Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Britney Spears' 55-hour marriage annulled

Attorney calls couple's decision `very mature'

Las Vegas attorney David Chesnoff, right, files the annulment decree Monday for Britney Spears and Jason Alexander at the family court in Las Vegas. Accepting the document is Lindy Martinez-Webb. Photo by Associated Press

Men, don't give up on that fantasy just yet: Britney Spears is a single woman again.

On Monday, a Clark County judge annulled Spears' surprising Saturday morning union to longtime friend Jason Allen Alexander on the Las Vegas Strip.

"Ms. Spears is no longer married," said Spears' attorney, David Chesnoff. "It's fair to say they didn't recognize the seriousness of what was happening. They've made a very mature decision to annul the marriage."

The couple, both of Kentwood, La., tied the knot about 5 a.m. Saturday at the Little White Wedding Chapel. The wedding was first reported by the Review-Journal and made international news.

But by Sunday, Spears was seeking an annulment. Her record label issued a statement saying the couple "took a joke too far" by marrying.

In explaining the circumstances of the bizarre marriage, Chesnoff said Monday that the couple did not realize the marriage was legally binding at the time they wed. He said the pair did, in fact, secure a Clark County marriage license and had the wedding at the chapel, but they mistakenly thought the marriage would be binding only if they returned to the county courthouse and filed their certificate of marriage and license with the court.

In Nevada, however, a minister or the chapel that carries out a wedding is required by law to file a certificate of marriage with the county recorder's office, thus making the union official.

"Both were under the impression they had to return the license and file it for them to really be married," Chesnoff said. "They didn't know the chapel does that by statute."

On Monday morning at about 10 a.m., Chesnoff filed a complaint for annulment in Family Court on behalf of Spears. The document says "plaintiff Spears lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to the marriage."

The document goes on to say that Spears and Alexander "did not know each others likes and dislikes, each others desires to have or not have children, and each others desires as to state of residency."

Chesnoff said Alexander willingly agreed to endorse the annulment.

Within about two hours of the paperwork being filed, Family Court Judge Lisa Brown issued a decree of annulment and made a legal finding that there was "no meeting of the minds in entertaining this marriage contract."

The ruling was the conclusion off a tumultuous weekend for Spears, who is known for multiple bubble gum pop hits including "Oops ... I Did It Again." Her net worth is believed to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

If Alexander chose to contest the annulment, he could have claimed a right to at least a portion of the income Spears brought in during the time the two were married, court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer said.

The Associated Press reported Monday that Alexander granted an interview with the television show "Access Hollywood" on Monday morning regarding the marriage.

"It was just crazy, man," Alexander told the show. "And we were just looking at each other and said, `Let's do something wild, crazy. Let's go get married, just for the hell of it.' "

A statement by Spears' record label said:

"On January 3rd, Britney Spears and a friend took a joke too far by getting married."

Spears is not the only celebrity in recent years to secure an annulment in Las Vegas shortly after marrying. In 2000, Darva Conger got an annulment in Clark County for her television marriage to millionaire Rick Rockwell. The two married on the Fox TV show "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?" but it was later revealed that Rockwell was the subject of a restraining order obtained by a former fiancee.

Victoria Crockett, manager of Nevada Divorce and Paralegal Services, said an annulment dissolves a marriage.

"It's like it never happened in the first place," Crockett said.

Crockett said a judge usually picks from one of three options when asked to annul a marriage. They can grant the annulment, deny it or request a hearing.

"The Nevada statute requires a hearing for all annulments, but in many cases judges will opt not to have a hearing because of how busy the courts are," Crockett said.

She said there are several characteristics of a marriage that could result in an annulment. They include:

• The parties involved in the marriage are blood relatives.

• One of the parties was younger than 18 and didn't have parental consent.

• A party was intoxicated, insane or somehow incapacitated.

• One of the parties in the marriage engaged in fraud or lied to their spouse about their history.

Crockett said Spears' ability to get an annulment within hours of filing the necessary court documents is rare.

"It is highly unlikely that it is ever done that fast," she said. "It usually takes a few weeks."