Ware v. Ware

David Ware (defendant) and Diane Ayers Ware (plaintiff) married in February 1993. Before the wedding, Ware asked an attorney to draft a prenuptial agreement, and on February 11, 1993, Ayers and Ware signed the prenuptial agreement, which provided that the Pizza Place business owed by Ware was a separate business. The prenuptial agreement also contained a certificating-of-attorney clause, stating Skeen had advised both parties of their legal rights. From 1993 to 2005, Ware acquired several other businesses as subsidiaries of the Pizza Place business. In 2005, Ayers filed for divorce, and in mediation, the parties disputed the division of the Pizza Place. Ware argued that under the prenuptial agreement the Pizza Place was separate property; Ayers argued the prenuptial agreement was invalid, rendering the business marital property. The family court conducted a hearing on the validity of the prenuptial agreement. Ware testified he obtained the agreement to protect his businesses. Ayers testified that the agreement was only brought up two weeks before the wedding and that Ware told her she did not need a lawyer. Skeen testified that although he usually advised parties to seek individual counsel, he represented both Ware and Ayers because they did not have conflicting interests. The trial court held the prenuptial agreement was void because Skeen had attempted to represent both parties and Ayers had no opportunity to consult independent counsel. The trial court entered a divorce decree, granting Ayers a 50 percent interest in the Pizza Place. Ware appealed the trial-court decision to the appellate court, which reversed the trial-court decision on the prenuptial agreement but affirmed in part Ayers’s interest in the Pizza Place. Wade and Ayers both appealed to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.