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Mistress to pay wife back for husband’s expensive gifts

One of the big new stories last year was NBA team owner Donald Sterling's racist comments that resulted in his banishment from the league. A juicy side story that went along with his downfall was his relationship with V. Stiviano. During the course of that "relationship" (which Stiviano denies was romantic), Sterling treated Stiviano to lavish gifts, including cars and a duplex, totaling approximately $2.6 million. Sterling's wife, Shelly, was recently awarded this entire amount back after filing a lawsuit against her husband's mistress. V. Stiviano ordered to pay back $2.6 million in gifts, by Holly Yan, cnn.com, April 15, 2015.

Specifically, Shelly alleged that Stiviano targeted "extremely wealthy older men" and that Sterling used the couple's marital funds for all of Stiviano's gifts. Shelly argued that her husband did not have the right to use marital funds for such expensive gifts without her knowledge or consent. Stiviano argued that there was nothing wrong with her receiving gifts and that she did not take advantage of Sterling. The Judge, however, was unmoved and ordered Stiviano to repay Shelly the entire amount.

Though this case is in California, it sets an interesting precedent for future cases in other states where one spouse uses marital funds to spoil a mistress. In praising the decision as a victory for the Sterling family, Shelly's attorney said, "It also sets a precedent that the injured spouse can recover damages from the recipient of these ill-begotten gifts." Often, when it can be proven that a spouse used marital funds for expenses of an extra-marital affair, a Judge will balance out that spouse's actions as part of equitable division, by giving the other spouse a larger portion of the marital estate. This decision takes it one step further, by bringing the recipient of the gifts into the equation to pay damages.

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