Santa Ana : Jerry Patterson Sues to Alter Divorce Pact

Former Democratic Rep. Jerry M. Patterson filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Superior Court asking that the property settlement to which he agreed during a 1980 divorce be altered because his ex-wife coerced him into signing it.

Patterson, who was defeated by Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) in 1982 after five terms in Congress, said in the lawsuit that his former wife, Mary Jane Patterson, “through duress and coercion” deprived him of a fair settlement in their divorce.

In the petition, Patterson said his former wife threatened to “reveal to the public intimate details of (his) personal life” if he did not agree to her proposed settlement agreement.

“(Patterson), who was serving as a United States congressman, believed that such statements, whether true or false, would seriously interfere with his subsequent bids for reelection to public office,” the petition says.

The petition asks that the previous settlement be voided and a new settlement be ordered by the court.

The original settlement agreement was entered into in September, 1980. Patterson was reelected once after that before losing to Dornan. He also lost a bid earlier this year to succeed retiring Supervisor Ralph B. Clark of Anaheim.

Neither Patterson nor his ex-wife could be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Under the 1980 settlement, Patterson retained ownership of a house in Annandale, Va., that had two liens against it totaling $116,000. His ex-wife took control of their Buena Park condominium and received most of the possessions in the Virginia home.

She was also awarded $350 monthly child support for their daughter and alimony of $1,000 monthly, plus the proceeds of a second deed of trust on the Virginia home totaling $23,000.