Brooklyn Divorce Involving Dividing Wall “Broken Down” and Dismissed by New York Jury
As previously detailed at The Divorce Blog and in this divided New York property division article, a Brooklyn couple who built a separating wall in their home during their divorce is back in the headlines. Just yesterday, a New York jury “broke down” and then dismissed Chana Taub’s grounds for divorcing her husband Simon; thus putting this wacky, much publicized New York divorce case back to its starting point, “nail one.”
While Chana Taub had cited “cruel and inhuman treatment” as the reason behind her divorce, New York divorce law does not allow quick dissolutions of marriages without proof that someone was at fault. While this case certainly had proof of Chana and Simon Taub’s stubbornness in the form of the dividing wall throughout their three-story home, apparently such proof was lacking in determining who was at fault. Justice Carolyn Demarest was resolute on Wednesday when she dismissed the case, saying “That’s it.”
While Chana and Simon Taub certainly haven’t agreed on much recently, both parties shared a disgusted opinion of the dismissal of their Brooklyn divorce case. Chana Taub said she was shocked by the unbelievable decision. Simon’s divorce lawyer, Abe Konstam, called the jury trial a complete waste of time. In addition to the weird dividing wall which made this case beyond the norm, the fact that this divorce case went before a jury was very rare in itself. Konstam added that the jury trial wouldn’t have been necessary if New York would simply change its divorce law to a no-fault policy.
After both parties refused to move out of their Brooklyn home during their divorce proceeding, Simon Taub requested to build a dividing wall throughout the home, and a judge complied. Simon quickly hired a construction company to build the $500 wall. We’ll keep you updated on any more developments with this strange case that has been dubbed Brooklyn’s War of the Roses after the 1989 movie starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a divorcing couple who wages similar vehement battles during their divorce.
