Family Law

Divorce Drama: Kirkland Partner Sues Wife re Alleged Affair & STD

Private equity partner Frederick Tanne of Kirkland & Ellis was already expecting a difficult year because of the market slowdown. But now it’s clearly gotten worse. The 48-year-old New York lawyer has sued his wife, Amy, 46, in Manhattan Supreme Court, contending that she gave him a sexually transmitted disease…

Sep 22, 2008 8:19 PM CDT

UK Appeals Court OKs Hefty Alimony Payment for Ex-Wife’s Horses

An investment banker in the United Kingdom had argued that his soon-to-be ex-wife could and should cut her post-divorce expenses by eliminating an unjustified extravagance—her three horses. But, finding that the horses have been an important part of the woman’s life during their 11-year marriage and that she was devoted…

Sep 22, 2008 6:23 PM CDT

Islamic Court Rulings are Enforceable in the United Kingdom

Islamic law now has legal effect in the United Kingdom, under a 1996 arbitration statute that recognizes the rulings of a network of five Shariah courts. Although there was a huge public outcry earlier this year when the Archbishop of Canterbury said that further recognition of such courts in Great…

Sep 19, 2008 5:55 PM CDT

Texas Judge Takes Tots from ‘Too Old’ Grandparents, Age 59 and 52

Yolanda and Arnold Del Bosque have taken care of their 1- and 2-year-old grandchildren since they were infants. But a Texas judge said at a hearing last month that the state should take the tots away from them, reports the Houston Chronicle. His order put the children into foster care…

Sep 11, 2008 8:17 PM CDT

Trial Judge in Fla. Strikes State-Law Ban on ‘Gay Adoption’

A 31-year-old prohibition against adoptions of children by same-sex couples in Florida has been held unconstitutional by a trial judge in Monroe County. The ruling, which allows a 52-year-old openly gay foster parent in Key West to adopt the disabled teenager he has been raising since 2001, held that the…

Sep 10, 2008 4:52 PM CDT

Last-Minute Will Change By ‘Brockovich’ Lawyer OK’d in Calif.

Edward Masry, the crusty plaintiffs lawyer who supervised paralegal Erin Brockovich, famously handed her a $2 million bonus check at the end of the 2000 movie telling the story of their work on an environmental case that settled for $333 million. But in real life, Masry’s wife of 14 years…

Sep 8, 2008 7:06 PM CDT

Warren Jeffs’ Daughter Loses Bid to Dump Appointed Lawyer

A Texas judge has refused a request by the daughter of jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs to oust her court-appointed lawyer. The teen, 17-year-old Teresa Jeffs, had claimed her lawyer was going against her wishes by preventing her from having contact with her father or visiting the Yearning for Zion…

Sep 8, 2008 5:35 PM CDT

Fed’l Judge Gives Deadbeat Dad a 1-Year Jail Sentence

Although a prosecutor sought probation, so that Danny Collins could try to work off his hefty child support debt, a federal judge in Florida had different ideas. In an unusual case, U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday gave the deadbeat dad a one-year jail sentence on Tuesday, reports the St. Petersburg…

Sep 4, 2008 6:58 PM CDT

Another Family Relationship Pitfall for Lawyer Who Had Sex With Client’s Mom

Reinstated to the Wisconsin bar almost exactly one year ago, after he was given a six-month suspension for having sex with a client in one case and for having sex with a client’s mother, without a waiver, in another, attorney Carlos Gamino has is now in trouble again over a…

Sep 3, 2008 6:23 PM CDT

Did Lady Jane Douglas Lie in High-Profile 1700s Inheritance Case?

The lawsuit took about 10 years to resolve, at a cost of around $18 million in today’s dollars, and the winner inherited the riches of a man reputed to be the wealthiest in Scotland. At issue was whether the twins claimed by Lady Jane Douglas as her own biological children,…

Sep 3, 2008 5:22 PM CDT

‘Til Death Do Us Pay?

As retired boomers head to the golf course, courts look at limits on alimony

Sep 1, 2008 1:05 PM CDT

Did Judge Refer Cases to Lawyer in Exchange for a Cut-Rate Divorce?

A Minnesota judge has been accused by a state disciplinary body of referring at least 19 divorce mediation cases to his personal attorney, in exchange for a $64,000 discount on the legal bill for his own divorce. His ex-wife then reportedly dropped the dime on his alleged misconduct. “In 2004,…

Aug 28, 2008 10:53 PM CDT

Hilary Duff’s 21st Birthday Bash Contested in Court

Whether or not the father of actress Hilary Duff should pay $25,000 for her 21st birthday party was the subject of a court hearing in Texas yesterday from which her father was removed in handcuffs. After a tense hearing in the bitter divorce case that also featured acrimony between opposing…

Aug 28, 2008 8:39 PM CDT

Columnist Arrested for Briefly Leaving Son at McDonald’s After Argument

A columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram apologized in a column for briefly leaving his 11-year-old son at a McDonald’s after an argument. But the mea culpa did not persuade police in Watauga, Texas. Writer Dave Lieber was charged with child abandonment with intent to return and child abandonment/endangering a…

Aug 28, 2008 12:50 PM CDT

Verdict Nears for PI and Lawyer Charged in Celebrity Wiretapping Case

This spring’s trial of a so-called private investigator to the stars, who was accused of wiretapping courtroom opponents of the well-to-do and celebrity clients for whom he worked, was high-profile. But now a second celebrity wiretapping case against Anthony Pellicano, 64, is nearing a conclusion with far less media hoopla.…

Aug 27, 2008 4:44 PM CDT