Silverman v. Spiro’s Empirical Analysis
2003
Citation profile
13 state decisions
Relationships
Applies 29 U.S.C. § 1056 (§ 206 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974)
Relies on Guidry v. Sheet Metal Workers National Pension Fund · American Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Merry · Rice v. Rice · Ross v. Ross · Heins v. Ledis
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 13 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“(i) the term “qualified domestic relations order” means a domestic relations order— (I) which creates or recognizes the existence of an alternate payee’s right to, or assigns to an alternate payee the right to, receive all or a portion of the benefits payable with respect to a participant under a plan, and (II) with respect to which the requirements of subparagraphs (C) and (D) are met, and (ii) the term “domestic relations order” means any judgment, decree, or order (including approval of a property settlement agreement) which— (I) relates to the provision of child support, alimony payments, or marital property rights to a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a participant, and (II) is made pursuant to a State domestic relations law (including a community property law).”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“Necessarily implicit, however, in the Federal law's recognition of a QDRO, is authorization for the reimbursement of attorney's fees incurred in obtaining a proper order. Were it otherwise, a former spouse or party who succeeded in obtaining an appropriate QDRO, would have the order reduced by the necessity of paying attorney's fees. In some circumstances, a former spouse or party might even forgo seeking a needed QDRO because of the prohibitive nature of unreimbursed attorney's fees. These results would undermine the intent of Congress in establishing the QDRO exception by denying deserving parties and children a recovery to which they are entitled. [ Id. at 8 .]”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“The father is entitled to the benefit of a QDRO to recover attorney’s fees in connection with his work related to the order establishing back child support owed by the mother because that order collects arrearages.... The father’s attorney’s time spent on other aspects of the case (obtaining custody ...) cannot be included in the QDRO because they do not relate to the “provision of child support, alimony payments, or marital property rights.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.