The State Of Niles Crane's Divorce
starcro1
husband's affections. Donny discovers a secret that Niles exploits to not
only obtain a divorce, but a generous settlement in his favor. Months later,
Niles publicly proves Maris was right by running off with Daphne who was
minutes away from marrying Donny.
I smell a lawsuit in Niles's future, and he'll have to shop around for a new
lawyer, because Donny will represent Maris.
Mike and Dorcie
starcro1 wrote:
I don't see this happening. After all, Niles still has his trump card up his
sleeve: the origin of Maris' family's money. I doubt Maris would do anything
that might jeopardize his silence on that issue. I'm not saying Maris will have
nothing to say about what Niles has done. I just don't think she will do
anything so public as suing him. Besides, legally, I don't think she has any
ground to stand on.
Dorcie
who can't wait to see, or rather hear, what Maris' reaction will be
Captain Comic
Well, Niles' (first) divorce is final. That's what settlement means.
However, Maris could sue DAPHNE for alienation of affection. It might
get thrown out of court, but she could raise a huge stink. If it went
to court, Maris would lose, though. Daphne never acted improperly
while Niles was living at the mansion and except for "Daphne Hates
Sherry", never treated Niles as anything but a dear friend.
agrgurich
I don't know about the state of Washington.
AJG
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llk
<agrguric...@portup.com.invalid> wrote:
>Many states no longer allow alienation of affection suits.
>I don't know about the state of Washington.
I don't think it would matter anyway, unless Niles forgets how to say
"urinal cake."
llk
Natasha
Captain Comic wrote :
>Well, Niles' (first) divorce is final. That's what settlement means.
>However, Maris could sue DAPHNE for alienation of affection. It might
>get thrown out of court, but she could raise a huge stink. If it went
>to court, Maris would lose, though. Daphne never acted improperly
>while Niles was living at the mansion and except for "Daphne Hates
>Sherry", never treated Niles as anything but a dear friend.
The first thing you said is right. The divorce is final and an ex spouse can
do nothing once a divorce is final to reopen litigation. Any involvement a
divorced person has w/ someone new has no legal bearing on the status of the
divorce. Maris has no evidence that Niles was unfaithful to her w/ Daphne or
anyone else while he was married to her. OTOH, Niles has proof of Maris'
infedility.
IMO, Maris has no legal action against Niles or Daphne. What's done is done.
Mel, however, is a different story. Who knows what she'll do?
Nat
starcro1
Natasha <star...@enteract.com> wrote in message
news:8j2f0o$1hiu$1...@news.enteract.com...
What will Mel do? Sue!
I mean, here we have a wedding guest, whose husband just ran off with the
bride, and the jilted groom, known as the most vicious divorce lawyer in
town. An unholy alliance if ever there was one!
Wait a minute. Can Donny sue Niles, or does his duty to his client
extend beyond the finality of Niles's divorce. I'm remembering Tom Cruise in
"The Firm," assuring his mobster client that a lawyer is legally and
ethically bound to preserve his client's secrets forever. Everything Donny
knows that can hurt Niles he learned while he was representing Niles, so he
can never use that information against Niles. I think. Does anyone know for
sure?
Natasha
starcro1 wrote:
> Wait a minute. Can Donny sue Niles, or does his duty to his client
>extend beyond the finality of Niles's divorce. I'm remembering Tom Cruise
in
>"The Firm," assuring his mobster client that a lawyer is legally and
>ethically bound to preserve his client's secrets forever. Everything Donny
>knows that can hurt Niles he learned while he was representing Niles, so he
>can never use that information against Niles. I think. Does anyone know for
>sure?
I talked to a friend of mine who is a divorce lawyer and knows this stuff
inside out. I can't believe she actually humored me by entertaining a
question about a fictitious character from a TV show, but she's used to my
peculiar brand of strangeness.
Anyway, what you say here is exactly right, according to my atty
friend....it IS a conflict of interest to represent someone suing someone
the atty has formerly represented because the atty would be privy to inside
info on the opposition obtained from the previous association. This would be
regarded as an unfair advantage and the atty would be obliged to recuse
himself/herself.
But that's only true in the real world. On a sitcom, anything could happen.
Maybe Donny could represent Mel.
As for whether or not he himself could sue Niles....I don't see how. There
is something known as freedom of association, which means an adult can form
any type of relationship w/ another adult. If you're in love w/ someone and
that person breaks up w/ you to pursue another relationship, I don't believe
you have any cause of action against the "competition." OTOH, there is now
a precedent for "breech of promise", allowing someone to sue a fiance who
breaks off an engagemnt. There was a case a few years ago that received a
fair amount of publicity....a woman sued a man who failed to show up for the
wedding...or broke off things just before the wedding. It's hard for me to
recall the exact details now. She sued him for "breech of promise" and the
local court agreed to hear her suit. I have no idea how the suit came out.
So, theoretically, Donny could have action against Daphne. Trouble is, I
don't think Daphne has much in the way of assets. No doubt Donny has a good
deal more than she. So any such action on his part would be rather
pointless, other than to be vindictive and he doesn't seem like that much of
a hardass to me. Niles' assets would be off limits to Donny, at least as
long as he and Daphne remain unmarried. If they were to marry while the suit
was still in litigation, I don't know if community property law would apply
in such a case. That depends very much on individual state law regarding
such matters.
Nat
llk
wrote:
>
>starcro1 wrote:
>> Wait a minute. Can Donny sue Niles, or does his duty to his client
>>extend beyond the finality of Niles's divorce. I'm remembering Tom Cruise
>in
>>"The Firm," assuring his mobster client that a lawyer is legally and
>>ethically bound to preserve his client's secrets forever. Everything Donny
>>knows that can hurt Niles he learned while he was representing Niles, so he
>>can never use that information against Niles. I think. Does anyone know for
>>sure?
>
>I talked to a friend of mine who is a divorce lawyer and knows this stuff
>inside out. I can't believe she actually humored me by entertaining a
>question about a fictitious character from a TV show, but she's used to my
>peculiar brand of strangeness.
>
>Anyway, what you say here is exactly right, according to my atty
>friend....it IS a conflict of interest to represent someone suing someone
>the atty has formerly represented because the atty would be privy to inside
>info on the opposition obtained from the previous association. This would be
>regarded as an unfair advantage and the atty would be obliged to recuse
>himself/herself.
>
>But that's only true in the real world. On a sitcom, anything could happen.
>Maybe Donny could represent Mel.
It still seems more likely to me that Donny will take the high road on
this, and eventually convince Mel that it would be in her best
interests to do the same and seek a quiet annulment. No one except
Daphne, Martin, and Frasier were even told about Mel and Niles'
marriage. Not even Donny knew, as of the night before the wedding.
If Mel sues Niles then she can expect the gossip mills to go into
overdrive as all of her high society friends and rich bitch clients
learn of her elopement, 3 day marriage, abandonment, and subsequent
law suit all in one breath. The cost to her in terms of public
humiliation would be enormous.
llk
Paul Hyett
considered view. Waking from my doze, I hastily scrawled -
>
>Well, Niles' (first) divorce is final. That's what settlement means.
>However, Maris could sue DAPHNE for alienation of affection. It might
>get thrown out of court
It'd never get that far - just say 'urinal cakes' and the lawsuit would
be dropped faster than a radioactive turd! :)
--
Paul 'US Sitcom Fan' Hyett - The Wild Frame Grabber of the Net!
Website at http://www.activist.demon.co.uk/USsitcoms/