Rosenberg v. Rosenberg, No. 1555

• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland
• Writing for the Court: ROSALYN B. BELL
• Citation: 497 A.2d 485,64 Md.App. 487
• Parties: , 54 USLW 2187 Henry A. ROSENBERG, Jr. v. Eleanor K. ROSENBERG. ,
• Decision Date: 01 September 1984
• Docket Number: No. 1555

Page 487

64 Md.App. 487 497 A.2d 485, 54 USLW 2187 Henry A. ROSENBERG, Jr.
v.
Eleanor K. ROSENBERG. No. 1555, Sept. Term, 1984. Court of Special Appeals of Maryland. Sept. 10, 1985.

[497 A.2d 488]

Page 493

James G. Beach, Jr., Towson (Timothy J. Martin, Towson, and Walter J. Rockler, Washington, D.C., on brief), for appellant.

Arnold M. Weiner, Baltimore (Stephen B. Caplis, Donna C. Sanger and Phyllis W. Brown, Baltimore, on brief), for appellee.

Before WILNER, ROSALYN B. BELL and ROBERT M. BELL, JJ.

ROSALYN B. BELL, Judge.

Large fortunes beget large problems, which engender predictable issues when the holders of those fortunes enter the domestic relations arena. The issues referred to are labeled monetary award, alimony, custody/child support, counsel fees and costs. Only one of those issues is absent here, and that solely because of the age of the children.

Eleanor Kantor and Henry A. Rosenberg, Jr., were married on June 22, 1952, in Charleston, West Virginia. Their three sons are all emancipated. On November 1, 1981, Mr. Rosenberg left home with the purpose of ending the marriage. The divorce decree followed a lengthy and highly publicized trial and ended almost thirty-two years of marriage. The chancellor found, in part, that Mr. Rosenberg was

Page 494

"guilty of adultery on numerous occasions during their marriage and that [Mrs. Rosenberg] committed adultery on a single occasion in 1983, approximately two years after the parties separated. There is clearly no hope of reconciliation between the parties. In short, without even considering disputed grounds for a divorce a vinculo matrimonii, all the bases for a divorce a vinculo matrimonii on the basis of adultery or on the basis of a two year separation have been met."

Before going into the details of the Rosenbergs' life together, it is important to look briefly at the family which is the source of this fortune.

Rosenberg Family Background

Louis and Henrietta Blaustein were survived by one son and two daughters: Jacob, Fanny and Ruth. Jacob and his wife Hilda Blaustein had three children. Fanny married Alvin Thalheimer and they had one son. Ruth married Henry A. Rosenberg, Sr., and they had three children. Henry A. Rosenberg, Jr., appellant, was one of those children.

The American Trading and Production Corporation (ATAPCO) was started in 1931 by Louis and Jacob Blaustein. Louis Blaustein owned approximately 75% of the company's stock and Jacob Blaustein owned the remainder. Upon Louis Blaustein's death, most of his shares were transferred to his wife and three children.

ATAPCO originally consisted of a little less than fifty percent interest in Crown Central Petroleum Corporation (Crown) and twenty-five percent in American Oil Company. A subsequent merger of American Oil Company with Standard Oil of Indiana produced the large stock holdings of the latter company now held by ATAPCO. Most of the other family interests did not become a part of ATAPCO until much later. By the time the present case arose, ATAPCO had substantial gas interests, held interests in office and

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commercial buildings, and had substantial manufacturing interests.

Following the death of Jacob Blaustein in 1970, many changes were made in the operation. Dr. Morton Blaustein, Jacob Blaustein's son, assumed greater responsibility, and David Hirschhorn, son-in-law of Jacob Blaustein, became President in 1980. Louis Thalheimer, grandson of Fanny Thalheimer, joined the business at about that time and was involved primarily in the marine operations.

During these transitions, appellant was the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive[497 A.2d 489] Officer of Crown. ATAPCO continued to hold approximately 50% of the Crown voting stock and ATAPCO stock was owned wholly by family members. ¹

Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg

In 1954, after a short stint in the service, appellant returned to work at Crown, where his father was President. In 1955, his father died suddenly. To assist Mrs. Ruth Rosenberg, appellant and his family moved into the large family home, where they remained for two and one-half years.

In 1955, appellant also became a director of Crown and Assistant to the President. His career continued to flourish. He held the position of Vice President for Administration in 1959, in 1966 was elected the top officer of Crown, with the title of President, and assumed his present title in 1975. Appellant was elected to the Board of Directors of ATAPCO in 1961, and for more than twenty years, served as the only representative of the Rosenberg branch. When Jacob Blaustein died in 1970, appellant succeeded him as the ATAPCO representative on the Union Trust Board; ATAPCO is the largest shareholder in Union Trust Bank. Over the years, ATAPCO formed subsidiaries for its increasing

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holdings, and appellant became a director of all but one of them. In 1979, he served as one of four members of a special ATAPCO committee, known as the Long Range Planning Committee, which was organized for the purpose of modernizing the ATAPCO maritime fleet. In 1980, when ATAPCO created an Advisory Committee, appellant became one of its four members. The precise function of that committee was a point of controversy in this case; that is, whether it was to serve as a place to air family differences, as an Executive Committee of the Board, or something in between.

Crown and ATAPCO prospered through the years and appellant's income soared; his assets swelled, and he adopted and maintained an opulent lifestyle for himself, his wife and his family. In 1983, his cash income exceeded $850,000, and his total annual income including noncash benefits was far more. ATAPCO provided him with free legal, accounting and investment services estimated at more than $50,000 for one year, and Crown supplied a new Cadillac automobile biannually. Crown and family foundations provided him with substantial resources for charitable giving. At the time of the divorce, the chancellor found appellant's net worth was approximately $33 million.

Eleanor Rosenberg, appellee, shared her husband's aspirations and made significant contributions to his success. Throughout the years of their marriage, appellee maintained a close relationship with all of the family members, including her mother-in-law and those who held leadership roles at ATAPCO. In addition, she did whatever she could to help further appellant's success. For instance, in 1955, when the first two of the parties' children were infants, appellant asked appellee to give him "his freedom" to pursue his business career. The witnesses overwhelmingly agreed that she undertook virtually the entire burden of raising the children and of maintaining and managing the family household. Appellant admitted that the single-minded pursuit of his business career led him to neglect his wife and family; he absented himself from the home on weekends

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and was even late for his 25th wedding anniversary party, a particularly sore point. Witnesses told of leaving the party before appellant's midnight arrival and of appellee's humiliation and embarrassment.

During the marriage, appellee also entertained frequently for her husband's benefit. She routinely invited business associates and community leaders to their home for large parties and intimate dinners, and she served regularly as the hostess for Crown executives and their wives at community,[497 A.2d 490] social, charitable and political events. Appellee accompanied her husband to the meetings of the National Petroleum Refiners Association, an industry group of more than 1,000 members. When he was made Chairman of that organization, she headed the wives' group and performed her duties skillfully, diligently and graciously.

The parties owned and occupied a 20-room mansion, maintained by a staff of four, in an exclusive area of Baltimore. Appellant also purchased and furnished two other homes at a combined cost of approximately $550,000. They vacationed frequently in the Caribbean, Mexico, Maine, and the ski areas of Colorado. On vacations and casual outings, they traveled in the Crown corporate jet which was at appellant's disposal.

Appellant's largest asset, and that which experienced the greatest growth, was his ownership interest in ATAPCO. Between September 1953 and July 1972, Ruth Rosenberg and Henrietta Blaustein (appellant's mother and grandmother, respectively) had created a total of four trusts for the benefit of family members, including appellant. The trusts contained substantial amounts of ATAPCO stock. He also held a remainder interest in numerous trusts created by Louis Blaustein, subject to a life interest and power of appointment in Ruth Rosenberg.

Over the years, the relationship between appellant and appellee deteriorated. He found interests outside the home, as did she. A substantial difference, however, was that his

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interests involved, at least in part, other women, while she became prominent in community and charitable enterprises.

In the late 1970's appellee began to abuse alcohol and prescription drugs. Appellant also abused alcohol, but did not suffer the same effects. The situation reached a climax in July 1981, when she admitted herself to Springwood Hospital for drug treatment. He visited his wife at the hospital to announce that he was leaving home and to secure her signature on a separation agreement. She refused and then underwent a brief psychotic episode. As a result, her hospitalization was prolonged by about a month and a half. After her discharge from the hospital, appellant remained in the marital home and continued his efforts to have her sign the separation agreement. He ultimately moved out on November 1, 1981.

Trial Court Proceedings

In 1983, Mrs. Rosenberg filed a Bill of Complaint for Divorce A Vinculo Matrimonii, alleging adultery, abandonment and desertion as grounds for the divorce. Mr. Rosenberg filed an Answer and Cross-Bill of Complaint for Divorce A...