It appears that the Connecticut Supreme Court has found a way to help spouses get rid of unsightly winkles in divorces. It ruled that the wife of wealthy skin and winkle cream doctor Nicholas V. Perricone may not speak of her divorce — forever. Thus, a private waiver signed before discovery is enforceable until death against Madeleine Perricone — presumably she is allowed to discuss the divorce in the afterlife as a matter beyond the jurisdiction of the court.
The court ruled that such waivers of free speech are “presumptively enforceable.” However, Madeleine insisted that the confidentiality agreement was signed before discovery for a limited purpose and that she never agreed or intended to be gagged for eternity.
Nicholas has made millions through Meriden “cosmeceuticals.” His lawyers went to court after Madeleine gave an interview to the New York Post and stated an intention to do an interview with the television news program “20/20.”
The confidentiality agreement was signed in 2003 and the divorce finalized in 2004.
Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers found that the waiver was “intelligent and voluntary” and thus enforceable.
Yet, the final divorce contained an “integration clause” that stated that it was the complete final settlement of their respective rights and superseded all prior written agreements between them.
The divorce was all the talk of the town with some astronomical figures, including Nicholas Perricone’s netting $457,000 per month from his company and royalties on patents and books. He claimed to need roughly $24,000 per month for travel and entertainment and Madeleine claimed to need $5,000 per month for just clothes for herself and her daughter. It is hard to feel sorry for anyone in this marriage, but the limitation of free speech is troubling when the agreement seemed a standard and limited discovery-related agreement.
For the full story, click here.
Oh man. I’m with you, Buddha and Lottakatz. Years ago, my husband played mandolin in a band called the “Oh Mans”. I had great fun attending their practice sessions and sometimes improvising on flute.
Now, grab your hankies ’cause here’s a sad but beautiful tune about having 2 lovers. This song was introduced to me a couple of lifetimes ago via my then 3-timing boyfriend. yeah, i got the hint. He “could charm the diamonds off a rattlesnake.” He’s “a rambler and a gambler and a sweet-talking ladies man” and he loves his lovin’ just like he loves his freedom. But those are other songs, joni songs. This one is Joan Armatrading.
lotta,
I love multitasking words and phrases like that. Dude. 😀 lol Well if you’re worried about dating, at least we didn’t dip into the “flapper” bag, so I guess that’s a silver lining of sorts.
Mespo writes: Just ran across this little email from soon-to-be ex-Governor & ex-husband (if the lady has any pride left at all) Sanford of So. Carolina to the lovely Maria (read SA paramour), and thought I ‘d share the literary genius (“world wind”???) and gross sentimentality (“I love your tan lines or that I love the curve of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself)…) of this paragon of Republican virtue and formerly a prospective McCain VP candidate (note mention in passing of that silly little VP talk). Please play some appropriate tinny violin music while savoring this maudlin prose:
me: schadenfreude is the word of the day. I just can’t get enough of holier-than-thou public figures when they implode on stuff that is just ordinary life for the rest of us. also their poetic esthetic kinda sucks. at least the fire had it together enough to kick him out 2 weeks ago. it was the public melt-down that captured my imagination.
what is it that happens in politics” democrats resign, republicans repent? if this is what christian family values really looks like, i’d rather have my kids watch porn.
and now a question for all the attorneys…… If a governor goes awol for 6 days who was in charge? doesn’t someone have to be left in charge?
Well the secret is out. I was better for a gay-lover for the SC Governor…
BIL, I just noticed- we have the same head-slapping first-response “Oh man”. Not plagiarizing, just stream of consciousness. I think we just dated ourselves. Darn, ‘scuse me while I flip my Trogs album to the ‘B’ side….. There were times you could pass nearly an entire evening with friends using no more than ‘oh man’. 🙂
Remember the episode of “The Wire” that had the protagonists, police partners, examining a crime scene and the entire dialog was around 8 minutes of only the ‘F’ word? That was an interesting and funny scene.
Oh man, two things about the letters:
Publishing old love letters is so sad. The authors should refrain and 3rd parties- if someone leaked them, should be horse-whipped. I’ve got a few still, and one thing is obvious and characteristic of them all, we are not at our best being all hormone poisoned and like that so we write silly things that should NEVER see the light of day.
And, FOOL, do NOT tell the lady-friend about all the cool things the family is doing like a whirlwind tour of Asia etc.; once too often and you’ll be singing soprano… Fool.
🙂
mespo,
Oh, man I think I hurt myself laughing.
Yeah, I may have to duct tape my lady friend to the divan to keep her from bolting out the door for ol’ Gov. Lothario there. As it is he’s put the cat’s into heat. He’s so smooth a talker I might even let him peek at my boxers. What a paragon of family values! And let’s not forget, a paragon of civic values too. I’m pretty sure when you’re Governor that “just taking the week off without telling anyone where you are going and lying about it” isn’t a personal nicety so you can go do whatever it is you do. Governor is a 24/7/365 job. What he did is a dereliction of duty and grossly irresponsible no matter what how aesthetically charming his excuse. If I were a citizen of So. Carolina, I’d be furious. Heavens forbid there be a disaster of some sort and no one can find the Gov. because he’s out of the country eating steak and dancing the tango with his gal pal. It’s not like he’d be needed to help coordinate the National Guard to aid FEMA or anything like that. He constituents don’t need rescuing from natural disasters anymore than they do from financial disasters. Perhaps that’s his reasoning. I sure hope the state has a recall procedure.
Well Ok I’ll even supply the music:
Just ran across this little email from soon-to-be ex-Governor & ex-husband (if the lady has any pride left at all) Sanford of So. Carolina to the lovely Maria (read SA paramour), and thought I ‘d share the literary genius (“world wind”???) and gross sentimentality (“I love your tan lines or that I love the curve of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself)…) of this paragon of Republican virtue and formerly a prospective McCain VP candidate (note mention in passing of that silly little VP talk). Please play some appropriate tinny violin music while savoring this maudlin prose:
“One, tomorrow leave at 5 a.m. for New York and meetings. Will think about you on its streets and wish I was going to be there later in the month when you are there. Tomorrow night back to Philadelphia for the start of the National Governor’s Conference through the weekend. Back to Columbia for Tuesday and then on Wednesday, as I think I had told you, taking the family to China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Thailand and then back through Hong Kong on world wind tour. Few days home then to Bahamas for 5 days on a friend’s boat for the last break of the summer. The following weekend have been asked to spend it out in Aspen, Colorado with McCain – which has kicked up the whole VP talk all over again in the press back home …
Two, mutual feelings …. You have a particular grace and calm that I adore. You have a level of sophistication that so fitting with your beauty. I could digress and say that you have the ability to give magnificent gentle kisses, or that I love your tan lines or that I love the curve of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of the night’s light – but hey, that would be going into sexual details …
Three and finally, while all the things above are all too true – at the same time we are in a hopelessly – or as you put it impossible – or how about combine and simply say hopelessly impossible situation of love. How in the world this lightening strike snuck up on us I am still not quite sure. As I have said to you before I certainly had a special feeling about you from the first time we met, but these feelings were contained and I genuinely enjoyed our special friendship and the comparing of all too many personal notes …
Lastly I also suspect I feel a little vulnerable because this is ground I have never certainly never covered before – so if you have pearls of wisdom on how we figure all this out please let me know… In the meantime please sleep soundly knowing that despite the best efforts of my head my heart cries out for you, your voice, your body, the touch of your lips, the touch of your finger tips and an even deeper connection to your soul.”
aaahhh! He had me at hello!!!
Was the ex-Mrs. Winkles paid consideration for her silence? I couldn’t find anything in the story that stated she was paid to shut up. If there was no consideration for her silence, how could the court uphold the agreement? I have to guess that there was consideration, but the aggrieved ex-winkle wife just wanted more dollars after the fact.