Man Demands Trial By Combat To Settle Dispute With Ex-Wife

Divorces can get real nasty. Many times we've seen both sides of the split angrily fire back and forth over such things as money, child custody, property etc. It's usually not pretty. But when one side feels their ex and their ex's lawyer have "destroyed them legally", they might want to settle things in a more nontraditional manner.

One Kansas man might have seen too many episodes of Game of Thrones, for he has asked an Iowa court to grant his motion for "Trial by Combat". The NY Daily News says the 40 year-old man asked the judge to step aside as he planned to meet his ex-wife and her attorney on a field of combat. According to a motion obtained from the Des Moines Register, the man planned to "rend their souls from their corporal bodies". Whoa.

According to the Carrol Times Herald, he even asked the Iowa District Court to give him twelve weeks "lead time" in order to source or forge katana and wakizashi swords. Quite the dramatic way to settle a score.

While this may all sound absurd, there is an actual tie-in to the state of New York. Surprised? In 2016, a Staten Island attorney demanded a trial by combat with plaintiffs in a particularly crazy case. The attorney said that duels, or hand-to-combat to settle matters such as these were never outlawed in the United States or in New York state.

Apparently, the man from Kansas told the Des Moines Register he drew inspiration from this 2016 case in Staten Island to settle his own dispute.

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