My attorney handed the judge a timeline of every delay: three continuances requested by his side, two motions that had been denied, and fourteen months of hearings that accomplished almost nothing. Then she submitted my legal bills beside his. The judge looked at the stack, leaned back, and quietly said, “This court does not reward litigation used as a weapon.” My husband stopped smiling.
Nine minutes later, the judge granted my motion for attorney’s fees. She found that the repeated delays had unnecessarily increased the cost of the case and ordered my husband to reimburse a substantial portion of my legal expenses. His attorney immediately asked to be heard. The judge shook her head. “Your client chose this strategy,” she replied. “He can also choose how to pay for it.”
As we walked out of the courthouse, my husband looked stunned. The same man who had promised to bankrupt me with legal fees was now writing the check that allowed me to keep fighting. My attorney smiled as she packed away her files and said, “Some people think the person with the most money wins. They forget the court has seen this game before.” That was the day I realized justice isn’t always fast—but sometimes it knows exactly how to stop someone from buying more time.
