Divorcing Jill St. John

A lawyer who married a CPA named Jill St. John (presumably we are not talking about the actress who married Robert Wagner) sought relief from the judgment based on the claim that his ex-wife was having an affair with her boss.

Ms. St. John “vehemently denied” the allegation.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals held that relief was properly denied

In asserting that the trial court erred, Husband states that the alleged romantic relationship between Mr. Peterson and Wife “would have created a direct conflict of interest, which goes to the overall weight that Peterson‟s testimony should have been given.” It must be emphasized, as the trial court stated in denying the motion, that the court had “credibility issues” in this case. In its memorandum opinion, the trial court made specific findings regarding Husband‟s lack of credibility:

I accept the testimony and the proof that shows at a time [Husband] represented to the Tennessee Supreme Court that he had voluntarily suspended his law license, he still was earning money from practicing law, which I don‟t think they would like. He knows he needs to have an IOLTA account. He does not have one. The Supreme Court would not like that, I do not believe. . . .

The specific finding of the Court of Appeals in Maryland was under MRCP 8.4B, C and D. They did not find it to be criminal under B. . . . They found it to be C, that he had engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation and also D, he engaged in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.

The trial court specifically stated in its decision to deny Husband‟s motion to set aside the judgment that credibility was a factor…

Thus, even if there were a conflict of interest, the trial court could still rely upon Mr. Peterson‟s testimony, and the trial court in this case expressly found that the knowledge of a romantic relationship between Mr. Peterson and Wife would not have changed the outcome.

We have concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Husband‟s Rule 60 motion.

As to other issues raised

 The judgment of the trial court is affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. In particular, the trial court is to divide the debentures in accordance with the statutory factors and recalculate the attorney fees without including work done regarding the motion for a stay. Costs of appeal are assessed against the appellant, Virgil Duane Parker, and execution may issue if necessary.

(Mike Frisch)