Matrimonial Mess: Fathers-In-Law in Cash Clash

Wedding bells have turned to legal bills for two Fort Lauderdale fathers-in-law who have been embroiled in a lawsuit over money following the swift breakup of their kids' marriage.

Father of the groom Montel Nelson and father of the bride Wilma Pierre Louis were both in court Thursday to sort out a reported loan Nelson gave Pierre Louis shortly before the 2008 nuptials, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Nelson claimed the $4,000 he gave Pierre Louis was a loan that was never repaid. Pierre Louis claimed the money was to help pay for the $15,000, 175 guest wedding at the Floridian Ballrooms in Pembroke Pines.

When the marriage failed after about a year, Nelson took Pierre Louis to court.

"They were supposed to pay 50 percent of the bill," said Pierre Louis during Thursday's court appearance. "I have never been in a position where I needed to borrow $4,000."

According to Pierre Louis, splitting weddings costs is customary in Haiti, where both families' ancestors are from.

Nelson shot back, claiming his son, Jerster Nelson, had come to him before the wedding, asking him to give a loan to his future father-in-law. He also claimed Pierre Louis told him he needed the money for a trip to Brazil and would repay it once a hold was taken off his bank account.

"I thought he was a man of character," Nelson said, according to the Sun-Sentinel. "It's all lies."

In the end, Broward County Judge Martin Dishowitz ruled in favor of Nelson, meaning Pierre Louis will have to pay up.

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