The attorney who was sued represented the husband in a divorce where the question turned on the value of a multi-million dollar tile business owned by the husband. The wife later uncovered evidence that the husband’s business had a value of over $15,000,000, which was double the number that he claimed it was worth during the divorce. The wife sued her husband’s attorney claiming that he assisted in misrepresenting the value of the husband’s business. The Appellate Court concluded the attorney and husband were not protected for purposes of the wife’s fraud action.
The court ruled that the wife had the standing to sue the attorney for his conduct on behalf of the husband in essentially defrauding the wife and the court. There has long been a crime and fraud exception to the attorney/client privilege and this case is an example of it.
If you feel you have been defrauded in a divorce case, contact an attorney who can handle that particular type of litigation. Douglas, Leonard & Garvey has been involved in several divorce cases where the issue of nondisclosure or inadequate disclosure of assets has been involved.