Attorney
By definition, every legal dispute is difficult to resolve. But some are trickier than others. It is in these difficult cases, where no agreement is in sight, that a special master can be most helpful.
To illustrate this point, Attorney Bob Matteucci has rounded up a few examples of cases where a special master played a key role, and some information on the types of cases Bob has worked on as a special master in New Mexico.
Special Master in Trump Documents Case
The first time a lot of people learned about the work special masters do was in the litigation over the classified documents former President Trump took with him when he left the White House. A special master was briefly tasked with reviewing the documents seized by the FBI during its raid of Mar-a-Lago before an appeals court ruled that such a review was unnecessary. The semi-retired judge selected to serve as the special master was chosen in part because he had previously served on the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA court) and had experience sifting through top secret government information.
Judge Adopts Special Master Report in Nike Case
One of the most recent headline-generating cases involving a special master is a trademark dispute between Nike and a small sportswear company called Lontex Corp. The court ruled that Nike knowingly violated a trademark owned by Lontex, then tried to bury the smaller company in litigation instead of admitting its bad behavior.
The federal judge hearing the case brought in a retired state Supreme Court Judge as a special master to conduct an unbiased review of Nike’s litigation tactics (which the judge had already made clear he was unhappy with), and determine if the company’s conduct was outrageous enough to warrant a ruling that the shoe giant should pay Lontex’s extensive legal fees. The special master determined that Nike’s actions were “exceptual” and forcing it to pay Lontex’s multi-million dollar legal fees would be appropriate. The court accepted the report and issued a ruling agreeing with it.
Even the United States Supreme Court Uses Special Masters
This summer, the United States Supreme Court rejected the report of a special master it had tasked with hammering out a resolution to a decade-long dispute between New Mexico and Texas over Rio Grande water rights. The states have been fighting since 2013 over the amount of groundwater New Mexico entities are using up. Texas argues the water pumped out by New Mexicans would otherwise be flowing into the river, and should therefore be considered the property of the Lone Star State. The Supreme Court has now appointed a new special master to oversee the case, and directed them to consider the rights the federal government has to the water in addition to the rights the states have. The new special master has been a judge since 1984.
New Mexico Special Masters Take On Difficult Divorces
The cases above give you an overview of the circumstances where it is helpful to bring a special master in. It’s typically done in cases where:
- The unique knowledge or experience of the special master will speed the resolution of the case.
- The parties are locked into a dispute, and cannot come to an agreement on their own.
- The judge needs an unbiased individual with fresh eyes to review the matter at hand.
But it is not just big, headline-grabbing cases where the parties (and the judge) can benefit from the work of a special master. The New Mexico courts have recognized that hiring a special master can often help divorcing couples who have unique or complex assets resolve their differences and settle their case more quickly.
Attorney Bob Matteucci has served as a special master in a number of disputes where a divorcing couple agrees about everything except the division of a business or piece of property classified as marital property. Selling the asset outright and splitting the proceeds in half would be the simplest path forward if the judge were to act directly, but that can diminish an asset’s value or destroy its future utility. Bob can step in as a special master and see if there is some other way to fairly apportion the value of these assets. And if not, he can manage a court-ordered sale on behalf of the parties.
Attorney Matteucci is uniquely qualified to serve as a special master in these cases thanks to his years of family law experience and background as a small business owner. Before earning his J.D. with a concentration in Business Law from the University of New Mexico, Bob graduated from Tulane University with an MBA and was the owner of a profitable shoe store that generated over $5,500,000 in annual sales.
Serving Families with Dignity & Compassion
When a legal dispute seems impossible to resolve, the issues involved require a unique set of skills, or the judge needs more information in order to make a fair decision, hiring a special master is often the best path forward.
In difficult divorces involving unique assets, Attorney Bob Matteucci is often brought in as a special master thanks to his combination of legal skills and business experience. He works to find a resolution that makes financial sense while checking all of the legal boxes. Please contact him today to learn more and to schedule a confidential consultation.