US judge allows woman to file for divorce on Facebook

New York: A Manhattan court judge has granted a Brooklyn-based nurse permission to serve her husband divorce papers via a private message posted on the social networking site Facebook after attempts to contact him failed. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Matthew Cooper ruled recently that the woman is "granted permission to serve defendant with the divorce summons using a private message through Facebook," Time magazine reported.

It is, however, unclear if the decision will set a legal precedent for others. The woman named Ellanora Baidoo, 26, married Victor Sena Blood-Dzraku -- both originally from Ghana -- in a civil ceremony in 2009. Later, he refused to have a traditional Ghanian wedding as per the promise he made to his wife and left the apartment without informing anyone. He has, however, kept in touch from time to time with his wife on Facebook.

"[The] transmittal shall be repeated by plaintiff's attorney to defendant once a week for three consecutive weeks or until acknowledged by the defendant," the judge ordered. "Additionally, after the initial transmittal, plaintiff and her attorney are to call and text message defendant to inform him that the summons for divorce has been sent to him via Facebook," he added.

According to the court filing, Blood-Dzraku does not have a job, a driver's licence or even a fixed address. This is not the first time a US judge has granted someone permission to serve legal papers on Facebook. Last year, a man was allowed to serve legal documents related to child support payments on the social networking site.