“German nobleman sued in NY court for $2.5M in unpaid child support” is a New York Post story illustrating the importance of venue. From my NBAA report:
[from a German] “If you open a German tabloid in any typical week you’ll read about a woman who divorced her rich husband and was so upset about the end of the marriage that she had to move with the kids to New York or Los Angeles. Really it is about trying to get a U.S. court to take over and order child support at U.S. rates.” (maximum child support revenue in Germany is much less than what can be earned from working a W2-style job); [from a European immigrant to the U.S.]
The plaintiff here seems to following what was described as the standard script:
Nathalie [von Bismarck], 45, who fled Europe last year to escape her ex, refuses to give her New York address in the suit, saying that she “fears for her physical safety.”
She got an order of protection in December, preventing Carl-Eduard, 51, from seeing or even contacting their son Alexei, 9, and daughter Grace, 6.
A couple of interesting points: (1) the plaintiff here is keeping her defendant’s last name, despite the fact she is afraid of him and that her children would be in danger if they were to be contacted by him, (2) child support is critical to “a life of continued leisure for the [adult] countess: ‘The wife is not obliged to care for her own needs by taking up gainful employment.'”
Related:
- “Do all German women now qualify for refugee status in the U.S.?” (quote from a German: “it is a lot easier to work your pussy in the U.S. than in Germany.”)
She’s figured out how to live off her kids, which makes her a real American.
Nathalie: Welcome to the U.S.!
If the guy is successful at not paying $2.5 million in Germany where that money is an actual award of a local court, it boggles the mind how they are going to be able to get a foreign judgment recognized by those same courts and then force payment. Maybe there are U.S. assets to seize. How hard would that be to move back to Deutschland?