Husband (an Indian Citizen residing in the U.S. on an H1-B visa) and Wife (a South African citizen) married in South Africa in January 2012 in a Muslim ceremony. In 2013, Wife joined her Husband in the U.S. on an H-4 visa. That same year, the Husband sought U.S. permanent residency (based on … Read More about Case Update (30 Jan 2023): Mullaji v. Mollagee; in determining whether to recognize a foreign marriage, a court looks to the law of the place it is contracted
Case Update (16 March 2022): Parbeen v. Bari; Islamic marriage contract terms; interpretation of secular terms
The parties signed an Islamic marriage contract on September 14, 2015 in Bangladesh. The 2-page document provided for Husband to pay to Wife five lac Taka upon marriage, and ten lac Taka in the event of divorce. Husband filed for divorce on July 9, 2019 in Florida. At the trial, Wife argued that … Read More about Case Update (16 March 2022): Parbeen v. Bari; Islamic marriage contract terms; interpretation of secular terms
Case Update (5 Nov 2021): Oleiwi v. Shlahi; enforceability of mahr
The couple in this case executed an Islamic marriage contract containing a mahr (deferred dowry) in Iraq. The Wife is seeking to uphold/enforce the mahr provision. The Husband is seeking to invalidate it on the basis of a recent New York family court case that indicated the mahr cannot be enforced … Read More about Case Update (5 Nov 2021): Oleiwi v. Shlahi; enforceability of mahr
Case Update (2021): Khan v. Hasan; validity of mahr in nikah agreement
On July 19, 2021, the NY Supreme Court, Nassau County, granted a Husband's Motion for Summary Judgment where he sought an order holding the parties' mahr term in their nikah agrreement invalid and unenforceable. Among the various arguments the Husband made, he argued that the mahr provision, which … Read More about Case Update (2021): Khan v. Hasan; validity of mahr in nikah agreement
Case Update (2021): AG v. AH; international child abduction prevention issues
The Bronx Family Court issued an unreported custody disposition on August 6, 2021 related to three minor children who were residing with their mother in a confidential domestic violence shelter in New York. The children's father was accused of significant domestic violence, including having left … Read More about Case Update (2021): AG v. AH; international child abduction prevention issues
Case Update (2021): Iqtaifan v. Hagerty; writ of mandamus, recognition of foreign divorce decree
The Kentucky Supreme Court addressed a Husband's request for a writ of mandamus to compel his family court judge, Judge Hagerty, to dismiss his Wife's petition for a divorce because he had already secured a divorce in Jordan. For purposes of this blog, I am going to skip over the merits of the writ … Read More about Case Update (2021): Iqtaifan v. Hagerty; writ of mandamus, recognition of foreign divorce decree
Case Update (2021): Chaudry v. Chaudry; Islamic marriage contract and burden to prove terms before enforcing
On February 4, 2021, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, in the unreported opinion of Chaudry v. Chaudry, affirmed that a mehr signed by the parties at the time of their marriage was not an enforceable contract. The parties married in an Islamic marriage ceremony in 2004 in … Read More about Case Update (2021): Chaudry v. Chaudry; Islamic marriage contract and burden to prove terms before enforcing
Case Update (2020): Nouri v. Dadgar; Religious Marriage Contracts – Enforceability of Mahr
Maryland's Court of Special Appeals (its intermediate appellate court) issued an opinion on April 7, 2020 that addressed the issue of the enforceability of Islamic marriage contracts in two separate, yet consolidated, cases.Nouri v. Dadgar and Ghazirad v. Mojarrad set forth the premise that … Read More about Case Update (2020): Nouri v. Dadgar; Religious Marriage Contracts – Enforceability of Mahr