Source: http://rochesterfamilylawyer.korotkinlaw.com/tag/no-fault-divorce/
Timestamp: 2015-06-30 16:45:00
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Matched Legal Cases: ['§170', '§170', '§170', '§170', '§170', '§170', '§602', '§3025', '§3025', '§170', '§170', '§170']

No Fault DivorceRochester Family Lawyer | Rochester Family Lawyer
WordPress.org	Tag: no fault divorce	There Is No Right to Grounds Trial In A No-Fault Divorce Case	I have previously written on the issue of whether there was a right to trial in a divorce case brought under the no-fault grounds. Earlier, trial level decisions were split, with some courts holding that a party was still required to establish no-fault grounds at trial, and other courts holding that a sworn statement that the marriage was irretrievably broken for a period of 6 months or longer was sufficient to establish that party’s right to divorce.
Posted on January 6, 2013Categories divorce, Domestic Relations Law, Family Law, grounds, New York Law, procedure, Supreme CourtTags county, Domestic Relations Law, grounds, Livingston, Monroe, New York family law, New York Law, no fault divorce, Ontario, Orleans, procedure, rochester ny divorce lawyer, Supreme Court, WayneLeave a comment	A Cause of Action for DRL 170(7) Can Be Added to A Divorce Complaint Filed Prior to October 2010	One of the more interesting procedural issues that arose after the New York State Legislature added a cause of action under Domestic Relations Law §170(7), irretrievably broken marriage for a period of 6 months or longer, is whether this cause of action can be introduced in divorce actions filed prior to the statute’s enactment. At least one court addressed this issue by holding that a separate action can be filed by the defendant alleging a cause of action under DRL §170(7), and the two actions can be consolidated.
A recent decision by Justice Richard A. Dollinger of the Monroe County Supreme Court, G.C. v. G.C., 2012 N.Y. Slip Op 50653(U) (Sup. Ct. Monroe. Co. 2012), held that a defendant in a divorce action, filed prior to the enactment of the no-fault statute, can assert a counterclaim based on no-fault grounds. Specifically, Justice Dollinger reviewed the procedural aspects related to counterclaims and analyzed whether such counterclaim would prejudice plaintiff’s substantive rights in the divorce.
The facts of the case are as follows. The plaintiff brought a divorce action prior to October 10, 2010. He alleged that his wife had engaged in cruel and inhuman treatment toward him. The wife answered the complaint, denying the specific allegations, and has stated that she would contest the grounds for the divorce. Meanwhile the parties lived apart and the wife moved to Ohio.
The husband moved to amend the complaint to assert two new grounds: a ground under Section §170(2) for abandonment and a claim under Section §170(7) for an “irretrievably broken” marriage. The wife opposed the abandonment amendment, claiming that the husband can not allege abandonment when it occurred during a year after the filing of complaint and that its assertion, now, after the action has been pending for more than two years, is untimely and prejudicial. The wife also opposed the amendment on the grounds of Section §170(7), arguing that this recently-enact statutory amendment can not be asserted in this action because the complaint was filed prior to the effective date of the change. She argued that the husband, in order to pursue this claim, needed to file a new complaint. The husband argued that if he files the new complaint with a Section §170(7) cause of action, he could then move for consolidation under CPLR §602(a), and the cases would likely be consolidated because they involve the same facts.
CPLR §3025(b), by its express language, envisions that other causes of actions, based on developing facts that occur during the pendency of the action, can be the subject of a proposed amendment to the original compliant. The statute uses the terms “subsequent transactions or occurrences” as the basis for a proposed amendment. The statute also permits an amendment “at any time.” CPLR §3025(b).
A cause of action under Domestic Relations Law §170(2) requires allegations that a spouse’s actual physical departure from the marital residence for one year is unjustified, voluntary, without consent of the plaintiff spouse, and with the intention of the departing spouse not to return. The amended complaint, on its face, met this minimal pleading requirement since it alleged that the wife left the marital residence in 2009, has not returned and her leaving was without justification.
In October, 2010, the Legislature added a statutory change to the Domestic Relations Law which created “no-fault divorce” and permitted one party to be granted the divorce upon a sworn declaration that the marriage was “irretrievably broken for a period in excess of six months” and the parties had agreed on all the issues related to support and equitable distribution. DRL §170(7). The statutory amendment states that the “act . . . shall apply to matrimonial actions commenced after the effective date.”, specifically after October 12, 2010. The Legislature apparently intended not allow litigants to simply amend their complaints, after the amendment took effect, and allow those claims to proceed to adjudication on the basis of the new “no-fault” allegations by claiming that the six months of “irretrievable breakdown” included time before the effective date of the amendment.
After reviewing statutory history, Justice Dollinger held that the husband was not seeking any relief other than that sought in the original complaint: a divorce and accompanying property distribution. By virtue of the statutory change, the husband, having waited six months after its effective date, can now meet the time requirement of six months because all of the time accrued after the amendment took effect. Justice Dollinger further found that the husband was merely seeking to “invoke what the Legislature extended to him: a cause of action that has ripened because more than six months have passed since the date of the amendment and during that time, the husband swears that his marriage has been irretrievably broken.”
I think that this was the right result. If a party is able to assert a cause of action under DRL §170(7), the length and expense of the case are likely to be reduced since a trial on the issue of grounds will no longer be required. This is likely to result in shorter and less costly divorce cases.
Posted on April 22, 2012Categories divorce, Domestic Relations Law, Family Law, grounds, New York Law, procedure, Supreme CourtTags county, divorce, Domestic Relations Law, grounds, Livingston, Monroe, no fault divorce, Ontario, Orleans, procedure, rochester ny divorce lawyer, Supreme Court, WayneLeave a comment	No-Fault Divorce Becomes Law In New York	The no-fault divorce bill has been signed by the Governor Patterson and will go into effect in 60 days. That means that starting on October 13, 2010, someone who wants to be divorced in New York will no longer be required to make allegations of martial fault by the other spouse and will only be required to swear that the relationship between husband and wife has broken down irretrievably for a period of at least six months. The new law will apply to the divorce actions commenced on or after such effective date.
Posted on August 15, 2010October 10, 2010Categories attorneys fees, Domestic Relations Law, grounds, jurisdiction, maintenance, marital fault, New York Law, Supreme CourtTags attorney, attorneys fees, county, Domestic Relations Law, grounds, Livingston, Monroe, new york, New York Law, no fault divorce, Ontario, Orleans, procedure, rochester, rochester ny divorce lawyer, temporary maintenance, WayneLeave a comment	Proudly powered by WordPress