Judge Kaplan, sitting in the Southern District of New York (a federal court), was recently presented with an issue as to whether the United States or France should interpret the terms of a prenuptial agreement. The wife in this situation was a citizen of France. The husband was a citizen of the United States. They had entered into a prenuptial agreement and were married in the United States on January 10, 2004.A divorce action was subsequently brought in the courts in France by the husband. Thereafter, the husband (the American citizen) brought a second divorce action in the state of New York. In his divorce action, he asked the State of New York to render a decision with regard to each parties’ rights under the prenuptial agreement they had entered into prior to the marriage. The case was eventually removed from the New York State courts and was heard before the United States District Court by Judge Kaplan, sitting in the Southern District of New York. The wife requested that the lawsuit be dismissed on the basis of forum nonconvenience grounds because the matter was already pending in France.
Judge Kaplan rendered a decision that the case should be handled by the courts in France. He therefore dismissed the case brought in the Southern District of New York. In his decision, he stated that the French courts could resolve all of the disputes concerning the prenuptial agreement. Since the lawsuit in France was originally brought by the husband – an American citizen – this acted as an acknowledgment that the French court was the appropriate forum to decide all issues involving prenuptial agreements. The court also stated that there was no local public interest that was necessary to adjudicate in the court located in the Southern District of New York.
About Our Firm
Our office has extensive experience in drafting prenuptial and postnuptial agreements on behalf of our clients. In these agreements, we protect both mothers’ rights and fathers’ rights in divorces and Family Court proceedings. We also litigate custody and visitation proceedings in the Supreme Court and the Family Court.
We also assist our clients in cases where the appropriate remedy to deal with their marital problems is to have the marriage annulled. Our office is also handling numerous cases related to the new New York no fault divorce law. Feel free to contact us. You can reach us at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802.
