The ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ star was denied her divorce the
first time around because
she failed to properly serve her husband, Apollo Nida. This complication seems due to his incarceration for bank fraud and theft.
Parks, a lawyer, originally filed for divorce in Georgia, asking the court
to enforce a prenup that Nida signed in 2009, nine days before their wedding.
In this contract, both parties waived their right to alimony. The trial
judge withheld Phaedra’s final divorce judgment because he was concerned
that Nida had not been properly served and that his name was misspelled
in the documents.
It seems that Nida was not informed that the divorce was nearly finalized,
nor was he notified of the final hearing, which he could not attend. Nida
has apparently expressed concerns that Parks has not disclosed all of
her assets and believes that he might have a legal interest in personal
property and her businesses.
In Canada, a judge would similarly be unlikely to finalize a divorce if
one party was not properly served. It is important that both parties remain
informed and have an opportunity to appear in court. It is now easier to
serve documents in Ontario: if a document does not require personal service it can be served by electronic
exchange with consent of the party being served (see Rule 6(2)(e) of the
Family Law Rules). If Nida has access to internet in lockup, this might have solved Parks’ problem!