We’ve filed another pro bono brief in the Minnesota Court of Appeals today advocating for the reversal of bad Minnesota precedent previously allowing state trial courts to utilize veterans’ non-disposable, non-assignable military retirement and disability pay to supplement former spouses for their losses when the Veterans Administration reduces their automatic entitlement because the veteran receives disability pay instead of regular retirement.
Long story short, we’ve put a brief in supporting Navy Seal Chief Petty Officer Mark Mattson who had been fleeced for years by his former spouse under an order that was unauthorized by federal law – requiring him to pay over his disability pay to her in a property settlement agreement!
If it were not for the Supreme Court’s unanimous (8-0) decision in Howell v. Howell, in which we also submitted an amicus brief in and which the Court followed nearly to the letter, we would not be able to go knocking on the doors of each of those states that has defied federal law for nearly 30 years.
Now, we’ve got that opportunity and took the first step of many today to get in and set the record straight in these state courts.
Read the brief here: OFFE Amicus Brief – 20170623 (Amicus)
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Published by Carson J Tucker, JD MSEL
Owner of law firm since July 2014; Handles all types of appellate matters and assists other lawyers with complex litigation and insurance coverage issues; Admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the State Bar of Michigan; Expertise in prosecuting and defending appeals with several significant successes in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Michigan Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals; Author of briefs amicus curiae in the Michigan Supreme Court for the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel and the Insurance Institute of Michigan; Represents Insurance Companies, Major International Business, Governmental Entities, Law Enforcement Officers and County Sheriffs.
Board of Directors, Michigan Defense Trial Counsel
Amicus Committee Co-Chair, Michigan Defense Trial Counsel
Military - Retired Major in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps of the United States Army, Brigade Judge Advocate and Staff JAG officer for the Maneuver Training Center, Camp Grayling, Michigan; Recipient of the Army's Meritorious Service Medal (the highest medal of honor available to Soldiers serving in non-combat roles); 2012 Graduate of the Judge Advocate Officer Advanced Course, at The Judge Advocate Legal Center and School, Charlottesville, Virginia.
United States Navy Reserves, Combat Warfare Qualification, January 1989 to July 2003
Former law clerk to Justice Stephen J. Markman, Michigan Supreme Court, Research Attorney, Michigan Court of Appeals. Insurance Coverage Associate Plunkett Cooney; Environmental Law Attorney at Squire Sanders, now Squire Patton Boggs; Master's Degree in Environmental Law; Environmental Law Scholar, ALI/ABA Washington, D.C., Juris Doctorate, Vermont Law School, Environmental Editor, Vermont Law Review; Treasurer and Finalist, Moot Court Advisory Board.
View all posts by Carson J Tucker, JD MSEL
Amicus Curious 