any legal beagles out there? have some questions

[radfringe]

readers digest version of problem: my uncle went through a very very long and emotionally draining divorce and all has been quiet for the past 5-6 years. we all thought it was over. but my uncle's "X" has reared her squirrelly head again. (they were married less than a year - no kids, and property was his, she had her own properties - for whatever reasons they never put each other's names on the properties)

part of the divorce agreement involved alimony - which he was to pay $X per month to her and payments would cease after a certain date. He paid, the date came and his payments ended about 3 years ago. so the alimony payments had a set dollar amount, which she didn't contest in the interim, and a set "end date" - which passed without her contesting it.

about two weeks ago he received papers saying she's suing him for alimony, wants it for life, claims to be unable to work.

one other thing I should mention - "squirrelly" is a law-suit addict. Since I first met her I have never known her NOT to be in the middle of one lawsuit or another or several at the same time for various reasons. In addition to suing for alimony - she's also involved in 2 or 3 other lawsuits for other reasons.

ok - so she's suing my uncle for alimony. well this week, my uncle gets the legal filing for the lawsuit with a court date in December. apparently, "Squirrelly" is acting as her own attorney, as the ramblings in the documents wouldn't be something a real lawyer would ever put in such a document.

so my question goes to the ramblings in the documents - which have nothing to do with the issue of alimony. in the ramblings she

-- refers to my uncle's new wife as a "bleached tooth peroxide blonde who wears mini-skirts, low cut blouses and high heels leaving nothing to the imagination and laughs like a hyena". Uncle's new wife is blonde, as for the rest it's not true

-- accuses my mother (uncle's sister) of hiding my uncle's whereabouts during the divorce proceedings (which my mother didn't as all the lawyers and the courts and squirrely knew where he was living).

-- and then mentions that my uncle has a gay niece and nephew (refering to myself and my brother) - she didn't mention us specifically by name.

given that the lawsuit is about alimony - what the hell does the rest of this have to do with it? I'm sure the judge would ignore the ramblings.

here's my question: Are there any legal steps the rest of us can take against her?

p.s. given squirrelly's track record, we haven't heard the last of the stupid ramblings and we would like to nip this now rather than later

[yourout]

1. Sounds like a good soap opera......try selling it "Young and the Restless"

[Sanity Claws]

2. Is your uncle getting an attorney to answer the petition?

If so, the attorney would know how to file a motion to have parts of the petition stricken because of their scurrilous content.
I wouldn't recommend you pursuing this nutty person in your own lawsuit. I'd keep a low-profile because she's nuts.

[MNDemNY]

3. Best advice, ignore her, ignore her. Your uncle will get through this fine. T

The rest of you should stay clear and hope she goes away.

[A HERETIC I AM]

4. Your Uncle needs an attorney. (You probably know this)

If she is representing herself, and if what you say is true re. the preparation of the documents, a competent lawyer should be able to blow her out of the water.

[gratuitous]

9. Yep, hire a lawyer

It will almost surely be cheaper to pay a lawyer than it will be to pay off this fruitcake. And since domestic relations laws vary greatly from state to state (community property, offspring, etc.), a good lawyer is essential to cut through the bullshit allegations, determine the issues to be adjudicated, and get to a fair settlement.

For you personally, I echo the sentiments of others' posts: Stay well clear of this slime-fest. You'll only get soiled by this woman's delusions.

[dsc]

5. If both you and the sister are in fact gay

then propably no except your uncle could sue for abuse of process. The lawsuit sounds like it is pretty much without merit.

[acmavm]

6. Don't think she'll get shit. In Nebraska, if you don't ask for it at the time the

divorce is granted, there's no gimme's later. She was granted alimony, and for only three years. That time has run out, the alimony having been paid. I don't think she's gonna get any do-overs on this.

[liberalhistorian]

11. Exactly!

She has absolutely no legal basis or standing whatsoever, the judge will laugh her ass right out of court.

[madrchsod]

7. she has no standing to sue him....

[hermetic]

8. I'm no lawyer

but I portrayed one once, onstage. And I have been is a somewhat similar situation. Out of the blue, someone comes at you with a frivolous claim. You need a lawyer. You go to the lawyer and show them how frivolous a claim it is. If it's exactly as you state, then it sounds pretty frivolous. So the lawyer goes to court and presents to the judge that it is a frivolous claim and not worth the court's time. Now, provided the judge isn't her uncle or something, it would probably be dismissed. Then you could file a counter suit for the expenses, and you would most likely win, but it would take time.

If you can't afford a lawyer, look to your Legal Aid Clinic.

Good luck, to your uncle.

[HereSince1628]

10. I'd say stay out of all this unless subpoened to appear.

Unless that happens there is no bud for you to nip.

[Blackhatjack]

12. A real lawyer will not give you 'street corner advice' on this one...

.. there are too many details unknown to give you or anyone else legal advice on the applicable law and rules of court.

However, as a general rule, any pleading with personal insults and non-germane allegations can be struck in whole or in part by the Court, leaving only legitimate allegations for the Court to address.

Good luck.

[Warpy]

13. I have a sneaking suspicion this is not going to get

any farther than a judge who realizes that the original terms were more than generous, that they were fulfilled, and that Mrs. Squirrel needs to apply for SSD. It sounds like she's got significant mental problems.

[radfringe]

15. I hope so, but squirrelly

is always up to something with her lawsuit mania

at one point during the divorce proceedings, she checked herself into the local hospital's psych ward the night before a court date when it looked like the judge was going to rule against her, she claimed severe depression so of course the court date was change.

the judge was going to order a psych eval to make sure she could continue, she checked herself out when she heard that, declared herself 'cured', then fired her lawyer and asked for time to get new lawyer... which was granted

another time she was trying to say the house was in both names, which it wasn't, and there were no documents with her name on it - but she was trying to say it became partly hers when they married. the judge ordered mediation - during the mediation, while on the stand she claimed she couldn't continue because she was in pain from TMJ due to a fall on the deck of the house earlier that winter. That my uncle was negligent in clearing the deck of ice and she was suing for injuries. My uncle wasn't even living in the state at the time, she was living in the house she claimed was partly hers - so in essence she was going to sue herself for injuries she suffered due to her neglect... It was left with her trying to decide if she was going to continue with the claim of owning half the house or if she was going sue for supposed injuries. (there were no medical documents to back up any injuries resulting from a fall)

I know my uncle won't go there - but squirrelly is squirrelly, she should be declared nuts and have a court appointed guardian to oversee her affairs...

[radfringe]

14. THANKS FOR THE INFO!!! and Uncle does have a lawyer

a very highly recommended shark. The other plus, is that unlike my uncle, his new wife is not one to take things laying down.

we also suspect the reason 'squirrelly' has prepared/filed papers herself is not because she can't afford a lawyer - it's that she can't find one that is willing to take her on as a client. her reputation proceeds her. Prior to and during the divorce proceedings she went through at least a half-dozen lawyers

at one point during that mess - she managed to get ahold of some blank documents, filled them out herself and mailed them to my uncle. they were some sort of warrant or notice to turn over information/documents. Sadly, at this time my uncle just wanted things to get over quickly and didn't pursue any legal avenues to call her out on it, so the courts did nothing about it.

also during the mess, we learned she was being searched whenever she entered or exited the court house -- they had her number...

while married, they resided in Massachusetts, squirrelly still lives there.

THANKS AGAIN - I'll pass along the suggestions, and we'll see what happens next