James Hresko asked the court to reopen his uncontested divorce for fraud because he said his ex-wife misrepresented her assets in negotiating a settlement agreement.  But the Maryland courts will only reopen a case if the fraud is extrinsic, not intrinsic.

What is extrinsic fraud?  Black’s Law Dictionary says it is the type of fraud which is collateral to the issues tried in the case.  The court says it is fraud which actually prevents a trial. Examples of extrinsic fraud would be:

• An opponent keeps a party away from court.
• A false promise of compromise.
• A party did not have knowledge of the suit.
• An attorney pretends to represent someone they do not.
• An attorney corruptly sells out his client.

James said his ex prevented him from trying the case by keeping him away from the court with a false promise of compromise.  To be continued.

Certain matters may be heard in Maryland courts by a Master instead of a Judge.  The Master then prepares written recommendations which include the Master’s findings and a proposed order.

Maryland Rule 9-208 provides a method for challenging the Master’s findings and recommendations.  Either party may file Exceptions in writing with the Clerk of the Court.  The Exceptions must set forth any asserted error with particularity.

You have only ten days from the Master’s findings and recommendations to file Exceptions.  You don’t count the day of the ruling, and if the tenth day falls on a weekend or holiday, you can file on the next business day.

A judge will hold a hearing on the Exceptions if you ask for one.  The Court will rule on the evidence presented to the Master.  The Court may also consider additional evidence if it decides to.

In uncontested divorces, the parties may forego their right to take Exceptions, by signing a Waiver, in order to expedite their decree of divorce.

?Tom Clancy ought to write a book about his divorce.  He would have plenty of material.  The litigation between him and Wanda King, formerly Wanda Clancy until the divorce in 1999,
continues.

In 1992, the Clancy’s formed the Jack Ryan Limited Partnership, to write, sell and publish books and engage in related activities.  The partnership entered into a joint venture in which Tom Clancy’s name was used on a series of books written by another author.  Wanda and Tom agreed to continue the partnership in their Marriage Property Agreement and Tom would be the managing partner.

After the fourteenth book, Clancy withdrew the permission to use of his name.  Wanda sued for breach of contract and asked the court to make her the general partner.  The Circuit Court for Calvert County, Maryland, agreed and also awarded her over $500,000 in attorney fees.  The Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirmed.

But the Maryland Court of Appeals sent the case back for the Circuit Court.  The appeals judges told the court that it must determine whether or not Tom Clancy breached the Marital Property Agreement in order award attorney fees.  It must also decide whether Clancy acted in bad faith in canceling the use of his name to spite his ex wife for the divorce.  The Court quote a Seinfeld episode, in which Jerry tries to return a shirt because he didn’t like the sales clerk.

Bob: You can’t return an item based purely
on spite.
Jerry: Well, so fine then . . . then I don’t want it and then
that’s why I’m returning it.
Bob: Well you already said spite so . . . .
Jerry: But I changed my mind.
Bob: No, you said spite. Too late.

Read the case (PDF).

Only the court can give you a divorce. The first step in a divorce proceeding is the preparation and filing of a Complaint. The legal document that starts the proceeding is entitled “Complaint for Absolute Divorce”. The Complaint states the grounds for divorce and the vital statistics of the parties and the marriage.

It also covers certain technical matters and asks the court for anything you might want. If you and your spouse cannot agree on something (support, custody, visitation, property division, attorney’s fees, court costs) then you must ask the court for it in the petition or the court cannot give it to you. If the list seems long, or if it includes more than you want, think of it as a wish list.

If the wording seems strange, remember that it is a formal legal document and much of the wording is required by law. Here is a Maryland Complaint for Absolute Divorce in PDF format.