Levine v. Levine

Summary

The Connecticut Appellate Court affirmed the denial of the plaintiff’s motion to open a marital dissolution judgment based on alleged fraud in the defendant’s financial disclosure. The court held that the plaintiff failed to establish probable cause that the defendant knew her disclosure was untrue or intended to induce detrimental reliance. The court also concluded that any erroneous factual findings were harmless.

Holdings

1. A party seeking postjudgment discovery concerning alleged fraud in a marital dissolution judgment must first move to open the judgment and establish probable cause, beyond a mere suspicion, that the judgment was obtained by fraud. The plaintiff failed to establish probable cause as to the defendant's knowledge that the valuation statement was untrue or her intent to induce detrimental reliance.
2. The challenged factual findings were either supported by the record or harmless, and they did not undermine the trial court's conclusion that probable cause of fraud was lacking.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the plaintiff established probable cause beyond a mere suspicion that the defendant's valuation of her Starling Physicians interest as zero constituted fraud warranting postjudgment discovery and reopening of the dissolution judgment.
2. Whether the trial court's factual findings concerning the parties' knowledge of the Starling interest, the defendant's employment agreement, and the potential value of the interest were clearly erroneous.
3. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying the motion to open.

Disposition

affirmed