Author! Author!

In a 50 page opinion issued today, the Maryland Court of Appeals reversed a trial court determination (affirmed by the Court of Special Appeals) that author Tom Clancy had breached his fidiciary duties in his dealings with his ex-wife. The court’s majority opinion quotes at length from the Seinfeld “Wigmaster” episode (the one where Jerry returns a jacket he had purchased for “spite”). The court holds that Clancy’s contractual rights trumped his fiduciary duties to a partnership entity created with his ex-wife during their marriage, conceding that the author had not acted in good faith. The majority relies on the work of Larry Ribstein in support of its conclusions.

A dissent would uphold the lower court’s judgment. (Mike Frisch)