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Banned
Location: Taxachusetts, USA
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Here's to "equality"
I have divorced friends. Some of the people here are divorced.
Is there anyone who doesn't find this astonishing, in light of what the settlement would have been if the husband had been having an affair?
(Note: Another AP article lists the size of the award as $40 million.)
Link
Quote:
Judge awards $24 million in Conn. divorce
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Howard and Susan Sosin had everything that money could buy. They took exciting vacations, owned numerous homes, 18 cars and surrounded themselves with fine art.
But money, as the saying goes, doesn't buy happiness. Their divorce, granted Wednesday by a Bridgeport Superior Court judge, is the largest award in a state divorce case that has gone to trial, attorneys say. Legal experts said the case ranks among the largest in the nation.
"This is an unfortunate story of a family who, because of the husband's genius, accumulated substantial wealth and, notwithstanding all its effect, happiness eluded them," said Howard Sosin's attorney, Richard Albrecht.
Howard Sosin sued for divorce following allegations that his former wife had affairs with her rock-climbing guide and a man she met on a flight to China. Superior Court Judge Howard Owens awarded her $24 million of her husband's $168 million fortune.
Susan Sosin, 51, gets to keep the couple's $3.6 million Manhattan apartment, $2 million Utah ski house and $800,000 home in Wallkill, N.Y. But she has to vacate the couple's two mansions in Fairfield and three desert properties in Arizona.
The couple lived in a $16 million mansion in Fairfield, while their 14 servants live in a $5 million house nearby.
"The parties' marriage has been undeniably marred by the defendant's infidelity," the judge stated in his verdict. "Although her sexual relationship was not the sole cause of the breakdown, it did effectively terminate the marriage."
Susan Sosin's lawyer, Frederick Siegel of Stamford, said he hadn't seen the judge's decision and couldn't comment on it.
Legal experts, including Gaetano Ferro, who represented the former wife of ex-General Electric chief executive Jack Welch in their 2002 divorce, said the case ranks among the largest in the nation.
Among the assets Howard Sosin gets to keep are $89 million in bank accounts, 10 of the couple's 18 cars, $960,000 worth of private club memberships and $22 million in fine art.
In addition to the $24 million payment, Susan Sosin also keeps $6 million in her brokerage accounts, eight cars, and $2.9 million in jewelry, including a ruby piece her husband had bought for her but hadn't given to her prior to their divorce.
The couple met in 1978 when Howard Sosin was an assistant professor at Columbia University. At the time, she was married to another man and working in retail.
Howard Sosin in 1987 founded AIG Financial Products and served as its president and chief operating officer until 1993 when he terminated his association. Following litigation, he received $182 million from AIG.
While Howard Sosin was working, according to trial testimony, his wife took up heli-skiing, which involves ascending to a peak via helicopter before skiing down, and rock climbing.
While rock climbing in 1996, Susan Sosin admitted in testimony she became intimate with a guide. She testified it was a spontaneous and isolated occurrence.
During a flight to China in 2000, she met a married man, and that led to a lengthy affair, according to testimony.
Howard Sosin learned of his wife's relationships in February 2003 when, during an upgrade of their computer system, he found hundreds of e-mails between his wife and her lover, according to testimony.
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Information from: Connecticut Post, http://www.connpost.com
(Published: March 24, 2005)
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This reminds me of Flip Wilson's wife, who "gave up a promising career as a dental assistant" to marry him. |