his personal equally divided assets implied that the assets in the new companies could not be traced back to those in the original company and other unequally divided assets. To the extent the value of the assets in the new company at the cutting time could be traced back to the original company, this was also connected to him personally and not to other assets that were passed on from the company.