MSS Matrimonial Partners Examine Expanding Scope Of Domestic Violence In New York

Meister Seelig & Schuster partners Samuel J. Ferrara, Chair of the firm’s Matrimonial & Family Law Department, and Daniel H. Smith recently authored an article for the New York Law Journal examining a significant Nassau County Supreme Court decision that expands the scope of conduct courts may consider domestic violence in matrimonial matters.

In “Nassau Supreme Court Decision Expands Scope of Domestic Violence,” Ferrara and Smith discuss N.S. v. T.S., in which the court determined that a spouse’s reckless transmission of sexually transmitted infections contracted through extramarital affairs constituted domestic violence. The court further determined that the conduct was required to be considered when equitably distributing marital assets.

Ferrara and Smith examine the court’s analysis and place the decision in the context of a broader evolution in how courts define and address domestic violence. Their article explores decisions involving nonphysical forms of abuse, including coercive control and financial and economic abuse, as well as how courts in other jurisdictions have addressed the transmission of sexually transmitted infections between spouses.

The authors note that the decision may have important implications for future matrimonial cases in New York, particularly as courts continue to consider conduct beyond traditionally recognized forms of domestic violence when determining equitable distribution and other forms of relief.

Ferrara and Smith are partners at Meister Seelig & Schuster and practice matrimonial and family law. Summer Associate Alexa Persico assisted with research for the article.

Read the full article, “Nassau Supreme Court Decision Expands Scope of Domestic Violence,” published in the New York Law Journal.

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