Adultery and High Asset Divorces

 Posted on September 02, 2015 in Contested Divorce

What bearing does the recent data breach at the adultery site Ashley Madison have on high-asset divorces in and around Travis County?

The Toronto-based company now faces several class-action lawsuits after hackers broke into the site and obtained personal information of about 39 million users, many of whom paid an additional $19 for a "permanent account deletion" that apparently never happened. Canadian lawyers quickly filed a class-action lawsuit against parent companies Avid Dating Life and Avid Life Media, demanding $578 million in damages. The lead plaintiff there is a Canadian man who joined the site briefly after his wife died from breast cancer.

Several similar lawsuits are already pending in Missouri and California.

Adultery in a Texas Divorce Case

The Lone Star State is one of the few jurisdictions where fault in the breakup of the marriage is a relevant factor in property division matters, and adultery one of the most common assertions in this area. Fault is relevant in both original divorce proceedings and modification actions. Although a high net worth divorce cannot normally be modified if the changed circumstances occurred prior to the final order, an aggressive attorney might convince a judge that facts from the Ashley Madison data breach were unavailable at the time, and the judge may allow a modification action based on the new evidence.

Although the data breach was an out-of-court transaction, it may be admissible as a non-hearsay statement under Rule 801(e), which allows witness impeachment through the use of prior inconsistent statements. Assume that Husband states under oath, either during live testimony or in a verified document, that he had neither cheated on Wife nor attempted to have an extramarital affair. His Ashley Madison membership could then be used to rebut that testimony.

There is a clearinghouse site that has access to the breached data, but it may not release the information publicly. In these situations, a letter from an attorney is often sufficient to obtain needed information; if the letter fails, a subpoena may be another option. If you suspect your spouse or ex-spouse of infidelity during the marriage, the Ashley Madison breach may be an excellent opportunity to obtain near-irrefutable evidence without resorting to expensive surveillance detectives.

Take advantage of this chance by partnering with an aggressive  Georgetown high asset divorce lawyer today. Mr. Powers is a board-certified family law specialist.

Sources:

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8106823925217340456&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr

http://time.com/4007374/ashley-madison-578-million-lawsuit-canada/