High Conflict Divorce or Stalking by Way of Family Court? The Empowerment of a Wealthy Abuser in Family Court Litigation: Linda v. Lyle - A Case Study

T. J. Sutherland, R.N., B.S.N., P.H.N., J.D.

Published: 2004

 

Sutherland, T.J. (2004). High Conflict Divorce or Stalking by Way of Family Court? The Empowerment of a Wealthy Abuser in Family Court Litigation: Linda v. Lyle - A Case Study. Massachusetts Family Law Journal, 22(1&2) 4-16.

Introduction

Virtually all coverage of high-conflict divorce assumes both parents are the source of the conflict.^[1] Blame is assigned solely and equally to the parents in essentially all cases without much analysis. However, if one party is abusive and sufficiently wealthy to fund on-going litigation, the Domestic Court may be ideally suited to the spurned mate's agenda.^[2] The systematic assertion of 'dominion and control' via Family Court litigation would superficially mimic a high-conflict divorce because there would be ongoing litigation.^{[3] [4]} The interpretation is consistently that the parties cannot get along and they are using their children as pawns.^[5] A closer look shows high conflict divorce has features common to both domestic abuse relationships and the stalking behavior displayed by abandoned abusers.^[6] This fascinating case study illustrates how power is transferred from the abusive mate to the professionals, who are, apparently, also at risk to lose control.

This article will look at the possibility that some or all high-conflict divorces are actually the manifestation of stalking behaviors by wealthy domestic abusers. Part I will compare and contrast the research on batterers and stalkers to the literature on high-conflict divorce. In Part II, an actual high-conflict case will be described. While it is understood that "the plural of anecdote is not data,"^[7] the purpose of this short narrative is only to show that Family Court lends itself to use as a forum for post separation stalking. Part III will explore the lack of consumer protection. Part IV will offer a modest proposal that may discourage protracted Family Court litigation and call for studies that apply stalking and battering dynamics to high-conflict divorce so stalking by way of Family Court can be quantified and illuminated.

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