Fox-Korucu v. Korucu

Wife, Donna J. Fox-Korucu, appeals from an award of attorney fees to husband, Ayhan Korucu, which was granted as part of a final judgment of divorce. Because the trial court’s conclusion that wife’s post-trial motions were frivolous is inconsistent with the fact that it granted a portion of the relief she requested therein, the trial court erred in granting attorney fees to husband on that ground. Accordingly, we reverse. In its final judgment after the conclusion of the divorce trial, the trial court granted final decision-making authority over the couple’s only child to husband. Wife then filed a motion for a new trial, or, in the alternative, a motion for reconsideration. Wife sought to alter the court’s judgment by introducing the testimony of a psychologist regarding the psychological impact on the child of being raised as a Muslim in modern America. In response, husband filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude the psychologist’s testimony, which the trial court denied.

After a hearing, during which the testimony of the psychologist was admitted, the trial court denied the motion for a new trial but partially granted the motion for reconsideration. Specifically, the trial court amended its final decree to give the parties equal visitation rights with the child, to give wife some decision-making authority over the school that the child would attend, and to require husband to post a bond as a condition to taking the child out of the country.