Spencer Aronfeld Brings You the Worst!

Ron Worst, that is.

In other news, GB points out this gem from the Emmanuel Roy/Peter Mayas contempt proceedings before Magistrate Judge Turnoff:

Then Mayas skipped a court hearing last week, in part he said, because he got sick after undergoing a colonoscopy. But the judge wasn't buying it .

"There's simply no excuse'' for his failure to show up in court last week, Turnoff told Mayas.

When Coulton's lawyer, Paul Petruzzi, told the judge Mayas had not handed over the keys to his vehicle and his Monarch Lakes home, the judge demanded he turn over the keys in court.

As Mayas fumbled with his briefcase and his keyring for what seemed an unnecessarily long time, the judge cracked: "I bet the colonoscopy was easier than this."

Seriously, you can't make this stuff up.

I'm Going to Graceland....

Yes, today marks the anniversary of Elvis' death and what better to mourn than with a free CLE on Elvis and the law:

Legal Aid of East Tennessee will be offering a free continuing legal education course on Tuesday on Elvis Law. The state and federal cases dealing with the late king of rock 'n' roll.
It will be held in a courtroom at the McMinn County Courthouse in Chattanooga, where a 10-foot cutout of the legendary entertainer will reportedly greet attendees, according to a press release.

It turns out there's actually quite a bit of interesting law related to Presley, the Associated Press reports.

"Elvis was fascinating," said Russell Fowler, the associate director of LAET. "He was not liitigious, never sued anybody. He'd fire someone and then give them $50,000 to be nice. But when he died, litigation sprang from everywhere."

Of course there are those who claim Elvii never really died and is hanging somewhere with Jim Morrison and Bruce Lee, as The Probate Lawyer Blog summarizes in some detail here.

Me, I'm remembering the King in the usual manner, by dying my hair jet black, adorning huge pork chops, and requiring my staff to help apply a new-fangled miracle substance ("GOOP") to my beat-up old speed boat so I can finally defeat Bill Bixby and win the Orange Bowl Regatta.

(I assume I'm not alone on this.)

Scene starts at 11:27 in!

First DCA Reverses Modification in Part

The First District Court of Appeal ruled today in Wiesenfeld v. Wiesenfeld, a case in which the Former Husband sought termination of alimony based on the Former Wife’s inheritance of sufficient monies to become self-supporting.  The First District affirmed the lower court’s granting of that petition, finding that the Former Husband had met his burden under Pimm.  However, as the lower court ordered retroactive termination of alimony payments received prior to the Former Wife achieving the ability to support herself, the First DCA reversed in that part only.

Fourth DCA Reverses Denial of Alimony Modification

The Fourth District ruled today in Cook v. Cook, reversing the lower court’s denial of modification of alimony sought by the Former Wife.  The lower court ruled that the parties’ Marital Settlement Agreement provided a modification of alimony unless custody was first modified.  The Fourth District found that the relevant clause in fact guaranteed a modification in the event of a custody change, but did not affect a modification in the absence of one.  As such, the matter was remanded.

Fourth District Discusses Alimony

The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed today in Nousari v. Nousari, but first discussed the alimony award under appeal.  The Court noted that the marriage was moderate in term, the parties’ were young in age and in good health, and each party left the marriage with over a million dollars in assets.  While the Court awarded nine years of durational alimony, the Wife argued that the alimony should have been permanent in nature.  Citing Donoff v. Donoff, the Fourth District found that the lower court had acted correctly in not attributing the standard of living superfactor status, and found that all appropriate determinations were made in the lack of clear and convincing evidence requiring permanent alimony in a moderate term marriage.

Fourth District Reverses Denial of Fees

The Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled today in Reilly v. Reilly, in so doing reversing the lower court’s finding that the Former Wife bore sole liability for roofing expenses and the court’s ruling on fees.  Specifically as to fees, the Court found that, the Former Wife having eventually prevailed on all issues, she was entitled to recover her fees and remanded for that result.

Fourth District Affirms Denial of Modification

The Fourth District Court ruled today in Maher v. Maher, in so doing affirming the lower court’s denial of a more substantial modification of child support as requested.  The trial court relied on the fact that the child support was set by a marital settlement agreement executed by the parties, resulting in a higher than normal burden for the party seeking downward modification, and on the finding that the Former Husband’s reduction in income was neither permanent nor involuntary.