The plaintiff argued the alter-ego rule to make the defendant Nancy Benner, spouse, responsible for her ex/disbarred attorneys’ failure to pay the agreed upon referral fee.

The defendant raised the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel. The court wrote that to prove it, the defendant must show that counsel’s performance fell below objective standards.

Joy filed for divorce from Robert in 2012 after confirming that Robert had been having an affair with Hansen, during which, Robert gave her over $300K to remodel her East Ellen St. house.