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I was just Kidd-ing
Jason backtracks on abuse claims in his divorce papers
By JOSE MARTINEZ, AUSTIN FENNER and CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Jason Kidd is backing off claims he was a battered husband - just two weeks after the New Jersey Nets star cited "extreme cruelty" and smeared his spouse with a damning divorce petition.
In an amended court filing, Kidd removed paragraph No. 8 from his original petition yesterday, deleting the sensational litany of complaints against his wife, Joumana, from the divorce papers.
Gone is the claim that Kidd was the victim of a "jealous and paranoid" woman. Gone is the charge that Joumana Kidd settled disputes with her fists. Gone is the allegation that she bugged his computer and car, and sent their son to steal his dad's cell phone from the Nets locker room.
The original paragraph has been replaced with 37 words, dry legalese that simply blames "irreconcilable differences" for the divorce.
Joumana Kidd's lead lawyer quickly pounced.
"He's trying to backtrack, but that's like the Japanese on Dec. 8 saying, 'Let's sit down and talk,' after bombing Pearl Harbor," famed divorce lawyer Raoul Felder said. "He's trying to save face. It ain't going to work."
Felder said Joumana Kidd is preparing to drop some dirt of her own on her husband next week in Bergen County Family Court in Hackensack, N.J. "We're going to file a complaint for extreme cruelty," Felder said.
Jason Kidd's lawyer insisted the 6-foot-4 point guard wasn't backing off his initial claims of abuse, but just taking advantage of new divorce rules in New Jersey that Gov. Jon Corzine signed into law last week. "His priority is to expedite the divorce process and move on as quickly as possible," attorney Madeline Marzano-Lesnevich said in a statement. "We believe this is the best approach to accomplish that."
Under the new law, a divorce can be granted for "irreconcilable differences" if there is "no reasonable prospect of reconciliation" after six months of separation. But even under the old rules, Kidd didn't need to tar his wife. All he needed to do was live apart from her for 18 consecutive months to end the marriage.
"I think he is probably trying to make himself look good and pull back with some of the rancor of the earlier charges," said lawyer Sharon Quinn, an expert on New Jersey divorce law. "The whole purpose of the new law is to get rid of the rancor. I would guess there have been behind-the-scenes discussions by lawyers from both sides."
Kidd, 33, and his estranged wife, who have three children, have been separated for several months. Kidd started the divorce battle with a disadvantage - he was once busted for punching his wife in the mouth after she gave him grief for eating their son's French fries.
After he filed for divorce, Nets management barred Joumana from games, and stories surfaced about how players had dubbed her "Five-O" - a street term for the police - because she allegedly snooped on her husband.
Meanwhile, Kidd's contention that he was manhandled by a woman a foot shorter and half his weight was greeted with great skepticism.
Through it all, Joumana stayed silent - even after the 34-year-old was briefly kicked out of the family's Saddle River home when Kidd took out a restraining order.
But the ex-model also took out her own restraining order and let slip through Felder that she is prepared to accuse Kidd of infidelity and much more.
Originally published on January 27, 2007
I was just Kidd-ing
Jason backtracks on abuse claims in his divorce papers
By JOSE MARTINEZ, AUSTIN FENNER and CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Jason Kidd is backing off claims he was a battered husband - just two weeks after the New Jersey Nets star cited "extreme cruelty" and smeared his spouse with a damning divorce petition.
In an amended court filing, Kidd removed paragraph No. 8 from his original petition yesterday, deleting the sensational litany of complaints against his wife, Joumana, from the divorce papers.
Gone is the claim that Kidd was the victim of a "jealous and paranoid" woman. Gone is the charge that Joumana Kidd settled disputes with her fists. Gone is the allegation that she bugged his computer and car, and sent their son to steal his dad's cell phone from the Nets locker room.
The original paragraph has been replaced with 37 words, dry legalese that simply blames "irreconcilable differences" for the divorce.
Joumana Kidd's lead lawyer quickly pounced.
"He's trying to backtrack, but that's like the Japanese on Dec. 8 saying, 'Let's sit down and talk,' after bombing Pearl Harbor," famed divorce lawyer Raoul Felder said. "He's trying to save face. It ain't going to work."
Felder said Joumana Kidd is preparing to drop some dirt of her own on her husband next week in Bergen County Family Court in Hackensack, N.J. "We're going to file a complaint for extreme cruelty," Felder said.
Jason Kidd's lawyer insisted the 6-foot-4 point guard wasn't backing off his initial claims of abuse, but just taking advantage of new divorce rules in New Jersey that Gov. Jon Corzine signed into law last week. "His priority is to expedite the divorce process and move on as quickly as possible," attorney Madeline Marzano-Lesnevich said in a statement. "We believe this is the best approach to accomplish that."
Under the new law, a divorce can be granted for "irreconcilable differences" if there is "no reasonable prospect of reconciliation" after six months of separation. But even under the old rules, Kidd didn't need to tar his wife. All he needed to do was live apart from her for 18 consecutive months to end the marriage.
"I think he is probably trying to make himself look good and pull back with some of the rancor of the earlier charges," said lawyer Sharon Quinn, an expert on New Jersey divorce law. "The whole purpose of the new law is to get rid of the rancor. I would guess there have been behind-the-scenes discussions by lawyers from both sides."
Kidd, 33, and his estranged wife, who have three children, have been separated for several months. Kidd started the divorce battle with a disadvantage - he was once busted for punching his wife in the mouth after she gave him grief for eating their son's French fries.
After he filed for divorce, Nets management barred Joumana from games, and stories surfaced about how players had dubbed her "Five-O" - a street term for the police - because she allegedly snooped on her husband.
Meanwhile, Kidd's contention that he was manhandled by a woman a foot shorter and half his weight was greeted with great skepticism.
Through it all, Joumana stayed silent - even after the 34-year-old was briefly kicked out of the family's Saddle River home when Kidd took out a restraining order.
But the ex-model also took out her own restraining order and let slip through Felder that she is prepared to accuse Kidd of infidelity and much more.
Originally published on January 27, 2007
