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Lawyers for GE's Welches in Court Over Alimony
Aired September 19, 2002 - 10:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: Lawyers for former GE chairman Jack Welch are battling Welch's estranged wife in court this morning in Connecticut. They are fighting over alimony payments in a case that has also touched off a very public debate over CEO perks from various companies.
Let's go to Mary Snow at the courthouse.
So Mary, I read in "The Wall Street Journal," I believe it was, that Welch has agreed to give some things back.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He did, Kris. Earlier this week, he gave back his benefits that GE had given the retirement chairman and CEO of General Electric. But they are talking about lavish lifestyles. That is certainly the focus of today's hearing at the Fairfield County Courthouse.
Neither Jack Welch nor his estranged wife, Jane, are here today, but their lawyers are inside the courthouse right now. And the center of today's hearing is the financial affidavit that Jane Welch filed, and that is the court paper that really stirred an uproar because it listed in detail the cost GE was paying for Jack Welch in his retirement -- everything from corporate jets down to wine and flowers.
Earlier this week, Jack Welch came out saying that because perception matters more than ever in an environment where public trust was shaken, he gave back those benefits. But his lawyers are here today because they are challenging the claims made in those financial papers filed by his estranged wife, saying a lot of those cost were speculative, and they want them dismissed.
I caught up with Jack Welch's attorney as he headed into court today, an I asked him now that Jack Welch is giving back these benefits how it will impact this divorce settlement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMUEL SCHOOMAKER, JACK WELCH'S ATTORNEY: She wants the lifestyle that these benefits created. Now that these benefits created, now that the benefits have gone away and he is paying for them directly, that may very well have an impact. But it is too premature to speculate on what effect that is going to have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Now, currently Jane Welch is getting $35,000 a month in support from her estranged husband. But she says that is not enough. And she cites the extraordinary lifestyle that couple led in their 13 years of marriage. So she wants a bigger support payment.
And then on another sidebar, as you mention, the benefits came under scrutiny by the SEC, which earlier this week said that it was beginning an informal probe into the disclosure of the retirement package from GE.
Now, next month an alimony hearing is scheduled to take place, and that's when the lawyers will hash out the exact payment of alimony. but Jack Welch's attorneys do say that if this financial paper is not thrown out, that they will appeal to the judge -- Kris.
ORBORN: Mary, I wanted to ask you, although some have raised the question about whether a divorce proceeding is the proper venue for these kinds of personal issues and relating it to corporate greed -- but I want to talk about specifics. We've heard about the apartment in Manhattan and the corporate planes, etcetera, but what are you hearing about additional specifics related to this?
SNOW: Kris, one thing I just wanted to mention, critics, according to corporate governance experts, are saying the reason why this has gained so much attention is they wanted to see this disclosure made by the company when GE reached this agreement with Jack Welch six years ago, and not in a divorce proceeding.
But in terms of the benefits that Jack Welch is going to be getting, he did say earlier this month that he was going to be paying about $2 to $2.5 million a year in the benefits of GE corporate services from now on and that he was giving back those benefits. So the exact numbers are still going to have to be hashed out.
OSBORN: Mary Snow, live at the courthouse in Connecticut. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 19, 2002 - 10:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: Lawyers for former GE chairman Jack Welch are battling Welch's estranged wife in court this morning in Connecticut. They are fighting over alimony payments in a case that has also touched off a very public debate over CEO perks from various companies.
Let's go to Mary Snow at the courthouse.
So Mary, I read in "The Wall Street Journal," I believe it was, that Welch has agreed to give some things back.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He did, Kris. Earlier this week, he gave back his benefits that GE had given the retirement chairman and CEO of General Electric. But they are talking about lavish lifestyles. That is certainly the focus of today's hearing at the Fairfield County Courthouse.
Neither Jack Welch nor his estranged wife, Jane, are here today, but their lawyers are inside the courthouse right now. And the center of today's hearing is the financial affidavit that Jane Welch filed, and that is the court paper that really stirred an uproar because it listed in detail the cost GE was paying for Jack Welch in his retirement -- everything from corporate jets down to wine and flowers.
Earlier this week, Jack Welch came out saying that because perception matters more than ever in an environment where public trust was shaken, he gave back those benefits. But his lawyers are here today because they are challenging the claims made in those financial papers filed by his estranged wife, saying a lot of those cost were speculative, and they want them dismissed.
I caught up with Jack Welch's attorney as he headed into court today, an I asked him now that Jack Welch is giving back these benefits how it will impact this divorce settlement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMUEL SCHOOMAKER, JACK WELCH'S ATTORNEY: She wants the lifestyle that these benefits created. Now that these benefits created, now that the benefits have gone away and he is paying for them directly, that may very well have an impact. But it is too premature to speculate on what effect that is going to have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Now, currently Jane Welch is getting $35,000 a month in support from her estranged husband. But she says that is not enough. And she cites the extraordinary lifestyle that couple led in their 13 years of marriage. So she wants a bigger support payment.
And then on another sidebar, as you mention, the benefits came under scrutiny by the SEC, which earlier this week said that it was beginning an informal probe into the disclosure of the retirement package from GE.
Now, next month an alimony hearing is scheduled to take place, and that's when the lawyers will hash out the exact payment of alimony. but Jack Welch's attorneys do say that if this financial paper is not thrown out, that they will appeal to the judge -- Kris.
ORBORN: Mary, I wanted to ask you, although some have raised the question about whether a divorce proceeding is the proper venue for these kinds of personal issues and relating it to corporate greed -- but I want to talk about specifics. We've heard about the apartment in Manhattan and the corporate planes, etcetera, but what are you hearing about additional specifics related to this?
SNOW: Kris, one thing I just wanted to mention, critics, according to corporate governance experts, are saying the reason why this has gained so much attention is they wanted to see this disclosure made by the company when GE reached this agreement with Jack Welch six years ago, and not in a divorce proceeding.
But in terms of the benefits that Jack Welch is going to be getting, he did say earlier this month that he was going to be paying about $2 to $2.5 million a year in the benefits of GE corporate services from now on and that he was giving back those benefits. So the exact numbers are still going to have to be hashed out.
OSBORN: Mary Snow, live at the courthouse in Connecticut. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
