T.S. VS. P.T. (FM-02-1804-07, BERGEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)

CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedDecember 22, 2020
DocketA-0679-18T2
StatusUnpublished

This text of T.S. VS. P.T. (FM-02-1804-07, BERGEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (T.S. VS. P.T. (FM-02-1804-07, BERGEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
T.S. VS. P.T. (FM-02-1804-07, BERGEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), (N.J. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-0679-18T2

T.S.,

Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

P.T.,

Defendant-Appellant. __________________________

Submitted October 27, 2020 – Decided December 22, 2020

Before Judges Fisher and Gilson.

On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part, Bergen County, Docket No. FM-02-1804-07.

Newsome O'Donnell, LLC, attorneys for appellant (Edward J. O'Donnell and Jeffrey B. Hodge, of counsel and on the briefs; Aaron Cohen and Rebecca E. Frino, on the briefs).

Donohue, Hagan, Klein & Weisberg, LLC, attorneys for respondent (Francis W. Donohue, of counsel and on the briefs; Alex M. Miller, on the briefs).

PER CURIAM Following their divorce in 2010, the parties filed numerous motions

disputing alimony, child support, equitable distribution, their rights to credits,

and ensuing attorneys' fees. Defendant, the former wife, appeals from

provisions in several post-judgment orders that reduced the alimony and child

support she was receiving, denied her request to obtain more discovery

concerning plaintiff's assets and to reopen equitable distribution, awarded

plaintiff a credit, and denied her request for attorneys' fees. Plaintiff cross-

appeals from provisions in post-judgment orders and rulings that admitted

certain evidence, denied his request for additional credits, and enforced a

provision in the parties' matrimonial settlement agreement that required him to

pay for unused parenting time.

The family court considered and ruled on various motions over several

years and ultimately conducted an eight-day plenary hearing. The court then

issued a forty-two-page written opinion setting forth its findings of fact and

conclusions of law. Having reviewed the extensive record and applicable law,

we discern no error or abuse of discretion in the rulings concerning alimony,

equitable distribution, discovery, credits, admission of evidence , and attorneys'

fees. We reverse the provision in the August 30, 2018 order concerning child

A-0679-18T2 2 support because the family court failed to apply the governing law on that issue.

Accordingly, we remand that one issue.

I.

The parties were both born and raised in Turkey and separately came to

the United States of America. 1 They met in 1993 in Texas and were married in

1994. Thereafter, they moved several times and eventually resided in New

Jersey. They have three children: E.S., born in February 2001; A.S., born in

April 2003; and R.S., born in April 2003. All the children have special

educational needs.

Plaintiff filed for divorce in 2007. In 2010, after three years of extensive

litigation, the parties, with the assistance of counsel, negotiated and entered into

a Matrimonial Settlement Agreement (MSA). The MSA was incorporated into

a final judgment of divorce that was entered on June 7, 2010.

Under the MSA, plaintiff agreed to pay defendant alimony of $120,000

per year for 10 years. In addition, plaintiff agreed to pay defendant child support

of $144,000 per year. The MSA also required each parent to deposit $1,000 per

month into a savings account or other investment account for the children.

1 We use initials and titles to protect the privacy of the litigants and preserve the confidentiality of certain records because we discuss some of their financial circumstances. See R. 1:38-3(d). A-0679-18T2 3 Furthermore, the MSA stated that each parent would be responsible for his or

her childcare expenses, but if plaintiff failed to exercise his parenting time, he

would reimburse defendant for her extra childcare costs up to $150 per day.

Defendant has a master's degree in business administration in finance. In

2000, she earned $93,000 working for ARC Partners. She stopped working

during the marriage after the parties' first child was born in early 2001.

Plaintiff has a degree in economics from the University of Istanbul and a

degree in business computer information systems from the University of North

Texas. During the marriage, plaintiff worked as a project manager, a computer

programmer, and had an ownership interest in a computer software company,

Future Technology Associates, LLC (FTA). FTA was established in 2005.

Initially, plaintiff owned forty percent of the company and he had two partners

- - Jonathan Krohe and Derek Wong - - each of whom owned thirty percent of

FTA. In 2006, plaintiff and Krohe purchased Wong's interest, and thereafter

plaintiff owned sixty percent of FTA and Krohe owned forty percent.

In 2005, FTA signed a contract with the New York City Department of

Education (NYDOE) to provide information technology services to the

department. The 2005 contract called for FTA to be paid on a per diem basis

for employees who worked on the services for the NYDOE. The estimated cost

A-0679-18T2 4 of the contract to NYDOE was $2.5 million per year. That contract was

extended through 2009.

In 2007, plaintiff and Krohe established a company in Turkey, know n as

Krono. Thereafter, Turkish-based consultants of Krono did work for FTA on

the NYDOE contract.

In 2009, the New York Daily News published a series of articles

questioning the legitimacy of the FTA-NYDOE contract. In particular, the

articles raised questions about FTA's use of foreign workers. In late 2009, the

Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City school district

(SCI) began to investigate FTA, plaintiff, and Krohe.

It was in this context that the parties negotiated the MSA. The MSA states

that FTA's loss of the NYDOE contract "may" constitute a change of

circumstances. Specifically, paragraph thirty-five of the MSA states:

The parties acknowledge that the Special Commission of Investigation ("SCI") for the New York City Department of Education is currently investigating FTA and the Husband as a President of the corporation. The results and recommendation of that investigation may potentially have an impact on the continued existence of FTA's current Contract with the New York City Board of Education and/or the value of the contract and its other provisions and terms. In the event that FTA's contract with the New York City Board of Education is terminated or the value of the contract is decreased, the parties agree that either event may

A-0679-18T2 5 constitute a change of circumstances warranting a review and modification of the alimony and child support provisions of this Agreement upon application properly made by either party to a court of competent jurisdiction.

In May 2011, the NYDOE terminated its contract with FTA. Thereafter,

the SCI sought to depose plaintiff and other persons associated with FTA. On

the advice of his attorney, plaintiff asserted his Fifth Amendment right not to

testify in connection with the SCI investigation.

In September 2011, the SCI issued its final report. The report stated that

plaintiff and FTA had committed fraud by failing to reveal ownership of Krono

and by overcharging for the work done by Krono employees. In that regard, th e

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