April 2022 Bar Bulletin
By Kim Schnuelle
A young man calls you on the phone from Rome. He has been involved in Italian divorce litigation for three months now, arguing issues of property division and spousal maintenance, and was finally able to serve his Seattle-based wife at their jointly owned residence.1 Three weeks after she was served, he was presented with a Summons and Petition filed by his wife in King County. He is confused. How can there now be a divorce in Washington when he has already been involved in an Italian divorce for months. How can you help him?2
In general, two separate actions on the same topic will not simultaneously proceed if...