Judge schedules hearing in Gibbons divorce case

CARSON CITY -- District Judge Francis Doherty has scheduled an Aug. 21 management conference to allow Gov. Jim Gibbons, first lady Dawn Gibbons and their lawyers to discuss what progress has been made in their divorce case.

No action has been taken in the divorce since the Gibbonses and their lawyers announced on June 9 that they were suspending further litigation so they could work on a settlement.

Court rules require judges to schedule case management conferences two months to three months after divorce papers have been filed. Judges ask what steps have been taken by the couple to reach settlements and what further information the parties need from each other. Ninety percent of divorce cases end in settlements.

As part of the agreement to end litigation, Dawn Gibbons moved out of the governor's mansion into the backyard guest house. The governor, who had lived several months at their home in southwest Reno, moved back into the mansion.

Since then, Jim Gibbons has been photographed in public places in Reno accompanied by Leslie Durant, a married Reno woman who posed for Playboy in 1989. He said they were just friends.

The governor was sighted last weekend in Las Vegas attending the Ultimate Fighting Championship and at the Tao nightclub in The Venetian.

The governor filed for divorce May 2 from his wife of 22 years. As grounds for the divorce, Gibbons cited "incompatibility in marriage."

On May 5, District Judge Bill Maddox of Carson City ruled that records in the case would be sealed and that the trial would be conducted in private.

The case later was transferred to District Court in Reno,.

But Cal Dunlap, Dawn Gibbons' lawyer, filed a motion to seek to have the case opened to the public. No action has been taken on that motion.

He contended the secrecy in divorce law did not apply in cases affecting prominent public officials such as a governor.