Mathes v. Mathes, 6/15/12
April 20, 2017
Appellant wife appealed the final judgment of divorced entered by the Circuit Court for Pasco County (Fla.) The parties not only were husband and wife, but they were also the owners, officers, and employees of a Florida corporation. The wife owned 51 percent of the stock in this corporation, and the husband owned 49 percent of the stock. As the marriage became irretrievably broken, so did the business. The wife’s attorneys sought far more than a valuation of this asset. They asked the trial court to establish the wife as the corporate officer in charge of the daily operations of the “joint business,” to set corporate salaries for the husband and wife during the pendency of the divorce, and otherwise to involve itself in the management of this separate Florida corporation. This facial error in the petition was compounded by the answer and counterpetition filed on behalf of the husband who failed to point out that the court had no jurisdiction over the corporation. The appellate court found that without jurisdiction over the corporation the trial court had no authority to appoint any attorney for this corporation to take any action. There were indications in the record that the corporation had significant debts and it was possible that the stock had little or no value. The final judgment was reversed.