After dividing their assets, the couple was having difficulties coming to an agreement about custody of their pet parrot.
Pets such as cats and dogs are often the subject of wrangling in divorce cases. However, the talking parrot presented an unusual problem.
The parrot's ability to learn words and phrases means that an ex-husband or wife could potentially, or even inadvertently, teach the bird mean phrases about the other person.
Just settled a divorce over visitation of a parrot. Neither may teach it negative phrases about the other. I went to law school for this.
— Michael Adler (@madler9000) 14 ноября 2016 г.
As divorce negotiations appeared to reach an impasse over the bird issue, divorce lawyer Michael Adler spoke to colleagues to see if they could come up with a solution.
— Andrew R (@ExcelPope) 15 ноября 2016 г.
Eventually, he hit upon "the idea of just agreeing not to say anything nasty in front of the parrot," Adler told Billy Penn.
"You have to use creative skills to get at what is bothering the other side," he explained.
The story is not the first time a parrot has played a key role in a divorce. Last month a parrot in Kuwait reportedly revealed a husband's affair with his housemaid, after learning flirty phrases the lovers used when they were together, and repeating them in the presence of the man's wife.