A divorced couple dropped their lawsuit against the woman who was holding their ability to remarry hostage until she received her promised share of their relocation compensation, a district court said Thursday.
The case exposes a not unheard of practice involving paper divorces and remarriages that homeowners have used to maximize their compensation when the government takes their home.
In this case, Zhang Lili and her then-husband filed for divorce after Zhang learned in May 2011 that the government would relocate her family, according to a press release from the court.
Their idea was to take advantage of relocation rules that base the size of the compensation heavily on the number of people registered to the household.
Zhang and her husband attempted to increase the number by each remarrying a friend who was in on the scheme. They signed agreements with their friends that promised them 50,000 yuan ($8,120) after they received the compensation, said Chen Weihua, a press officer for the Yangpu District People's Court.
The deal soured after the government postponed the relocation indefinitely and the couple decided to divorce their friends so they could get remarried, according to the press release
Their male friend agreed to divorce Zhang, but their female friend, Xu Huaidi, refused to divorce her husband until the couple paid up.
The couple took Xu to court, demanding the court grant the divorce. In court, the judge excoriated both parties for their scheme, embarrassing the couple into withdrawing the lawsuit.
Chen told the Global Times that the issue would likely be settled out of court.
He also pointed out that the couple's agreement with their friends was invalid and the court would have likely ordered the divorce with Xu.
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