Consent Order Divorce

Divorce Papers > Divorce Orders > Consent Order Divorce

Some litigations terminate with the judge issuing what is called as a 'consent order divorce' or 'consent judgment' or 'consent decree.' The judge issues this decree that conveys a voluntary agreement between the partners in the lawsuit. This generally occurs when one partner voluntarily accedes to stop a particular action without acknowledging the illegality or damages due to that action.

After a consent decree is entered, it is mandatory for both partners to observe it. It can be subject to review only in the following conditions.

• The decree was based on a failure of consent or on mutual error
• The consent was procured by fraud

Types of Consent Order Divorce

Interlocutory Consent Decree

The judge issues a decree to deal with an issue and this does not resolve the case.

Final Consent Decree

This is also called as a 'consent judgment.' The judge issues this decree to resolve the court case. Many times it is observed that this sort of consent decree is an agreement that the partners have reached and has been recognized by the court. This process takes place as follows.

• The partners reach an agreement
• The court recognizes this agreement
• The judge issues a final consent decree
• This decree is legally binding on the partners

The intentions of the partners to reach an agreement are as follows.

• Prevent undergoing a time-consuming court proceeding
• Minimize the costs that would occur due to retention of a legal counsel and filing of legal documents

Examples of Consent Order

A prominent example of consent decree is when a company is sued by government institutions like EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) or FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Similar ideology is applicable to divorce cases.

In some instances, the FDA detects grave issues regarding the manufacturing or quality of some products. The FDA might develop the opinion that the products are subjected to insecure handling or contamination. Due to this background, the FDA might require an order from the court that instructs the company to discontinue the production and sale of these products. Another point may be that the company may continue the production and sale of the medicines and/or food in the future, if these products comply with the federal laws mentioned regarding safe production. For all this to take place, the FDA might decide that a consent decree is preferable to a time-consuming legal action.

The EPA might feel the need that a company should clean up a site that has hazardous substances. Further, the EPA may be facing problems to obtain cooperation from the company without filing a lawsuit. So, the EPA may decide that it can ask the company, known as PRP (potentially responsible party), to clean the site at their own expense. If the PRP also thinks that they should not be required to face a lawsuit, they can accept a consent decree from the judge. As mentioned in the decree, they would be responsible for the cleaning up.

Divorce Papers