T.H. v. I.H.

2024 NY Slip Op 50478(U)

T.H., Plaintiff v. I.H., Defendant

Index No. 50169/2019

Supreme Court, Richmond County

March 12, 2024

Unpublished Opinion

Plaintiff:

Howard M. File, Esq.

Defendant:

Maryam Jahedi-Perez, Esq.

Paul Marrone, Jr., J.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On February 28, 2019, T.H. (hereinafter "Wife"), the plaintiff, commenced the instant action for divorce against I.H. (hereinafter "Husband"), the defendant, by filing a summons and verified complaint. The summons and complaint, along with notices pertaining to automatic orders (Domestic Relations Law § 236 [B] [2], hereinafter "the automatic orders"), health insurance coverage (id. § 255), and spousal maintenance guidelines (id. § 236 [B] [6]), were served upon Husband personally at *** XXX XXXXXXX Lane, Staten Island, New York (hereinafter, "the marital residence") on March 11 2019. Husband filed an answer to Wife's complaint on June 10, 2019.

The parties were married in a religious ceremony in Pakistan on December 23, 1988. There are two children of the marriage, both emancipated as of the commencement of this action, who are identified herein as "SH", born on XXXXXXX **, 1991, and "AH", born on XXXXXXXX **, 1998 (hereinafter "the children", collectively). Wife was born on XXXXXXX **, 1970, and was 51 years old at the time of trial. Husband was born on XXXXXXX **, 1965, and was 57 years old at the time of trial. The Honorable Barbara I. Panepinto issued a preliminary conference order on July 7, 2019, wherein the parties agreed that Wife would be granted a divorce on the grounds that the marriage has broken down irretrievably for a period of at least six months prior to the commencement of the action (id. § 170 [7]).

The issues of equitable distribution, spousal maintenance, and counsel fees were tried before this Court over the course of eight days between June 6, 2022 and July 29, 2022. Wife was represented by Howard M. File, Esq. throughout the entirety of this action. On March 14, 2019, Husband retained Thomas J. DeVito, Esq. On May 19, 2020, Husband changed his counsel to Maryam Jahedi-Perez, Esq., who represented him through the balance of the case.

Pursuant to the preliminary conference order, fully executed by the parties and counsel on July 9, 2019, the real property in the marital estate and Husband's medical practice were appraised, with 100% of the costs paid by Husband, subject to reallocation after trial. The appraisal reports for the two marital properties were completed on August 12, 2019 and August 19, 2019, respectively. The appraisal report for Husband's business was completed on February 10, 2021. Moreover, in the pendente lite section of the preliminary conference order, the Court directed Husband to pay Wife $300.00 per week in cash, pay all household bills and credit cards, and otherwise maintain the status quo.

Justice Panepinto presided over this matter from commencement until her retirement on December 31, 2021, and all six motions filed during the pendency of this litigation were adjudicated by her. Motion #1 was filed by Wife on January 21, 2020, to which Husband filed a cross-motion, Motion #2, on February 14, 2020. Before deciding the motions, the Court issued an interim order on February 7, 2020, which precluded Husband from further using the home equity line of credit (hereinafter "the HELOC") on the parties' investment property at *** Steuben Street, Staten Island, New York (hereinafter "the Steuben Property"), set a briefing schedule for Motions #1 and #2, and directed the parties to list the Steuben Property for sale, on consent, with all proceeds to be held in escrow by Wife's counsel.

In a decision on Motions #1 and #2, rendered on August 27, 2020 (hereinafter "the August 2020 Order"), the Court directed Husband to maintain all status quo payments for the two marital properties, pursuant to the preliminary conference order; continue paying all premiums for life insurance policies in effect as of commencement, and maintain Wife as sole beneficiary thereof; pay Wife's attorney $20,000.00 in interim counsel fees; continue paying all premiums for Wife's and AH's substitute health insurance coverage; and reimburse Wife $23,067.00 for payment of AH's tuition for the Spring 2020 semester. The Court also ordered a recovery to the marital estate in the amount of $249,000.00 and "$80,000.00-$90,000.00" ^[1], separately, to be realized from the net sale proceeds from the Steuben Property. The branches of Motion #2 seeking a trial on the parties' prenuptial agreement, a stay of further discovery until a decision pursuant to that trial was rendered, and the implementation of the prenuptial agreement, were withdrawn on consent. Finally, the branches of Motions #1 and #2 seeking to modify the temporary spousal maintenance and status quo obligations created within in the preliminary conference order were denied, as was the branch of Motion #2 requesting that Wife be held responsible for marital bills.

Wife filed Motion #3 on May 4, 2021, and the Court rendered its decision on June 8, 2021 (hereinafter "the June 2021 Order"). In its decision, the Court directed Wife's counsel to release from his trust account $20,000.00 for counsel fees and $23,067.00 for tuition reimbursement, upon Husband's non-payment of those amounts directly to Wife pursuant to the August 2020 Order. Furthermore, the Court made clear that these two distributions would be taken solely from Husband's 50% share of the net sale proceeds from the Steuben Property. Wife's other branches of relief seeking additional distributions were held in abeyance.

Wife then filed Motions #4, #5, and #6, which sought findings of contempt against certain non-parties for their failure to appear for depositions pursuant to a judicial subpoena. Motions #5 and #6 were later withdrawn. Ultimately, Motion #4 was resolved by the non-party appearing for the deposition.

The matter was assigned to this Part in January 2022. On February 2, 2022, this Court issued a pre-trial order, and on February 10, 2022, Wife filed a note of issue for a trial without a jury.

At trial, Wife testified on her own behalf and called the following witnesses: (1) Husband; (2) her father, MR; and (3) Steven Crowe, Esq., an attorney who represented Husband in a separate action. Wife's counsel read into the record deposition testimony of the following: (1) Husband; (2) Husband's girlfriend post-commencement, identified herein as "TA"; and Husband's brother, ANH. Furthermore, Wife submitted numerous documents into evidence (plaintiff's exhibits 1-52). ^[2] Husband also testified on his own behalf and called the following witnesses: (1) Wife; (2) his brother, KH; and (3) his sister, SS. Husband's counsel read into the record deposition testimony of the following: (1) Wife; (2) TA; and (3) ANH. Furthermore, Husband submitted numerous documents into evidence (defendant's exhibits A-R* ^[3]). Counsel for Wife and Husband submitted their respective post-trial summations on January 30, 2023.

An inquest was held on June 8, 2022, the third day of trial, whereupon Wife was granted a Judgment of Divorce on the ground that the marriage had broken down irretrievably pursuant to Domestic Relations Law § 170 (7). The judgment was held in abeyance until the remaining issues in this divorce were adjudicated, as required by statute.

II. BACKGROUND

The parties were married in a religious ceremony, or a nikah, in Karachi, Pakistan on December 23, 1988. After the parties' marriage, Husband, a citizen of the United States and 23 years old at the time, returned to Washington, DC to resume his final year at Howard University College of Medicine. Wife, then 18 years old, remained in her native Pakistan for several months until Husband legally registered the parties' marriage in the United States, and completed the official processes required to allow her and her family to immigrate. Wife immigrated to the United States in February 1989 and joined Husband in Washington, DC.

Upon Husband's completion of medical school, the parties moved in with Wife's parents, who lived in Brooklyn but later moved to Staten Island. The parties resided with Wife's parents from 1989 to 1995, without paying rent. In 1989, Husband commenced his three-year residency for medical training at SUNY Downstate, working approximately 80-120 hours per week, and earning approximately $45,000.00 in annual income. During that time, Wife attained a certificate of high school equivalency by passing the general educational development test (GED), and enrolled in Kingsborough Community College, full-time, in 1990. When the parties' daughter, SH, was born on February 14, 1991, Wife transitioned to being a part-time student and attended evening classes. Eventually, Wife transferred to CUNY College of Staten Island as a part-time student and earned a bachelor's degree in 1996.

In 1992, after completing his residency program with a specialty in family medicine, Husband simultaneously worked 20 hours per week for three employers: HIP Health Insurance's Brooklyn practice, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, and Long Island College Hospital. At the time, Husband was the sole income-earner in the family. While the parties lived with Wife's parents rent-free, Husband was able, with his father's financial assistance, to save enough of his wages to pay off his medical school loans, pay the tuition for Wife's post-secondary education, and purchase a home. During this period, between 1991 and 1995, Wife cared for the parties' daughter during the day and attended college classes in the evening. Wife's parents assisted with the childcare responsibilities.

In 1995, the parties purchased the Steuben Property, a one-family home in Staten Island, for approximately $200,000.00. The...