Going through the divorce process is almost always a stressful time, and one of those stressful periods can be the time spent waiting for a trial court to issue its judgment. As a recent divorce case from Montgomery County illustrates, while a prolonged delay in issuing a divorce judgment may be exasperating, it is not, by itself, proof that the trial judge was unreasonable or the basis for reversal. As with any divorce-related issue or concern, you should get knowledgeable answers by speaking to an experienced Maryland family lawyer.
The spouses in the case, C.D. and T.V., married in 1999. The wife filed for divorce in August 2020, and the couple appeared before the circuit court for a trial in mid-July 2023. On June 7, 2024, the trial judge issued a written “Divorce, Child Support, and Marital Property Opinion.” In that opinion, the wife was successful in many ways. The trial court denied the husband’s request for a monetary award, ordered the husband to transfer his rights to the family home in Potomac to the wife, and also denied the husband’s request that he receive half of the wife’s retirement accounts.
The husband appealed. In his appeal, he challenged not only the outcomes reached by the trial court but also argued that a delay of almost 11 months in issuing the order was clearly unreasonable and required overturning the judge’s ruling.
The husband’s argument about the passage of time and the reasonableness of the trial judge’s ruling was off-base. As the appeals court explained, the amount of time that elapses between a trial and a judgment is not, by itself, proof of unreasonableness. It can be a component of a successful argument, but it is not one on its own.
The key in any argument about unreasonableness — whether it is one focused on a delayed judgment or some other basis — is prejudice. For a delay to be the foundation of a winning argument overturning a divorce judgment, the spouse making the argument must establish to the court’s satisfaction that the conduct (in this case, the delay) caused him some sort of harm and that that harm was unreasonable.
In this case, the husband failed to do so. He made only vague arguments that the delay “constituted legal error” under the three-step procedure for deciding monetary awards. (That analysis requires the judge to assess, before awarding or denying a monetary award, whether the property is marital or non-marital and the value of the property, then divide the property equitably.)
The appeals made another crucial point in its ruling, stating that “we decline the invitation to establish a rigid standard for how quickly judgments must issue.” In other words, Maryland law has no “bright line” standard for how quickly trial judges must issue divorce rulings. Regardless of how long you waited for a judgment, you must always be prepared to show that the delay prejudiced you (caused you some sort of tangible harm) before you will have the potential to obtain relief from that judgment.
Divorce cases involving potential monetary awards are matters that require a skilled advocate to ensure the judge receives the necessary evidence to reveal a complete picture of the spouses’ finances and deliver a fair outcome. The experienced Maryland family law attorneys at Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC are here to guide you through the process and ensure your rights are protected. Contact us today at 301-519-2801 or use our online form to schedule your consultation.