In a Decision – Souza v. Souza, , (an "Unreported Decision") >> the Court Held:
The Appellate Division affirmed the holding that the Wife could not retroactively claim disability.
The Appellate Division affirmed the trial court's judgment. The arbitrator further denied alimony to plaintiff, finding no proof to support her claim that a car accident had disabled her from working. Subsequently, the Social Security Administration ruled plaintiff disabled retroactive to the beginning of the parties' divorce case. Thereafter, the trial court denied plaintiff relief from the judgment of divorce, finding the motion untimely and ruling that plaintiff had not produced any evidence during documentation that was relevant to the financial issues in the case, noting that she could have produced other medical evidence in support of her claim of disability. The appellate division held that Wife’s refusal to provide evidence of her disability to the arbitrator during both arbitrations, only to attach the evidence in a motion seeking to overturn the arbitration award neither constituted excusable neglect nor newly discovered evidence to warrant relief.