In North Carolina, while adultery can be a factor in child custody decisions, it is not determinative. The primary consideration is always the best interest of the child, and courts have broad discretion to evaluate the...more
What does and does not qualify as “cheating” is, apparently, debatable, as evidenced by the recent pop culture/social media scandals (think Adam Levine, Behati Prinsloo, and Sumner Stroh). However, in the divorce...more
Some readers will contend that we publish this non-precedential case for its prurient value but one of the most interesting topics in family law today is “Who has standing to bring a case?” And the opinion by Judge Victor...more
In the summer of the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the LGBT* community have a lot to celebrate. In the last 15 years, there have been significant changes for same-sex couples in England and Wales. In 2004 the...more
In addition to irretrievable breakdown the marriage, which I explored in my last post, a party seeking a divorce in Massachusetts can do so under one or more of the fault grounds, which require proof of specific facts to...more
On a daily basis, I’ll go online and search for the latest in divorce news to see what people are talking about. Two recent stories were of particular note not for the facts involved but, rather, for the newsworthy legal...more
California’s anti-SLAPP statute presents a formidable trap for the unsuspecting plaintiffs attorney, especially when it comes to claims that are based on statements connected to an actual or possible legal matter. The...more
Ashley Madison, which suffered a data breach in 2015 involving the loss of 37 million users’ personal and financial information, has settled the suit for $11.2 million....more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has entered into a multimillion dollar settlement with the owners and operators of AshleyMadison.com, a dating website for people interested in having discreet affairs, related to the...more
We have previously reported on the Ashley Madison data breach and subsequent litigation. On December 14th, Ashley Madison announced that it has agreed to pay $1.6 million and implement additional security measures to settle...more
Last month, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in Robert Smith v. Millville Rescue Squad (MRS) that an employer cannot terminate an employee for separating or divorcing – the processes of which apparently falls under the...more
Hi there, On a gorgeous day like today, you just want to sit outside and sip on a tall glass of lemonade. Recently though, the taste of lemonade has been made a little sharp by the fabulous Beyoncé. Infidelity became a...more
On April 29, 2016, Judge Ross issued his ruling on Ashley Madison’s motion for a protective order, prohibiting Plaintiffs from using the leaked documents, reports quoting the leaked documents, and information “stolen from...more
We all remember the Ashley Madison data breach. The hackers, calling themselves “The Impact Team” requested that the Ashley Madison extramarital affair site, and Cougar Life and Established Men sites be “taken down.” When...more
Anonymous users of the almost 40 million users of the Ashley Madison website have filed suit against internet service providers (ISPs) GoDaddy and Amazon alleging that they have been damaged because the ISPs hosted the stolen...more
Imagine a guy, a married guy, more specifically an unhappily married guy, and even more specifically an unhappily married guy lacking a moral compass. The guy creates a discrete (ha!) profile on AshleyMadison.com, a dating...more
The Ashley Madison saga has captured the attention of the public and legal profession like few prior data security breaches. The reasons are obvious: A website devoted to promoting infidelity is called out for “fraud, deceit,...more
The recent Ashley Madison breach exposed millions of users who’d signed up to the site, believing they were doing so with full anonymity. Social media and news outlets helped fuel a storm that will not soon be forgotten. In...more
We previously reported that hackers The Impact Team had posted legitimate detailed information about 36 million adultery website Ashley Madison users. In the wake of the shocking posting of the data last week, two class...more
As more names emerge from the dark web data dump of Ashley Madison customers, lawyers around the globe have found a very willing group of would-be plaintiffs. Interestingly, all of these plaintiffs are named “Doe,” which must...more
Everyone is speculating that the Ashley Madison hack will mean an increase in business for divorce lawyers. This remains to be seen. However, the real question is what happens if your name appears on the list of users? And...more
Internet commenters and legal analysts alike are buzzing about the Ashley Madison hack. The website -- which billed itself as a networking site for anyone who wanted to discretely arrange an extramarital affair -- has already...more
On Tuesday, August 18, hackers calling themselves the Impact Team, which claim responsibility for hacking the extramarital affair website Ashley Madison, and stealing information of up to 37 million people, posted 9.7...more
A recent massive data hack of an online dating site Ashley Madison once again proves that what one publishes, says, or does online, even in seemingly private forums, is never completely private. It’s also a reminder that the...more
Ashley Madison, a dating website specifically geared towards married individuals looking to have an affair, recently found out it was the victim of cyber hackers who claim to have stolen personal information, including names...more