WEST PALM BEACH – A Pembroke Pines divorce attorney has filed a motion for rehearing after the 4th District Court of Appeal sided with a wife when it came to stocks ownership.
Steven Friedman, who represented Dennis H.L. Tsung in the legal disagreement with his estranged wife Nancy Hua, told the Florida Record that while he agrees with the appellate court’s decision on some matters, he wants to fight back when it comes to the exes’ stockholdings in DSC Holdings Limited, according to an opinion.
During proceedings, Hua said Tsung owned 34 percent of the shares that were worth $1 million. She wanted this to be distributed and the appeals court agreed. Now, Friedman wants another chance to prove Tsung’s case.
“Principally on the grounds that the parties had stipulated, the wife at the beginning of the trial said that this was not a marital asset and they were not claiming a marital asset interest in the stock. They were claiming that the stock belonged to the husband and the income from the stock should be attributed to him when calculating alimony," Friedman said.
Freidman went on to say that this issue was not made clear when it came to legal documents. Once he realized this, he filed a motion for the case to be reheard.
“The appellate court misunderstood what was supposed to be litigated…I also pointed out that the stock was a gift, not an asset in the marriage. I believe the appellate court got it wrong and I’m hoping they’ll rectify it.”
As for the gift, it was reportedly given to the couple from Tsung’s father. Friedman said this is not usual, but not completely out of the norm either.
“My client was blessed with being born into a very comfortable family with an intelligent and caring father and mother who were very kind to them. The trial court judge certainly felt that Ms. Hua was taking advantage of that. I’m not going to characterize any of that. [But] Mr. Tsung’s father is the most humble, respectful, and intelligent man.”
He added that he’s not going to “quarrel” the district court’s decision to determine how much his client can pay in alimony.