MARGARET DUCEY VS. STEPHEN DUCEY A-1066-09T3
Without addressing the parties' arguments on the merits of the substantive challenges to the amended final judgment of divorce (JOD) in this matrimonial matter, we are constrained to reverse, as we reject the procedure employed by the trial judge, who, after presiding over a fourteen-day trial, entered a final JOD advising the court's "underlying opinion will be sent shortly." Several months later, when the trial judge released the reasoning for her prior determinations, the substantive provisions diverged significantly from those in the JOD and counsel was ordered to prepare an amended JOD. Although the trial judge included factual findings for many of the conclusions set forth in the amended JOD, no explanation was given for the wholesale alteration of the initially ordered
provisions in the JOD. We reject any suggestion that the trial judge's actions in this regard fall within her reasoned discretion, as discussed in Lombardi v. Masso, 207 N.J. 517 (2011). Accordingly we reverse and remand for a new trial before a different Family Part judge. 02-02-12
