Justice Jeffrey Sunshine
Husband sought a divorce. Wife cross-moved for dismissal of the action arguing husband's action was barred by res judicata as he previously obtained a judgment of divorce in Russia dissolving the marriage. Husband claimed the prior Russian divorce was of a fictitious nature as part of a tax avoidance scheme, hence, should be set aside. Wife argued that as part of a bilateral divorce action, the Russian court issued a decree legally dissolving the parties' marriage. Yet, husband argued he would not have consented to that divorce but for wife's fraudulent misrepresentations regarding transferring property to her and promising to remarry him in the United States and all their assets would be held jointly as husband and wife. The court found husband actively participated in the Russian divorce proceeding, and was an active participant in the larger fraud scheme. It ruled that even assuming husband could show wife had no intention of remarrying him at the time she made the false promise, he could not have reasonably relied upon a promise to remarry which was legally unenforceable. Accordingly, the court granted wife's motion to dismiss the divorce cause of action and denied husband's motion to set aside the Russian judgment.
