TN Wife Gets $4.6m + $8K/mo for 8 Yrs Rehab Alimony + $309K atty fees
Tennessee law case summary on rehabilitative alimony & attorney’s fees in a large estate in Tennessee divorce and family law from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
Duke v. Duke – Tennessee Divorce Case – Attorney’s Fees & Alimony
Kathryn A. Duke and Harold W. Duke III were married in 1991, and had three children, who were ages 11, 9, and 7 at the time of their divorce in 2007. Harold was a physician, and was the owner of Emergency Service Network, a business which operated hospital emergency departments. The mother, Kathryn, had previously been a registered nurse, but had not been employed outside the home after their first child was born.
Kathryn commenced the divorce action, citing irreconcilable differences, Harold’s substance abuse, and inappropriate marital conduct. Harold also asserted a counterclaim, and sought a divorce based on irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct. After a six day trial, the trial court granted Kathryn the divorce, based upon inappropriate marital conduct. The trial court named Kathryn the primary residential parent. The court based this fining partly upon “findings relative to Father’s history of involvement with drugs,” and that the children needed “clean, sober, drug free, stable parents that can be counted on.” The court also awarded Kathryn rehabilitative alimony of $8,000 per month for eight years. She also received $4,600,702 as her share of the property award. In addition, Harold was found guilty of two counts of contempt for alleged violations of the parenting plan and dissipation of marital assets. Kathryn was awarded over $300,000 in attorney’s fees, which was a portion of her overall fees and expenses of over $900,000.
The trial court also ordered Harold to establish an educational trust for each child, to contribute $15,000 annually for two of the children, and $20,000 annually for the third. Harold argued on appeal that these amounts were “far in excess of even an expensive education.” The Court of Appeals agreed, and remanded this portion of the case to the trial court to determine the correct amount of the annual contribution.
Both parties appealed. Harold’s appeal was based, among other issues, on his claim that the trial court erred in awarding the high rehabilitative alimony and attorney’s fees.
Harold argued that, even though rehabilitative alimony might otherwise be appropriate, there was no need for alimony in this case, since Kathryn had already received over four million dollars from the property award. Kathryn, on the other hand, argued that Harold would continue to receive a multi-million dollar income, while she would work as a nurse for less than a tenth of his earnings.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the amount of the property settlement was only one factor among many to consider, and that the trial court’s decision to award rehabilitative alimony would not be disturbed.
There was also a dispute as to the value of Harold’s business. The trial court adopted the opinion of Harold’s expert, Gerald LeCroy, and placed the value at $5.4 million. Harold also offered the expert testimony of Laroy Wolff, Jr., who analyzed the competing valuations. The wife’s expert, Kurt Myers, was of the opinion that the business was worth $11.9 million. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s valuation, since it regarded that valuation as a question of fact.
On the issue of attorney’s fees, the Court of Appeals held that the trial court had acted properly and within its discretion in awarding $309,000 rather than the full $910,000 incurred by the wife. The Court of Appeals noted that, even though Harold was at fault for the divorce, both parties had intensely litigated the case.
Justice Patricia Cornell dissented in part from the Court of Appeals’ opinion. As Justice Cornell viewed the case, rehabilitative alimony was not proper in the case, since there was little evidence showing that Kathryn could be rehabilitated to a standard of living comparable with Harold’s.
Duke v. Duke, No. M2009-02401-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App., June 1, 2012).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
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