When conflict arises in a marriage, it sometimes leads to divorce proceedings which then leads to more conflict. For one New York couple, the fighting stems not over a home or other visible possessions, but over a kidney.
Back in 2001, Dr. Richard Batista donated one of his kidneys to his wife, Dawnell. Now, these many years later, he wants it back. The wife filed for divorce in 2005, and while the divorce is still yet to be finalized, the kidney is still on the list of disputes.
Dr. Batista says that in lieu of the kidney, he would accept $1.5 million for the value of it all. While he says that he doesn’t regret giving his wife a kidney, he does want some acknowledgment.
Now, I don’t think that any lawyer in his right mind thinks that Dr. Batista will win on this point. After all, a kidney is not usually considered joint marital property. Body parts for organ transfers are usually not allowed to be sold or assigned a monetary value. Furthermore, if something was considered a gift, then usually the recipient gets to keep the gift. This is why spouses are usually assigned their own wedding and engagement rings, whether they want them or not.
It seems to me that Dr. Batista is just trying to make a point and bring media attention to “what an awful” wife he has. On his list of complaints is a claim that his estranged wife is denying him child visitation and that she has been having an ongoing affair.
It just goes to show you how ugly divorce can be. While I am not saying that there are not amicable divorces, most of the time this step is filled with negative emotions, anger being foremost.
There have been many cases in which a husband wants monetary compensation for the cost of breast implants or cosmetic surgery.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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