Groundswell Movement Filing Lawsuits Challenging Lifetime Alimony Laws

"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope."
--Robert Francis Kennedy

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The time for which you long have awaited is at hand. There are those among us who have seen the need to “stand up and be counted” and are taking up the banner to carry forth the message of alimony reform. The groundswell of people wanting to stop the injustices on themselves and their families has started and is rapidly gathering momentum.

No longer are people frustratingly sitting by the wayside wondering what they could do to free themselves of the yoke of "lifetime" alimony. The gathering army of Declaratory Judgment (DJ) filers is now mounting in numbers and more are waiting in the wings preparing their cases.

The first DJ was filed in Sarasota County on June 2, 2006. You can see the case by clicking here. It now awaiting a ruling by Judge Lee Haworth. Should there be an adverse filing against us, it will be appealed all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

Another one was filed in Jacksonville, FL this past week. Similar lawsuits are being prepared for California, Missouri, Massachusetts and several other states.

The lower courts appear unable to deal with these constitutional challenges and attempt to dismiss them out of hand without any “reasoned opinion.” Being able to do this under color of law is what has led our court system to be able to impose the many injustices on alimony paying spouses that they have. Only a minuscule amount of spouses ever challenge the lower court rulings in their case and by not doing so, perpetuate the injustices. The courts are then emboldened to continue their abuse further.

In that earlier challenges had been intertwined with other alimony related issues, they were deemed as being “frivolous” challenges and dismissed accordingly. It was then determined that what was necessary to get the court’s attention was to eliminate all alimony related issues and file a “clean” DJ. This way, the lawsuit would be considered on its legal and case law merits alone. This has proved successful.

The higher courts are unable to simply dismiss a case. They are obligated to rely more seriously on established precedents (existing case law) that are already in existence to formulate and give a “reasoned opinion” supporting their ruling. Therefore, the best chance of effecting any change in the status quo was to get cases out of the lower court and to reach a higher level of the judiciary. But, you have to go through the procedure of filing in the lower courts first. That is what is now happening.

What is a DJ lawsuit? It is a way of presenting our arguments and case law in asking the courts to formally consider and rule whether or not the state alimony statutes are constitutional or not. It is a way of forcing the issues to the highest levels of our court system. And, this can be done without the need to go through a class action suit.

Who can file these DJ’s? Anyone suffering under a court order to pay alimony. They can be filed without the use of an attorney, if you choose, on a Pro Se basis. You can act as your own attorney and do it yourself. Help and guidance is available from people like you who have already done so or are doing so now.

Filing and follow-up is simplicity itself and the costs involved are the modest filing fees. It is a small price to pay for a chance to gain freedom from your burden. Why wait to see if someone else will solve your problems....you can do it! You have a choice....whine...or fight back. Now you can do it legally and properly!

Become part of the grass roots movement that will reform the alimony laws. To get involved, it is suggested that you do the following:

1. Read the information regarding filing DJ’s at: http://www.abolish-alimony.org/alimony-legal-filings-dj.htm


2. Join the group that is spearheading the grass roots movement for alimony reform: Alliance For Freedom From Alimony, Inc. at: http://www.alimonyreform.org/membership.html


3. Contact Dick Lindsey (chairman@alimonyreform.org) at the Alliance letting him know of your interest.


4. Join the Yahoo Group Forum to keep be able to contact others who are involved with filing DJ’s and to keep abreast of the alimony reform progress. You can do so at:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cflap_org/

Don’t wait for others to do the job, join us now!


WOMEN RULE: MORE ON THE SUBJECT:
* Women appointed to top posts in Lands Dept.

EGREGIOUS EXAMPLES OF OUR “INJUSTICE” SYSTEM
* The Teflon Judge
* First, Understand the Law An article by a Massachusetts lawyer about the Massachusetts legal injustice system.


Be sure to visit these sites: www.abolish-alimony.org/ and www.alimonycentral.org