Weeks Turn into Years

May 2, 2016 § Leave a comment

The continuing legal saga of Roland and Deborah Weeks took its latest turn with another remand by the COA on March 1, 2016. For those of you who haven’t been keeping score, here is a recap:

The pair were divorced in 2001 after a 9-year separation. Deborah was denied alimony, although she received only 1/3 of the marital estate;
In Weeks v. Weeks, 832 So.2d 583 (Miss. App. 2002), the COA reversed and remanded for the trial court to award alimony;
The chancellor on remand assessed Roland with $3,900 a month in combined periodic alimony, health insurance, and life insurance;
In Weeks v. Weeks, 29 So.3d 80 (Miss. App. 2009) (Weeks II), the COA affirmed the alimony, but remanded yet again on child support and attorney’s fees;
In 2012, Roland filed a petition to modify his alimony obligation, which prompted Deborah to file motions claiming a fraud on the court. The chancellor denied everything but an award of back child support. He denied Deborah’s request for attorney’s fees finding them unreasonable and within her ability to pay. Roland appealed, and Deborah cross-appealed.
In the latest installment of Weeks v. Weeks (Weeks III), the COA affirmed most of what the chancellor ruled, but remanded yet again for the chancellor to reconsider the issue of attorney’s fees from Weeks II.

It has been 24 years since the Weeks’s separation, and 15 since their divorce. The aftermath of the divorce has seen almost continuous litigation, and it is still not done. There is another round yet to go, and another possible appeal. Some cases just be this way.

As for the legal issues in this latest appeal, you won’t find a lot of authority to chew on. This is another decision illustrating how difficult it can be to terminate or reduce periodic alimony, as we have mentioned here not too long ago.

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