Stop Snitchin', 1-800-Flowers

You may have heard about this one.  Dude is getting a divorce, so he starts getting some new action. Since he's starting from scratch, he has to do the whole romance thing, including sending roses.  However, shortly thereafter he reconciles with his wife and they call off the divorce.  Until.  Wife receives a thank you note from 1-800-Flowers.  She's confused, 'cause she didn't get any flowers.  So 1-800-Flowers faxes her a receipt, complete with loverboy's message to his new flame.  Divorce is back on, and guess what?  She wants more money than before because she has proof of infidelity.  And guess what else?  The guy is suing 1-800-Flowers for -- are you ready -- $1 Million.  He claims 1-800-Flowers is responsible for his getting a divorce.  Chiles, legal folks, does this man have a case (aside from a case of retardation)?

Comments

[M. Butler]

This happened to American Express about 10-15 years ago. The wives got receipts for their husbands supplementary cards and they noticed that the husbands had additional cards for their girlfriends on the side.

[Art Vandelay]

If I had to take a guess, I think they could easily argue that this is not proof of infidelity.

[Craig]

Ok, legally speaking I know nothing. Logically speaking on the other hand, 1-800-Flowers isn't responsible for his divorce...being an idiot might be.

[Schmoopie]

A lawyer friend told me that the EZ-Pass, I-Pass, E-Pass type of automatic toll collection transponder thingies are figuring into divorce cases. The aggrieved party's lawyer subpoenas the I-Pass records and finds out that the lying dirtbag was lying about his whereabouts all along.

I find this hilarious.

[jackie]

"Chiles, legal folks, does this man have a case (aside from a case of retardation)?"

For starters, yeah, this stuff is retarded. That said, in my opinion he may have a case. This sounds like a breach of contract action, and while I don't think what a particular employee said would bind the company (agency principles get involved), if 1-800 flowers has some type of written policy/agreement in place regarding the disclosure of this type of information, and such policy/agreement was breached, the dude can get in the door.

That said, the difficult part here would be poving damages. That is, can the guy really prove that this disclosure led to his divorce or perhaps ended up being used as evidence to cost him more money at the end of a divorce proceeding.

In the end, it's shit like this that makes people hate lawyers.

The guy's fucking around, gets busted and he looks to pass blame and get paid.

Jackass.

[SL22]

Wait, wait, wait, Jackie. Dude's getting a divorce, then fucking around, then getting busted. If I was getting a divorce, I'd probably try to diversify my wang's portfolio as well.

My question is, how was she able to get a receipt? Should 1-800-Flowers be sending out receipts to everyone who asks for them? Or did he use her card? I don't get that part.

[M. Butler]

She got the receipt because she moved back into his (the) house. She was the one opening the mail.

[Babu]

then she violated federal law by opening mail that wasn't addressed to her and the evidence is inadmissible. My bill is in the mail 1-800-flowers.

[M. Butler]

Wait, they are still married. You are allowed to open your husbands mail, I believe.

[Art Vandelay]

If you're not, i could see my wife's ass for all she's got. I haven't opened a piece of mail in like 8 years.

[Steve H.]

If you're not, i could see my wife's ass for all she's got.

(Insert something about seeing Vandelay's wife's ass. I got nothing.)

This dude has such a non-case. There's no breach of contract unless he can prove that 1-800 FLOWERS promised to keep his order a secret. Good luck with that.

And I think there might be a causation problem here, too -- he was fucking around, but it's the flower company's fault because they let him get caught?

[Assman]

I'm not a lawyer or anything, but is it fucking around if they were already getting a divorce?

[Bluehorseshoe]

Fuck the law, if I was that dude I would be trying to build a PR case that you cant trust 1800 flowers. How many dudes who are married are using 1800 flowers to sent stuff to thier bits on the side, secretaries, random chicks they met at Scores etc?? Alot I reckon. Does the company want to lose all that business from cheaters? Worth more than a Million bucks I'd say. Simple cost/Benefit analysis. Settle.

[jackie]

"I'm not a lawyer or anything, but is it fucking around if they were already getting a divorce?"

Assman, I probably was not clear as I was clearing the cobwebs from my virgin encounter from an anti-police sympathetic ass fucking from a Brooklyn jury, however, it's not just about "fucking around and getting a divorce," which admittedly it seems like it should be. The way it works is that if he was already in the process of divorce and his wife used this as evidence to support getting additional money as a result of his infidelity he would be entitled to damages insofar as he could prove that 1-800 somehow breached a contract with him and this in fact caused him to have to pay out more money in divorce proceeding.

In short, it's not just fucking around, it's paying more because he was fucking around.

[Assman]

Jackie,

Yeah, but this is one area where the law confuses me. They're married and he's faithful. They decide to get a divorce and he goes out and tries to meet a new woman (sending flowers does not equate penetration) as almost every non-jaded human being would. They decide to get back together and the romance is stopped. At what point can he be considered "unfaithful"? He was faithful up until they decided to stop being a couple, and even then, he was just testing the waters.

Its like if your employer tells you they're about to do some layoffs and that you're going to lose your job in a few weeks. If you go on a job interview, get an offer, then find out that the layoffs are cancelled, can your employer be ticked off that you were looking around? You were about to get laid off!

So... how can this wife claim this is proof of infidelity? He was faithful until they stopped being a couple.

[Jack Klompus]

"They're married and he's faithful."

How do you know for sure? The wife had some motivation for requesting a faxed receipt from 1-800-Flowers. Maybe that was the first time suspicion arose, maybe not.

"(sending flowers does not equate penetration)"

Maybe not, but it is evidence of an extramarital relationship (regardless of the impending divorce). You don't think the wife's attorney is going to ask either the husband or the mistress (under oath), "was there a sexual relationship?"

In any event, I think I agree with your premise. Why should the wife be entitled to more money than before? I don't think she should (given the facts we have), but juries tend to see it differently.

[Assman]

...but juries tend to see it differently.

Then I suppose I don't understand juries. As far as I'm concerned, as long as they agreed on a divorce, then either party is free to take their genitals on vacation.

The only reason the divorce doesn't happen that day is because of the required legal proceedings. In the real world, you stop being a couple when you say, "we're done."

And, yes, it's possible that he may have been unfaithful before this event, but as far as she knows / has evidence to support, this guy was a saint. I don't believe infidelity should count after you split up.

[jackie]

Yeah, but this is one area where the law confuses me. They're married and he's faithful. They decide to get a divorce and he goes out and tries to meet a new woman (sending flowers does not equate penetration) as almost every non-jaded human being would. They decide to get back together and the romance is stopped. At what point can he be considered "unfaithful"? He was faithful up until they decided to stop being a couple, and even then, he was just testing the waters.

Assman, of course, I hear where you are coming from and that makes perfect sense in a reasonable world. Unfortunately, people aren't reasonable, people want to get something for nothing, and people have unscrupulous lawyers to help make it so.

So, I put myself in that role, and I say the answer is simple.

The divorce was not final.

[Steve H.]

Mr. Chiles, Esq., sorry to hear about your ass-fucking. Not even the courtesy reach-around, I presume?

Do juries in New York get involved in divorce cases? And can adultery really increase the support obligations? That makes no sense to me, but fortunately for me, I know nothing of domestic law, either personally or professionally.

[jackie]

"Mr. Chiles, Esq., sorry to hear about your ass-fucking. Not even the courtesy reach-around, I presume?"

Presumption correct. And one of the jurors who was the leader of the anti-Chiles cabal had the nerve to ask me for legal advice after the trial. If I wasn't such a gentlemen, I'd have told to go fuck herself.

"Do juries in New York get involved in divorce cases? And can adultery really increase the support obligations? That makes no sense to me, but fortunately for me, I know nothing of domestic law, either personally or professionally."

Funny, before I got swamped today, I asked someone in my office the same question about juries and divorce proceedings. I don't think they do, but I also fortunately know nothing of domestic law so I am basically talking outta my ass, as usual.

[Jack Klompus]

"I don't think they do, but I also fortunately know nothing of domestic law so I am basically talking outta my ass, as usual."

Most states don't allow it, but one that does happens to be where this guy is living (Texas). It's also not common, since one or both of the parties involved has to request the jury in writing. I guess I just assumed there would be a jury because the article refers to "swinging the pendulum" in the wife's favor.

[MM]

Evidence of the conversation with the 800 flowers clerk would likely be barred under the PER (Parol Evidence Rule), if the contract is fully integrated.

Even if it comes in, looks like he would have to show that there was some independent consideration for the separate promise not to send the receipt to his home address, in order to make the contract enforceable.
Either way, his breach of contract claim looks thin.
Very funny.

Rather funny.