Wayne Ventling v. Patricia M. Johnson

A dispute over an agreed divorce decree has spawned eighteen years (and counting) of litigation and an accompanying procedural quagmire. Wayne Ventling initiated divorce proceedings in 1995, seeking to end a common-law marriage to Patricia Johnson. After entering into an agreement that included contractual alimony payments to Johnson, Ventling took the position that he and Johnson had in fact never been married and that his contractual obligations were therefore invalid. The ensuing litigation, commenced in 1997, is now on its third appeal. 1 The remaining issues are (1) when postjudgment…