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respondent’s motion and we shall deny petitioner’s motion.
Background2
Petitioner resided in Stillwater, Oklahoma, at the time that
his petition was filed with the Court.
On January 17, 1995, Kay Rogers Berry (Mrs. Berry)
instituted a divorce action against Thomas D. Berry (petitioner)
in the District Court for Payne County, Oklahoma (State court).
Shortly thereafter, on February 9, 1995, the State court granted
Mrs. Berry an award of $6,000 for attorney’s fees. Later that
year, on August 9, 1995, the State court modified its February 9,
1995, order to require petitioner to pay the additional sum of
$30,000 for attorney’s fees and costs.
On August 28, 1996, the State court ordered petitioner to
pay Mrs. Berry the additional sum of $154,000 for attorney’s
fees. This amount was ordered to be paid for services that had
already been rendered by Mrs. Berry’s attorney and not for
services to be rendered in the future. The August 28, 1996,
order did not state whether petitioner would remain liable for
the payment of the $154,000 amount if Mrs. Berry should die
before such amount were paid.
On April 1, 1997, the State court issued a decree of divorce
2 What follows in the text is a summary of the relevant
facts. They are stated solely for the purpose of deciding the
pending cross-motions for partial summary judgment, and they are
not findings of fact for this case. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(a);
Rule 1(a).
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