It appears that a resolution in the Kris Humprhies-Kim Kardashian divorce won’t be coming anytime soon. A court-mandated settlement conference was not fruitful as Kris Humprhies did not show up to the meeting. This absence was important in two respects.
First, raising the judge’s ire in a divorce proceeding is never good. While Houston family court judges are supposed resolve cases based on law and fact, they are human; and they do not like it when parties disregard their orders. This could actually compromise your legal position in close cases.
Second, disobeying a court order could hurt you in the pocketbook as well. Judges have the authority to impose monetary sanctions on parties that do not follow their orders.
It is unclear as to what prevented (or caused) Humprhies and his counsel to skip the conference. Perhaps they believed that it was pointless to continue to negotiate on issues where they simply were not going to agree, or they did not want to put themselves in a position where they would be subject to additional “arm-twisting.”
Regardless, the legal saga will continue. The principal issue between Kardashian and Humphries is whether the marriage should be ended in divorce, or should be annulled.
In the meantime, the court issued an Order to Show Cause, which is a directive by the court to appear and explain why the party should not be held in contempt. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for next week, while a trial is set for May 6th.
Source: ABC News.com, Kim Kardashian at divorce hearing that Kris Humphries skipped, April 12, 2013