Unbeknownst to Ms. LeVan, Bruce LeVan's vast wealth was concealed from his wife and would effectively cut her out of his riches in the event of marital breakdown. Only after they had separated in 2003 did Ms. LeVan, 42, learn that her husband had been worth $14.6-million at the time of their marriage and $33-million on the day they separated.

Three years after the separation, Ontario Superior Court Judge Nancy Backhouse has thrown out the contract and ordered Mr. LeVan -- 44-year-old scion of one of the 100 richest men in Canada -- to pay his former wife an equalization payment of $5.3-million.

"The husband deliberately breached his disclosure obligations," Judge Backhouse concluded in her ruling. "He interfered with the wife's attempts to receive independent legal advice. He wanted a marriage contract. He was indifferent to whether it was fair."

Judge Backhouse noted that during the marriage, Ms. LeVan was expected to finance a large share of their family expenses using a modest allowance. Believing their resources to be modest, she even cashed in her RRSPs and lived in apprehension that the couple might lose their home.

The award represents a share of the increase in Mr. LeVan's share of the family company, Wescast Industries Inc. - the world's largest manufacturer of exhaust manifolds for cars and light trucks.

While judges are increasingly holding partners responsible for the contracts they sign, Judge Backhouse said the LeVan contract was an aberration; a clear product of misrepresentation and improper disclosure.

"The wife trusted her husband completely," Judge Backhouse remarked. "She was getting very anxious as the wedding date was fast approaching. She was afraid that she and the husband were not going to be able to be married if the contract did not get signed soon."

"In surrendering virtually all of her rights and agreeing to contract out of the provisions of the Family Law Act, she did so without any meaningful information about the husband's assets and income, coupled with seriously misleading information about his net worth," Judge Backhouse said.

Kirk Makin, Globe and Mail

I wonder if there would ahve been this story at all if the judge had been a man.