Comedian Tracy Morgan is not amused a court may have to consider the equitable distribution of his multi-million-dollar personal injury award after his terrible accident. Less than a month before his fifth wedding anniversary, he and his Wife announced they filed for divorce.
The Rock
“Sadly, after nearly five years of marriage, Megan and I are filing for divorce,” Morgan confirmed in a statement to E! News on Wednesday, July 29.”This is a challenging time for all involved, so I ask that you please respect our privacy.”
It’s also been three years since a Walmart truck slammed into the back of Morgan’s limo van on the New Jersey turnpike. His friend, comedian James McNair, was killed and two others were seriously injured.
Morgan suffered a broken leg, broken ribs and what his lawyer describes as a “traumatic brain injury.” One year after the crash, he talked about the long road to recovery.
The truck driver in the accident, Kevin Roper, later pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide. Walmart took full responsibility for the crash and awarded Morgan and one of the other passengers a settlement that has been reported to be as high as $90 million.
Will Tracy’s wife be entitled to any of the personal injury settlement between Walmart and Tracy?
Florida Divorce Personal Injury Awards
I have written about equitable distribution in Florida before. In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, in addition to all other remedies available to a court to do equity between the parties, a court must set apart to each spouse that spouse’s non-marital assets and liabilities.
When distributing the marital assets between spouses, a family court must begin with the premise that the distribution should be equal, unless there is a justification for an unequal distribution based on all relevant factors.
What about a $90m personal injury award? The supreme court of Florida has held that in determining whether a worker’s compensation award is marital property, the trial court should use an analytical, rather than a mechanistic or unitary, approach.
The court should consider the purpose of the award and focus on the award’s “elements of damages.” Only that portion of damages paid to the injured spouse as compensation for past lost wages and loss of earning capacity is to be considered marital property and subject to equitable distribution.
Damages for future loss of earnings and loss of earning capacity and future medical expenses are considered to be the non-marital, separate property of the injured spouse.
Keep in mind that the award may be considered in fashioning alimony and support awards.
The Hard Place
Wollover, 33, made the request in her divorce filing. She also wants the “30 Rock” star to pay her alimony as agreed upon in their prenuptial agreement, which they signed on Aug. 5, 2015.
Morgan, 51, filed his response one day after Wollover and requested joint legal and shared residential custody of their daughter, according to docs. He also wants the court to allocate parenting time “in the best interests” of Maven.
“Sadly, after nearly five years of marriage, Megan and I are filing for divorce,” Morgan said in a statement to Page Six following Wollover’s divorce filing. “This is a challenging time for all involved, so I ask that you please respect our privacy.”
The news of Morgan’s split comes just a few months after he made comments about their sex life while in quarantine during a TV interview in April.
On a more serious note, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey after recovering from the car crash, he called Wollover “a strong woman” for how she oversaw his treatment in the hospital.
“I’m glad I’m here,” he told Winfrey during their sit-down at the time. “I’m glad my wife is over there.
The E online article is here.