A New York judge has determined that an Islamic marriage contract entered into during a 1977 wedding ceremony in Egypt is not binding on the court’s consideration of the couple’s divorce now.
While Westchester County Supreme Court Justice Lawrence Ecker said New York courts have recognized that the marriage contract, called a “mahr,” can be enforceable, Ecker wrote in O.Y. v. A.G. that the document must be accompanied by proof of authentication in order to be valid under New York Real Property Law §301 and Domestic Relations Law §236.
Ecker said the mahr in question has not been subscribed nor acknowledged by the wife. Since the husband did not otherwise present authentication by a method approved by the Hague Convention of 1961, Ecker said he would not recognize the marriage contract as valid.
In any event, Ecker said, since the mahr in question is worth a total of $131 for the wife in event of the husband’s death or the dissolution of their marriage, it is in the best interests of all the parties to eliminate it as a consideration at this point in the couple’s current divorce proceedings in New York.
“Given the de minimis benefit to have been conferred upon plaintiff (the wife), there is no reason for the parties’ resources, or the court’s time, to be further expended in attempting to prove the validity of the mahr in question by expert testimony or otherwise, as suggested by the defendant,” Ecker wrote from White Plains. “Accordingly, the court finds that the mahr now under consideration is not enforceable in New York.”
Ecker granted the wife’s motion and dismissed the husband’s affirmative defense in relation to the mahr pursuant to CPLR 3211(b). He also ruled that the wife is estopped from seeking recovery of the $131.
The husband, “A.G.,” had argued that the mahr should govern the settlement the couple is now trying to reach before Ecker in a divorce action filed by the wife, “O.Y.”, on Aug. 11, 2014.
The husband cited to Avitzur v. Avitzur, 58 NY2d 108 (1983) for that contention. In Avitzur, the Court of Appeals upheld the enforceability of the secular terms of a “Ketubah” agreement between a man and wife entered into as part of a Jewish religious marriage ceremony.
Like the Ketubah, the mahr spells out a groom’s responsibilities toward the wife. In the O.Y. v. A.G. marriage, the husband signed the mahr, and the wife acquiesced through the signature of her uncle, according to Muslim tradition. She did not sign the mahr herself during the Islamic wedding ceremony on July 28, 1977, in Zagazig, Egypt, according to Ecker’s ruling.
Ecker also rejected the husband’s argument that a postnuptial agreement the couple signed in 2013 relieves the husband of further financial responsibilities the wife is seeking in her 2014 divorce filing. Ecker said the 2013 agreement should be looked at, not as an opt-out agreement binding the parties in a future divorce proceeding, but as signed in settlement for the wife’s agreement to discontinue without prejudice a 2012 divorce filing she made.
Ecker said the divorce action under the wife’s 2014 filing will proceed with the customary consideration of the principles of maintenance, equitable distribution, attorney fees and the other factors that are at play in the dissolution of a marriage in New York. The judge said he accepted the husband’s argument that any considerations that flowed to the wife under the 2013 postnuptial agreement should be weighed by the judge in working out the equitable distribution of the couple’s assets.
The judge ordered the parties to return to his court on Sept. 24.
Ecker said he did not have enough information to pass judgment on the distribution of marital property in the husband’s name in Egypt. The judge noted that the husband questioned whether an Egyptian court would honor the distribution of Egyptian property as ordered by a New York court in a divorce decree.
Ecker said he wanted time to get more information from the parties on the precise Egyptian property holdings and to consider “alternative dispositions” of the couple’s assets “to do justice to each of the parties.”
Howard Pobiner of White Plains represented the husband.
Pobiner said Ecker was “well within” his authority when finding that neither the mahr nor the 2013 postnuptial agreement were “opt outs” of the divorce decree that Ecker is trying to formulate.
Pobiner said “prevailing case law” around the country has been coming to the consensus that a mahr with the type of money called for in the case of O.Y. and A.G. represents an “unconscionably low” settlement by the standards of American customs and equitable distribution laws.
The wife’s attorney, Neveen Nesheiwat of Yonkers, praised Ecker for making a nuanced analysis of the mahr and determining that the one for O.Y.-A.G. is not valid for purposes of the couple’s divorce in 2015.
“Many lawyers are using it [the mahr] to curtail equitable rights and equitable distributions of assets,” Nesheiwat said in an interview Friday. “They are putting mostly women at risk.”
Nesheiwat said Ecker’s ruling will create case law in New York on the side of women who are unfairly disadvantaged by applications of Islamic Law outside of the Middle East.
She said it was also significant that Ecker announced his intention to try to draw any property holdings that the couple may have in Egypt into the New York divorce settlement because U.S. courts have tended “not to address those assets in light of the fact that those foreign nations do not give full faith and credit to American court directives.”
“Women tend to lose interests in those properties abroad,” she said.
Nesheiwat characterized the couple’s assets as being in excess of $1 million. She said the couple had children, but they are all emancipated.
Company Continues Strategic Expansion Adding New Service Capabilities, Talent, and Broadening Nearshore Footprint SAN JOSE, Calif.—January 5, 2023— GlobalLogic Inc., a Hitachi Group Company and Digital Engineering Leader, today announced the acquisition of Hexacta, a Pan-Latin-America digital and data engineering company. The acquisition is part of GlobalLogic’s continued strategy to expand its offerings, and its […]
Last year, the global medical device market reached $532.62 billion, according to Mordor Intelligence. Ukrainian engineers are involved in the projects of key players, which occupy almost 10% of the market. This share can be estimated at 50 billion US dollars*. Domestic specialists create more than a hundred software solutions of various levels. These include […]
Новий власник Twitter Ілон Маск доручив інженерам попрацювати над перезавантаженням Vine, яке може бути готове до кінця нинішнього року. Про це повідомляє Axios. Зазначається, що інженерам компанії необхідно вивчити стару кодову базу відеосервісу, яка не змінювалася та не оновлювалася з моменту закриття, а саме з 2016 року, коли з’ясувалося, що майданчик не витримує конкуренції. Втім, одне з […]
Credit Agricole has been ranked first in the social responsibility rating of the banking sector, created by Standard-Rating based on the 2022 half-year results. The rating agency commended the bank’s contribution to the economy of Ukraine. The bank has paid UAH 100 million in taxes in advance, while issuing UAH 1.2 billion in loans under […]
From October 1, drivers must turn on the dipped headlights of the car outside the city. This helps to additionally mark the vehicle in conditions of low visibility within the autumn-winter period. GlobalLogic reminds about the importance of compliance with traffic rules and tells about the developments of Ukrainian engineers that affect road safety. In […]
Intellias, a global software engineering and digital consulting company, has announced the completion of its acquisition of Digitally Inspired, a fast growing, UK based peer, focusing on the Retail and eCommerce industry. “I am delighted to welcome the Digitally Inspired team to Intellias. It is symbolic that Intellias’ twentieth anniversary coincided with signing an agreement […]
The agricultural enterprise “Danosha” (Kalushskyi district) intends to build a station for the biogas production in the village Tustan Galichskyi district, Ivano-Frankivsk region till 2017. It was said by the CEO Christian Jacobsen to the reporters. The plant capacity is 1 megawatt. It will use the raw materials of organic waste of animals and herbage. The installation […]
Next
Special isothermal containers have been developed for the transportation and storage of the new coronavirus vaccine by the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech. This was announced by Pfizer CEO Albert Burla in an interview with The New York Times on Tuesday, November 17. “These containers are equipped with GPS sensors and thermometers inside so that […]
Next
Toyota Motors has introduced two cars Lexus IS and Toyota Mirai with new autonomous driving functions. New Advanced Drive assist technology includes a second-level autonomous system that helps drive the car by restricting the car’s lane, maintaining distance from other vehicles and changing lanes under the supervision of the driver. According to Toyota CEO James […]
Next
Chinese social network TikTok trying through the courts to appeal the decree of US President Donald Trump, which provides for a ban on its activities in the country, if it is not sold to an American company. This was reported by Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday, August 25, with reference to the Chinese media. “It is not […]
Next
1000 business and political leaders from around the world and 30 speakers will gather over three days. Hosted in-person in Kyiv from 20-22 October 2021, they will discuss and create commercial and partnership opportunities to deliver a secure energy future. The event showcases Ukraine’s natural gas opportunities and attractive investment climate as well as the […]
Next
During a visit to Washington, the head of Naftogaz Yuri Vitrenko commented on searches of the company in the case of non-payment of VAT for 2.7 billion hryvnias for Russian gas. “On the one hand, the State Fiscal Service constantly checks Naftogaz. That is, there is nothing surprising in the fact that there is another […]
Next
The stevedoring company “Brooklyn-Kiev” is going to invest $ 200 million in the construction of a grain terminal in the port of Ilyichivsk. This is stated in the message of the seaport. “Brooklyn-Kyiv” emphasizes that the company comes into the port of Illichivsk not only with the investments, but also with its know-how in the […]
Next
The President of Ukraine signed the agreement on association with the EU on September 16, 2014. It was what all country has aimed and waited for so long. However, what we have today ?Are the expectations met? We decided to talk about it within the weekly Analytics from LDaily heading this time. First of all, it will […]
Next
In the near future Ukraine may lose some revenue from the transit of Russian gas. Foreign provider JSC Togliatti, which is among the top ten international flagship for the production of ammonia, is considering the possibility of building an additional pipeline from their company to the terminal in Taman port, by passing the Ukrainian part […]
Next
Банк Англії підвищив базову процентну ставку максимальними темпами з 1995 року, на 50 базисних пунктів – до 1,75% із 1,25%. Про це повідомляється на сайті регулятора. Сама ставка зараз перебуває на максимальному рівні з грудня 2008 року, коли вона становила 2%. Банк Англії прийняв таке рішення на тлі високої інфляції, яка зараз становить 13%. Регулятор прогнозує, […]
Next
The fall of the hryvnia will not happen again in the event of a full lockdown, as in March, assured the director of the open markets department of the National Bank Oleksiy Lupin. “We do not expect a repeat of the March events in the foreign exchange market, because in March it was something new, […]
Next
The net profit of the world’s largest producer of soft drinks Coca-Cola, which falls on the company’s shareholders, in the first nine months of the year decreased by 9% year on year and amounted to 6.291 billion dollars, according to company reports. Adjusted earnings per share were $ 1.46 against $ 1.6 a year earlier. […]
Next
The ED&F Man Ukraine company plans to invest another $ 10 million in a sugar refinery in the Mykolaiv region and expand its land bank to 45-50 thousand Ha. The previous investments of the company in the mentioned plant consisted about $ 30 million. This was announced by the Director of ED&F Man Ukraine – […]
Next
The “Klub syra” Company is considering the possibility of cheese deliveries to Romania and Bulgaria and deliveries of dry fat-free to Romania, Bulgaria and Poland. This was announced by the CEO of the company Maxim Rylik, writes “Ukrainian News”. “As for the European Union, today we are considering the issue of the exports in direction […]
Next
Nvidia company as a part of its online conference on the graphics processor technology announced its plans to create the fastest supercomputer in the UK, called “Cambridge-1″. Shares of Nvidia rose to 4.44% until the closing of the trading on Monday. Such organizations as: the biggest medical company in the UK GlaxoSmithKline, the British-Swedish pharmaceutical […]
Next
