Q: Am I entitled to a jury trial, for a NY divorce case which will include matters of equitable distribution.
I filed a motion to preclude which was denied without prejudice. I filed an order to show cause for contempt, focusing on the Plaintiffs disregard for automatic orders, specifically failure to comply with discovery, and hiding comingled money. Per the courts public record, the Judge issued a verbal order several months ago, and deferred announcing his decision until September 6th. Today in court, the Judges clerk stated that the decision regarding my OSC will be stated during the trial, scheduled for 10/19, in effect leaving me without monies and tying my hands.
The Plaintiff filed and OSC seeking monies from me to pay bills. The Plaintiff is the monied party earning almost double my salary. The Judge ruled in favor of the Plaintiff, ordering a pro rata payor responsibility of 63% for the Plaintiff. Based on the exhibits in the Plaintiffs OSC, the Court ignored the Plaintiffs costs assigned to said bills in her OSC and instead used old and inflated cost of living documents.
A: There is no right to a jury trial in New York for divorce, except for the limited issue of the grounds for divorce, and even that is in question now that the primary ground for divorce is the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage (no-fault).
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