Nehorayoff v. Nehorayoff

108 Misc. 2d 311, 437 N.Y.S.2d 584, 1981 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2198
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 23, 1981
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 108 Misc. 2d 311 (Nehorayoff v. Nehorayoff) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nehorayoff v. Nehorayoff, 108 Misc. 2d 311, 437 N.Y.S.2d 584, 1981 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2198 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1981).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

John S. Lockman, J.

Having presided at what appears to have been the first trial of a matrimonial action under the so-called “equitable distribution” law (Domestic Relations Law, § 236, part B), this court must now embark upon what is a maiden voyage in this State. Adding somewhat to the complexity is the fact that the case involves the valuation of a closely held, quasi-professional, corporation. The waters are not uncharted, however. The experiences of courts in our sister State provide valuable polestars to guide our course.

Doctor and Mrs. Nehorayoff were married on April 4, 1963, in Iran, where both had been born. It appears that they were cousins and that his brother was .married to her sister. At the time of their marriage Dr. Nehorayoff had already graduated from medical school. Mrs. Nehorayoff, on the other hand, had only a sixth grade education. Very shortly after their marriage, the couple came to the United States where the doctor served his internship and resi[312]*312dency at various hospitals in the metropolitan area. Meanwhile, their first child, Liza, was born on October 5, 1964.

Upon her arrival in the United States, Mrs. Nehorayoff worked as a waitress and later was employed as a cashier in a supermarket. The period of such employment was apparently brief because she had also attended beauty school prior to the birth of Liza in 1964. After Liza was born, Mrs. Nehorayoff worked briefly as a cosmetician earning approximately $25 per week but then began attending school in pursuit of a high school equivalency diploma. School was at night and Doctor Nehorayoff stayed home and watched Liza. At some point Mrs. Nehorayoff also worked briefly as a real estate sales person earning approximately $500.

In 1968, the Nehorayoffs returned to Iran and Dr. Nehorayoff served a tour in the Iranian army. Their second child, Steven, was born in Iran on December 21, 1970. After the doctor’s army service, the Nehorayoffs returned to this country. The doctor secured employment at various hospitals and Mrs. Nehorayoff pursued further education. Eventually Mrs. Nehorayoff graduated from college and received a B.B. A. In the beginning of 1978, Dr. Nehorayoff and another physician formed Plaza Women’s Medical Center Realty, Inc. The corporation provides medical and laboratory services primarily related to the termination of pregnancies. Doctor Nehorayoff, who is an obstetrician and gynecologist, is the primary physician performing the abortions. In October of 1979, Mrs. Nehorayoff opened a restaurant known as Violette’s Cuisine.

DIVORCE

In October of 1978, Mrs. Nehorayoff had occasion to obtain an order of protection against her husband from Family Court. That order expired on October 30,1979. One day in January, 1980, while Mrs. Nehorayoff was at work one of her daughter’s friends Jburst into the restaurant in an agitated state to report that Dr. Nehorayoff was administering corporal punishment to Liza. After stopping briefly at home, Mrs. Nehorayoff went to the police who accompanied her back to the marital residence. Once there, Dr. Nehorayoff told her that he was “going to kill her.” [313]*313Mrs. Nehorayoff left and returned the following morning. The doctor chased her from the house and once again she went to the police. The next day she again returned to the home only to find her clothing in a trash bag in the basement. Subsequently, she discovered that the furniture and dishes had been removed from the marital abode. Dr. Nehorayoff visited his wife at her restaurant seeking the whereabouts of their daughter who had apparently run away. When Mrs. Nehorayoff professed ignorance, the doctor began throwing dishes and a lamp at her. The police were called and eventually persuaded him to leave although he lurked outside the building for a time. After securing a new order of protection from Family Court, Mrs. Nehorayoff returned to thé marital abode in March of 1980. The actions of Dr. Nehorayoff constitued cruel and inhuman treatment and rendered it unsafe for Mrs. Nehorayoff to cohabit with him. (Domestic Relations Law, § 170, subd [1]; Echevarria v Echevarria, 40 NY2d 262; Cataudella v Cataudella, 74 AD2d 893.)

EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION

The complaint is dated March 18, 1980, and the summons was obviously served considerably prior to July 19, 1980, the effective date of the so-called “equitable distribution” law. (Domestic Relations Law, § 236.) On March 3, 1980, during a proceeding in Family Court, the parties stipulated that “in the event an action is brought in the Supreme Court *** under the current Domestic Relations Law and the General Obligations Law effecting matrimonial actions, should the law change during the course of litigation, the party bringing the action shall have the right to invoke the provisions of those laws as if the action was brought thereunder.” What eventually became part B of section 236 of the Domestic Relations Law was then pending before the Legislature and was the change in law contemplated by the parties when they entered into the stipulation. Assuming inaction by the doctor, Mrs. Nehorayoff could have availed herself of the new statute by waiting to commence her action until after July 19,1980. Instead, in reliance upon the stipulation, she commenced her action in March of 1980. Having created this situation by entering into the stipulation, Dr. Nehora[314]*314yoff is estopped from asserting that the old provisions of section 236 of the Domestic Relations Law (amended to the extent that they are now gender-neutral [Domestic Relations Law, § 236, part A]) should govern. (Matter of Farina v State Liq. Auth., 20 NY2d 484, 492.) The court can conceive of no public policy which might prevent application of part B of section 236 of the Domestic Relations Law to this case.

Section 236 (part B, subd 5) of the Domestic Relations Law provides that the parties’ separate property shall remain separate and that their marital property shall be equitably distributed in accordance with the circumstances of the case and of the parties and 10 factors which the court is required to consider. While the court cannot distribute separate property, its value is nevertheless of some significance since one of the factors which the court is required to consider is “the probable future financial circumstances of each party”. (Domestic Relations Law, § 236, part B, subd 5, par d, cl [8].) “Separate property” means:

“(1) property acquired before marriage or property acquired by bequest, devise, or descent, or gift from a party other than the spouse;

“(2) compensation for personal injuries;

“(3) property acquired in exchange for or the increase in value of separate property, except to the extent that such appreciation is due in part to the contributions or efforts of the other spouse;

“(4) property described as separate property by written agreement of the parties pursuant to [section 236 (part B, subd 3) of the Domestic Relations Law].” (Domestic Relations Law, § 236, part B, subd 1, par d.)

During a proceeding in this court before Justice Roncallo on January 9, 1979, the parties entered into a stipulation with regard to certain property. A judgment based upon that stipulation and granted by Justice Roncallo on February 5,1979 established that certain funds, oriental rugs, jewelry and gold coins were the sole and exclusive property of Mrs. Nehorayoff. Some of this property was invested in a restaurant which Mrs. Nehorayoff owns and operates. Evidence offered by Mrs.

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Bluebook (online)
108 Misc. 2d 311, 437 N.Y.S.2d 584, 1981 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2198, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nehorayoff-v-nehorayoff-nysupct-1981.