Before the judge could speak, Angelo pulls the document out from our county courthouse that appointed Matt guardian for Frank.
"The plaintiff's brother has been appointed full guardian" Angelo states as he shows the judge the document.
There is stunned silence. The judge and Fargo peer at the paper with their mouths open like it's a genie that just popped out of a bottle. 'Uh, uhh, I don't think we can accept this. It's not from Delaware County." The judge finally speaks an octave higher than her normal speaking voice.
"That's right judge, we can't accept a ruling from Montgomery County." Fargo parrots the judge and she says "Montgomery County" with disdain like only cretins are from Montgomery County.
"There is no jurisdiction on guardianship." Tom DiLiberto offers.
The judge knows he's right, but she just had to let this sink in a moment. She and Fargo did not plan on actually having to move forward on this case. They had no idea that Matt would obtain guardianship. Their plan was to halt all proceedings for lack of guardian even though she finalized the divorce without one.
Tom DiLiberto took control from here. He cut through all the bickering and told them what he wanted for Frank; half of Kat's retirement account. It is to be examined by an expert in pension valuations and a number determined. This new attorney is so professional and competent, everyone is mesmerized by him and instantly agrees to everything he says. He's like a legal Svengali. He made a simple, professional argument and didn't waver off his path with petty remarks and side comments. If I had to offer advice to anyone with legal issues, it's to ask around and hire the most well-respected, competent attorney you can afford because in the long run, it will be well worth it in speed of settlement of your case. Fargo was taking advantage of her position in the courthouse causing Angelo to chase his tail, taking up time and money. The emotional toll on our family, including Angelo, has been huge. We wanted to help Angelo get back into practicing law and at the same time help Frank. It seemed it would be helpful to have someone that knew us take on the case, but we found out it wasn't so. Angelo was too emotionally invested to be effective and he just didn't have the experience to leave his emotions out of the case and ended up giving Frank an enormous bill for his legal service. He worked on the case morning until night, often spending hours at the library doing research. He claims he had to turn down other work to address Fargo's constant filings. Angelo is so angry now that he no longer speaks to us because Frank could only pay a small fraction of the very large bill he handed us. The difference between Angelo and Tom side by side was very apparent, Angelo stood to the side of the proceedings like a third wheel on a blind date. Even he knew he was out of his league and all he could do was observe how it's done.
Tom and Angelo left the judge's chambers with a verbal settlement agreement. He had to sell it to us now. Matt and I and his brother were ushered into a conference room. The judicial candidate asked if she could come too and we were happy to have her in case we needed an impartial opinion. We wanted alimony from Kat to help Frank find a nice nursing home. The first thing Tom said is "You're not going to get alimony. They don't do alimony in Delaware County and if you did get it, the most you would get is $200 per month. That's not going to help anything, so you need to get this idea out of your head. I'm not going after Fargo either. I'm not going to attack another attorney, so that's not happening. (This may have been a swipe at Angelo and his gutter attacks on all three involved attorneys) We've reached a settlement agreement, we're going to split her retirement in half. It's a good offer and they've agreed to it, I think you should accept it."
We were disappointed that he wouldn't even try for the alimony. This is not your typical divorce; this man actually needs to be supported. I tried to argue our case but Tom interrupted me. "You will not get alimony, the judge will not order it. You need to let that go. This is the best you can do for your brother and also the best thing for you too so you can finally settle this. I can argue it for you but it will go on another year. Is that what you want?"
I look around the room at Vince, Matt, the judicial candidate, and they're all looking back at me, so I speak up. "She should have to support him. She's gotten everything. The kids, the house, the money, all their stuff . . . everything. She's sitting there all fat on top of the pile of their lives. Frank's gotten nothing. I think it's time she gave something back."
Vince looks at me and says, "Thank you Susie."
I'm a little fired up, so all I can do is nod at him.
Tom answers me, "It's not always about what's fair, or what's right. Sometimes it's just the best we can do."
I look at the judicial candidate, and she looks back at me sadly with a nod of resignation. "He's right, take the deal." she says.
Just then the door to the conference room opens and there's a woman standing in the doorway. She looks as if she's about to say something, because her mouth is open, but she's not saying anything. I think she's incredibly rude for interrupting us and finally I say to her, "Yes? Can we help you?"
Her mouth engages with her brain and she finally stammers, "Are we ready to continue?"
Tom answers, "Yes Judge, we'll be out in a moment."
I guess if I had looked her up online I would have known it was the infamous judge, but I had no idea and she certainly didn't fit my imagination of what she would look like. Delaware County seems to have this weird fashion time warp. She looked like she was straight out of the late seventies, with a bad Farrah Fawcett hairdo and sparkly blue eye shadow. I thought maybe she was a secretary who needed the conference room for carrying on her affair with the married bailiff. Once I knew who she was I was a little embarrassed that I spoke to her in that tone. We all noted that something threw her off when she opened the door. She was about to speak but couldn't get the words out. It was something she didn't expect. I think it must have been our judicial candidate. She was sitting directly opposite the door and would have been the first person the judge saw when she opened the door. It was an interesting and perplexing reaction.
"So, do we have an agreement?" Tom asks the room.
Matt speaks up, "Yes, I'm a little disappointed, but if that's the best we can do, then we'll take it."
"You've made the right decision." Tom replies. "Let's go tell them."
We walk out of the conference room and find the judge at her desk, and Kat and Fargo at theirs. I had no idea that they were all right outside of our room and I'm wondering if they just heard all that just transpired. We had to file past everyone to get back to our seats, I feel their eyes on us and I feel like I'm in a weird parade. The bailiff calls court to order and we all have to stand.
The judge goes over the agreement and asks both attorneys if they agree, which they do. At the end, Fargo asks if she can make a statement. She and her attorney stand up while she reads this long speech about how she will not be held accountable for any malpractice, no one can sue her for acting improperly, and such. Matt and I look at each other in shock at this bombshell. I'm looking at Angelo and waiting for him to say something. He's just sitting there staring straight ahead like a zombie. I feel like jumping up and objecting, but I have to guess that Angelo knows what he's doing. Fargo finishes absolving herself of any wrongdoing and the judge bangs her gavel to finalize the proceedings.
As professional as he was during court, Tom's exit has to be the most unexpected, unprofessional exit I could have expected. He's the first out of the room; at the bang of the gavel he jumped up and hurdled over the railing into the spectator section, then ran out of the courtroom like a plaid-clad super-hero on his way to solve his next case. It wouldn't have been so amusing if he didn't have on that trendy plaid suit, but the total picture gives everyone some unexpected comic relief.
Matt, Vince, Angelo and I go out to lunch afterward. We're sitting in a booth at a local seafood restaurant discussing the case. I say, "What was with that speech Fargo made?"
Matt answers, "I know, I couldn't believe it!"
Angelo asks, "What speech?"
"You didn't hear her? She made a long speech about how she's not accountable for anything she did." I respond.
"No, I didn't hear it." Angelo states simply.
Matt and I give each other another glance. We can speak without saying words, but we'll talk about this later. How could he have missed it? Where was his mind while she was orating for several minutes absolving herself of any wrongdoing after he's been accusing her of nothing but wrongs since he's been involved in the case?
We just hope that this is finally the end and we can all move on. Frank's needs are what is important to us at this moment and we need to get back to focusing on this and not Kat's drama club. There's nothing but drama surrounding this family though.
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