Postnup battle vs. famed tele-lawyer
Bruce T. Davis — the mustachioed lawyer who founded the ambulance-chaser hot line 1-800LAWYERS — got his wife to sign a lopsided postnuptial agreement while she was represented by his “drinking buddy,” according to court papers.
Davis’s wife, Pamela, 48, claims she had been physically abused throughout her marriage and was pressured by her wealthy hubby’s “impatience” into signing two lousy post-nups in 2001 and 2005.
The former South Dakota waitress, who married Davis in 1992, agreed to give up her share of his $24 million fortune in exchange for just a $300,000 signing bonus, a $1 million lump-sum payment, a $4,000 housing allowance and $750 a month in child support, according to the documents.
Pamela, whom an appeals court describes as “a person of limited education,” complained that as they worked out the details of their 2005 postnup, she was repre- sented by a pal of her husband’s who had “little-to-no matrimonial experience” and who was “in direct contact with the husband” as they drew up the agreement, the court records said.
“She does not recall ever being advised of the contents of the agreement, or having a clear understanding of the rights she was waiving by signing the agree- ments,” the papers say.
Pamela — who has three kids with Davis, including one who is under age 18 — also claims that during their marriage, the lawyer treated her so badly that he drove her to drink.
The revelations have come to light after Bruce Davis sued his wife for divorce in 2015, and Pamela asked a court to invalidate their postnup.
A lower court refused to OK the slanted deal, and that decision was upheld Tuesday by a Manhattan appeals court, paving the way for a hearing about whether the postnup is valid.
The court ruled that “the wife’s allegations raise an issue of fact as to whether the agreements were the product of the husband’s overreaching.”
Pamela Davis’s lawyer, Brett Ward, said the ruling acknowledges the “inequitable situation” his client was in when she signed the deals.
Bruce Davis, who has retired from practicing law, was last in the news in 2012 for slashing the price of his Long Island mansion from $12 million to just $6 million.
At the height of his legal career, Davis carried around brass business cards engraved with his name and “1-800-LAWYERS” and drove a Rolls Royce with vanity plates bearing his initials.
She does not recall . . . having a clear understanding of the rights she was waiving. — Court papers on postnups signed by wife of lawyer Bruce T. Davis (right)