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You Can't Go Back! Or Can You?
In 2009 the Court of Appeals articulated a new rule for Family Law practitioners, referred to by some as the “don't look back” rule. The court stated:
As a general rule, where payments are made before either party is anticipating the end of the marriage, and there is no fraud or concealment, courts should not look back and try to compensate for the fact that the net effect of the payments may, in some cases, have resulted in the reduction of marital assets. ' The parties' choice of how to spend funds during the course of the marriage should ordinarily be respected. Courts should not second-guess the economic decisions made during the course of a marriage, but rather should equitably distribute the assets and obligations remaining once the relationship is at an end.
Mahoney-Buntzman v. Buntzman, 12 NY3d 415, 421 (2009).
The court in Buntzman used this rule to deny a wife's attempts to recoup money that was spent during the marriage to pay the husband's maintenance obligation to his former wife and to pay back the husband's school loan that was taken out during the marriage. Although not explicitly stated, it seems apparent that the court's reasoning with respect to the previously existing obligation is that the parties go into the marriage with their eyes open and that, unless otherwise explicitly agreed to, it is understood that marital funds will be used to pay those obligations. The court does clearly state, with respect to the student loan, that since it was both incurred and paid off during the marriage, the loan was a marital obligation for which responsibility was to be shared between the spouses. After all, had the advanced degree led to an economic benefit, the other spouse would have been entitled to a share in its value. The court simply did not want courts reviewing economic decisions made during the course of a marriage, or attempting to adjust for the fact that certain payments made from separate property may have benefited both spouses ' or even the non-titled spouse alone.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs
A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.
Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits
In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.