From Ceremony to Court.
Dr. Dre and Nicole Young’s divorce is an ongoing battle. Both parties appear to go great heights to get what they want. According to the Grio, Dr. Dre is threatening to subpoena the 20-wedding guest that attended the couple’s wedding in Hawaii in 1996. Dr. Dre plans to prove that Young was not “coerced” into signing a pre-nuptial agreement.
This idea comes after Young alleges that she signed the agreement under pressure and claims that Dr. Dre tore it up later in a romantic gesture. Dr. Dre disputes that he tore the agreement up. The pre-marital agreement in question alleges that the parties agreed to keep separate all income and property acquired before and during the marriage.
The issue with Dr. Dre wanting the wedding guest to testify regarding duress and the prenuptial agreement is tricky if the guest did not witness the signing and the pressure Young was under. Young is alleging her duress voids the contract.
The couple were married prior to prenuptial agreement requirements of each having independent counsel, seven day waiting period, full disclosure to an unrepresented party, party’s not acting in duress, fraud, and undue influence.
A person who claims they acted under duress must meet the following elements: That a wrongful act or threat was used to pressure the person into consenting to the contract, That a reasonable person in the person’s position would have believed that there was no reasonable alternative except to consent to the contract, and that the person would not have consented to the contract without the wrongful act or threat.
If the court decides that Young met all the elements of duress, then no contract was created and the prenup would be void. Essentially Young is claiming that the agreement was unfavorable, and she was pressured by Dr. Dre to sign the agreement.
Here, Dr. Dre’s subpoena of the wedding guest would only be effective if the guest witnessed Young sign the agreement and can testify on whether Young appeared to be under duress. If the couple signed the agreement in private then the wedding guest are not necessarily relevant to the issue of duress regarding the prenup allegations. Because the wedding guests were not witnesses to her signing the agreement.
This is very ironic to have the guests that witness the wedding ceremony bringing the couple together to also witness the court hearing tearing the couple apart.
What are your thoughts? Should a judge allow Dr. Dre to call wedding witnesses about her allegations of duress with prenup?