Florida judge who granted Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen a ‘quickie divorce’ was ‘starstruck’

The Florida judge who declared NFL star Tom Brady divorced from supermodel Gisele Bündchen is under fire from critics who say his handling of the case was ‘unprecedented’ and claim he gave the celebrity couple special treatment. 

State law calls for a 20-day wait period between a divorce filing and the final judgment.

But Glades County Administrative Judge Jack Lundy declared the pair legally divorced without a hearing – just 33 minutes after receiving Bündchen’s petition last week.  

So was Judge Lundy, who’s been on the bench in the tiny agricultural Central Florida town of Moore Haven for 26 years, starstruck?

The judge isn’t talking.

But observers of the judicial process are, and they say Lundy redefined the term ‘quickie divorce’ in a state where some marriages last barely longer than a football game.

‘(Being starstruck) is likely the explanation for this,’ said Michael Barfield, director of public access for the Florida Center for Government Accountability, which ensures the public’s oversight of the judiciary system and access to the court system.

‘The way the judge handled this case is unprecedented,’ Barfield said. ‘It seems that the judge and the lawyers coordinated things to happen in advance of the divorce filing while the right to know is the basis of the court system.

And John Christiansen Jr., a high-profile divorce lawyer in West Palm Beach whose firm handled the four-year-long divorce of rapper Vanilla Ice, said several elements of Brady’s proceedings appeared unusual.

‘I don’t want to be seen as being critical of a judge, he said. ‘But I can tell you that the cases we have done end in a hearing where the husband or the wife, sometimes both, have to appear.

‘That hearing is for the judge to obtain testimony to make sure the judgment is correct,’ he added.

According to the time stamps on the few generic documents available for public review, the case was officially filed at 10:38am Friday.

The final judgment became official at 11:11am, meaning it took a grand total of 33 minutes from the time Bündchen petitioned for divorce until the celebrity couple were no longer bound to each other.

That gave the judge barely enough time to read every one of the 35-page file presented to him by the couple’s lawyers.

One longtime divorce Florida lawyer who asked to remain anonymous because of the possibility he could be called to represent a client in Glades County said he’d never seen or heard anything ‘remotely similar’ to Brady’s case. 

He even told DailyMail.com he might start using the same template to get quickie divorces for his clients. 

‘It’s like the county’s judiciary circled the wagons around them to coddle them,’ he said. 

‘Never mind that Tom Brady and Giselle Bündchen don’t need special treatment, they’re richer than God. 

‘But for the court staff to be arguing that this is available to any Floridian is laughable. It’s disingenuous. 

‘At least, be honest about it, own the fact that celebrities will be treated differently in Glades County, period.’

The speed of the Brady divorce is counter to a Florida statute that reads: ‘No final judgment of dissolution of marriage may be entered until at least 20 days have elapsed from the date of filing the original petition for dissolution of marriage.’ 

The statutes gives a judge the right to enter a divorce judgment sooner ‘on a showing that injustice would result from this delay.’

In Brady’s case, the filing doesn’t show any evidence or claim of injustice.

Especially when it involves children, a divorce in many Florida courts can take months or even years, depending on the parents’ financial ability and how contentious the split is.    

The 45-year-old Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and his supermodel ex have two children, 12-year-old Benjamin and 9-year-old Vivian. 

Most cases involve at least one hearing where the presence of the husband and the wife can be mandatory, often the hearing where the judge signs off on the divorce after a short interview of the petitioner and the respondent from the bench to ensure both understand what they’re doing.

In Brady’s case, neither he nor Bündchen showed up in court. Lundy’s judicial assistant Kelly Brantley told DailyMail.com last week: ‘We treated them the same as anyone else.

‘Everything was on the up-and-up,’ she added. ‘We did nothing differently. Their attorneys handled everything so we were able to process everything in one day. 

But according to the docket and subsequent interviews with courthouse staff, there was no hearing.

And, according to emails between the couple’s lawyers and Lundy’s judicial assistant obtained by DailyMail.com, Brantley was asked to shred the couple’s parenting plan and divorce settlement after the judge read them.

‘There is overwhelming interest from the public in any divorce case to ensure the fairness of the system,’ government accountability watchdog Barfield said. ‘That’s why cases are prosecuted in the sunshine. Otherwise, the inference is that the system is hiding something.

‘What is clear about this case is that the wealthy and famous are entitled to a different court system. I can promise you that the Glades County judiciary would be hard pressed to find one other case handled like Brady’s.’

According to the Florida constitution, those contemplating a divorce are allowed to file in any county so long as both parties agree. High-profile people often take advantage of it to avoid media and gawkers.

Late radio personality Rush Limbaugh, for example, traveled several hours south of his Palm Beach home in 2004 when he filed for divorce from third wife Marta in Key West.

Brady and Bündchen went by the same playbook.

According to the documents made public, they both fulfilled the legal requirement of attending a four-hour parenting class called Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course. 

According to his certificate of completion, Brady took the class online October 24 and 25.

Bündchen’s certificate shows she got 93% on her five certification quizzes and a final exam on October 26, just two days before the divorce was filed.

While Bündchen and Brady studied parenting skills, the emails between the lawyers and Brantley show coordination between the parties and the judge three to four days before the divorce was officially filed.

The emails show Lundy and Brantley were eager to do what the celebrities’ lawyers were askingthem.

In one email dated October 25, one of Brady’s lawyers tells Brantley: ‘Please find attached the Marital Settlement Agreement and Parenting Plan for the judge’s review. After the judge reviews the Marital Settlement Agreement and Parenting Plan, we kindly request that the same be shredded. For confidentiality purposes the document is passcode protected. I will send you a separate email with the passcode.’

Judiciary watchdog Barfield said Florida law does not address the shredding of records by judges.

Folks who work at the Moore Haven courthouse bristled at the thought they bent over backwards for the aging quarterback and his beautiful ex-bride.

‘Florida Law does include procedures to encourage and facilitate the prompt resolution of Dissolution of Marriage cases particularly when uncontested,’ wrote 20th Judicial Circuit spokeswoman Sara Miles in a statement to DailyMail.com. 

‘In addition, the 20th Circuit Court of Florida utilizes a process where parties who are involved in an uncontested Dissolution of Marriage may elect to file special interrogatories, which eliminates the need for a hearing. The statute requiring a ‘delay period’ does allow for exceptions.’

Judge Lundy did not respond to requests for comment. 

The emails between the judge’s office and the lawyers, meanwhile, showed quite a bit of back-slapping satisfaction after the case was adjudicated.

‘We sincerely appreciate your collective courtesy and accommodation,’ one lawyer wrote Brantley.

‘You’re quite welcome, glad to assist,’ she responded. ‘We are always glad to help.’