Michael Douglas, son of Kirk Douglas, husband of Catherine Zeta Jones and superstar actor is back in court with his ex-wife Diandra Douglas. Ms. Douglas is seeking a portion of the income and royalties Michael Douglas expects to earn from his new movie “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps”. Is she on solid legal ground?
Perhaps. The divorce order finalized in 2000 provided that Ms. Douglas would be entitled to one-half of her former husband’s earnings on work that arose during their marriage including any “spin-offs”. As Gordon Gecko in the original movie, Wall Street, in 1987, Mr. Douglas enjoyed the accolades and the money that came with that. The legal question is: “Is a sequel a spin-off?” It very well could be.
Public opinion on this lawsuit is predictable. Many men believe that Ms. Douglas doesn’t deserve one red cent more from her ex. She received $43 million in the divorce settlement. Women believe that this is payback for a marriage where Mr. Douglas carried on numerous affairs, including with her best friend, later admitted to being a sex addict and then dumped her for a younger, newer model.
No matter the outcome, neither of them is in line for “parent of the year”. Their acrimonious divorce and neglect of their son has, by their own admissions, contributed to his present difficulties as he serves a five year prison sentence for trafficking crystal meth in New York.
Oh, the problems of the wealthy…
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