A trial judge in New York City recently ruled in Moore v. Moore that a wife seeking a divorce can use evidence of her husband’s internet activities with another woman which she found on a computer she took from her husband’s car.
The Moore’s were married in 1963, and are now retired. He was an information technology consultant and she was a school teacher.
In Moore, the wife took a laptop computer out of her husband’s car just before she commenced her divorce case. According to the wife’s attorney, she was searching the computer for financial information when she came upon a large number of salacious instant messages which the husband exchanged with a woman in Texas. The wife’s attorney told the husband’s attorney she had the computer, and the parties agreed to make copies of the computer’s hard drive. The materials found on the hard drive were repeatedly referred to by the wife in affidavits submitted to the Court without objection by the husband. Eventually, the case was transferred to another judge, and the defendant moved to suppress the contents of the hard drive.
The Court denied the motion, finding that the wife die not commit a crime or otherwise violate the husband’s rights in taking the computer and copying its contents. The Court noted that the attorneys for the parties specifically agreed to copy the hard drive, and the defendant did not move to suppress the contents of the computer when the wife first bean referring to items found on the computer in at least two (2) affidavits she submitted to the Court at least six (6) months prior to his suppression motion.
The Court determined that the computer was a family computer as claimed by the wife and not a work computer as alleged by the husband. The Court also found that the taking of the computer was appropriate since it was done before the commencement of the case and the machine was taken from the family car. Finally, the Court also noted that the parties agreed in writing and through their attorneys that the computer’s hard drive should be copied and made available to both sides.
This case is another interesting example of the way in which computers and technology affect divorce and family law cases. It is also a reminder that some people will do a lot of preparation and planning prior to beginning a divorce-remember, the wife was searching for financial information on the computer when she stumbled upon the explicit instant messages.
