http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009 ... vorce-sham
Was it a sudden spate of marital disharmony? Or were there mercenary motives at play? A US judge has thrown out a case brought by Continental Airlines against nine pilots accused of getting "sham" divorces in order to collect large payouts from an employee pension fund.
The Houston-based international carrier smelt a rat when a spate of its cockpit crew members dissolved their marriages between 2005 and 2007, only to remarry shortly after their spouses had obtained up to $900,000 under a loophole permitting lump sum pension payouts to divorced partners of staff members.
Continental fired the pilots and sued, claiming it had been duped into distributing between $10m and $11m under false pretences. But at a federal court in Texas, a judge has sided with the pilots, ruling that, irrespective of its employees' motives, Continental cannot hold itself up as an arbiter of marital authenticity.
In his ruling, judge Gray Miller said that "the motivation or good faith of the divorce" is not a criterion in the rules surrounding the airline's pension fund. Nevertheless, he made it clear that he was far from convinced of the pilots' claims of domestic disharmony.
"The pilots and their former spouses did not behave in a manner consistent with the breakup of a marriage," said the judge's order. "Many of the pilots continued to cohabit, remarried soon after obtaining the lump sum payout, and all essentially conducted themselves as if the divorce had never happened."
In many cases, the judge added, the pilots did not even tell relatives or friends that they had obtained divorces.
Lawyers for the former pilots claimed vindication. Steven Mitby, who represents five of the accused couples, said the divorces were for legitimate reasons. Mitby added that the pilots were now countersuing for compensation and to reclaim their jobs.
Continental expressed disappointment and said it was considering an appeal.
