Judge rules NYC woman can file for divorce via Facebook

A New York City woman can legally file for divorce from her husband via Facebook, a judge has ruled.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Matthew Cooper said that a nurse named Ellanora Baidoo can serve her husband with divorce papers through a Facebook message, according to the initial report by the New York Daily News.


Baidoo’s attorney says the couple married in 2009 but that the relationship soured after the husband, Victor Sena Blood-Dzraku, broke his promise to hold a traditional Ghanaian ceremony. Both husband and wife hail from Ghana.

“This transmittal shall be repeated by plaintiff’s attorney to defendant once a week for three consecutive weeks or until acknowledged,” the ruling says, according to the Daily News report, with the lawyer messaging Blood-Dzraku through Baidoo’s account.

Blood-Dzraku has only been in contact with his wife on the phone and on Facebook, according to the court filing.

“We tried everything, including hiring a private detective — and nothing,” said the plaintiff’s attorney, Andrew Spinnell.