Court Opinion

ID: 9712155
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 04:47:43.365104+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:10.427205
License: Public Domain

Pigott, J. (dissenting).
I respectfully dissent because, in my view, it is premature to rule that wife’s behavior does not, as a matter of law, constitute egregious misconduct for purposes of equitable distribution under the Domestic Relations Law. Therefore, husband is entitled to discovery on his claim.
It is well settled that parties are entitled to “full disclosure of all matter material and necessary in the prosecution or defense of an action” (CPLR 3101 [a] [1]). This provision makes no exception for matrimonial actions. Further, as the majority recognizes, this Court has held that marital fault may be considered under factor 14 of Domestic Relations Law § 236 (B) (5) (d) (14), which provides that a court may consider “any other *438factor which the court shall expressly find to be just and proper” (majority op at 435, citing O’Brien v O’Brien, 66 NY2d 576 [1985]). We limited such consideration of fault to “egregious cases which shock the conscience of the court” (O’Brien at 589-590). It is within the court’s discretion to determine whether a spouse’s misconduct is so egregious to justify consideration for purposes of equitable distribution. In my view, the court should make this determination with full disclosure of the misconduct.
The majority finds that discovery on the issue of fault is precluded in this case. Although neither party affirmatively moved for a ruling on the egregious misconduct claim, the majority reasons that the conduct alleged by husband is not so egregious as a matter of law to be considered for purposes of equitable distribution. In my view, this is putting the cart before the horse. Indeed, the majority has implicitly accepted the view of the First and Second Departments that a party is required to make a motion for discovery on the issue of fault (see Ginsberg v Ginsberg, 104 AD2d 482 [2d Dept 1984]; McMahan v McMahan, 100 AD2d 826 [1st Dept 1984] [two Justices dissenting]). I disagree with this approach, and rather, take the view of the Third and Fourth Departments that have no general prohibition of pretrial discovery on fault, relying on our liberal discovery rule (see Nigro v Nigro, 121 AD2d 833 [3d Dept 1986]; Lemke v Lemke, 100 AD2d 735 [4th Dept 1984]). Under that rule, husband is entitled to discovery on the issue of fault, albeit with the court overseeing and preventing abuses by asserting its protective power (see CPLR 3103 [a] [authorizing the court to issue a protective order “to prevent unreasonable annoyance, expense, embarrassment, disadvantage, or other prejudice to any person or the courts”]). By first permitting discovery on the issue, the court may adequately consider whether the misconduct alleged does indeed “shock the conscience of the court” so as to warrant consideration for purposes of equitable distribution.
Further, I cannot agree with the majority’s reasoning for imposing a rule that would require a party to first seek permission from the court to obtain discovery on egregious fault. The majority reasons that, despite the court’s protective power, “there remains significant potential for abuse and harassment as a result of such discovery” (majority op at 437). However, considerations of abuse and harassment may be found in any contentious litigation. Further, fault is almost always an issue in a matrimonial case as a finding of fault or the living apart of *439the spouses are the only grounds for divorce in New York. Matrimonial cases often involve issues of a sensitive nature, and courts are well equipped to deal with the potential problems associated with them. Thus, disclosure should be permitted with restrictions imposed on a case-by-case basis, when problems peculiar to the particular case arise (see Connors, Practice Commentaries, McKinney’s Cons Laws of NY, Book 7B, CPLR C3101:15 [noting that CPLR 3101 (a) permits courts to restrict disclosure in specific cases where problems exist]).
Further, the majority believes there is a “possibility that parties will be induced to enter into disadvantageous settlements rather than litigate these types of intensely personal issues” (majority op at 437). At least one matrimonial scholar disagrees:
“Often, the pretrial examination can motivate settlement and avoid the far more bitter confrontation of the parties at trial, thereby paving the way for more harmonious post-divorce relationships. In any event, there would appear to be no valid reason to force matrimonial litigants to trial with less opportunity for disclosure and preparation than in any other civil action” (2 Tippins, New York Matrimonial Law and Practice § 16:29).
Assuming wife moved for a protective order limiting husband’s discovery on the issue of fault, I think the issue would be close. While adultery has generally been held not to be an act so egregious as to become a factor to be considered when distributing marital property, it may be a factor if it amounts to “egregious” misconduct. Here, wife not only committed adultery on more than one occasion, she also had a child out of wedlock and deceived both husband and child as to that child’s birth parent. In my view, it is premature without additional discovery to conclude at this juncture that wife’s misconduct is not so egregious to warrant consideration for purposes of the Domestic Relations Law.
Judges Ciparick, Graffeo, Read, Smith and Jones concur with Chief Judge Lippman; Judge Pigott dissents in a separate opinion.
Order affirmed, etc.