Mani v. Mani

The appeal in this family law case presents the issue of whether marital fault is a factor in the determination of alimony and the award of counsel fees. We hold that marital fault is irrelevant to alimony except in two narrow instances: eases in which the fault has affected the parties’ economic life and cases in which the fault so violates societal norms that continuing the economic bonds between the parties would confound notions of simple justice. The former may be considered in the calculation of alimony and the latter in connection with the initial determination of whether alimony…