Sunday, 02/25/07   

CELEBRITIES: Sara Evans alleges threats, husband seeks clearing of name in latest divorce filings

By BEVERLY KEEL
Staff Writer

Sara Evans alleges that husband Craig Schelske has threatened that he would not agree to set a mediation date for their divorce proceedings until she fires her attorney, clears Schelske's name publicly on television and agrees to a joint child custody arrangement, according to documents filed Friday in Williamson County Chancery Court.

Evans filed motions Friday to appoint a mediator and set a mediation and trial date. The country singer dropped out of ABC’s reality show “Dancing with the Stars” after filing for divorce in October. The split quickly garnered national media attention because of her show participation and the filing’s salacious allegations of Schelske’s adultery and pornography use. At the time, Schelske, a conservative Republican who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Oregon, said her claims were false and later accused her of having an intimate relationship with an unnamed man.

In the original filing, Evans claimed that Schelske had an affair with the nanny of the couple's three children, which both Schelske and the former nanny denied. Evans later amended the filing to remove the woman's name. In an October interview, John Hollins Sr., Evans' attorney, said the allegations contained in the original filing were true.

Both parties have agreed to abide by a gag order and not discuss the case with the media. John Hollins Jr., one of Evans' attorneys, said he had no comment today. Schelske’s attorneys could not be reached.

But Friday's filing stated, "Since the parties’ separation, Mr. Schelske has engaged in a pattern of intimidating behavior in an effort to extort Ms. Evans into making decisions that are clearly not in her best interest. Accordingly, Ms. Evans moves this Honorable Court to appoint a mediator and to set a date certain for mediation. Otherwise, Mr. Schelske will attempt to delay this matter in an effort to intimidate and further extort Ms. Evans to agree to his unreasonable demands."

A filed exhibit contained Evans' affidavit, which said that during the couple's Feb. 7 conversation, Schelske told her that the time had come for him and his "legal team" to answer her motions for a scheduling order, mediation and trial date. "He said he had no interest in mediating this case unless I met his three conditions," Evans said in the affidavit. "Specifically he said, 1.) I must fire my attorney of record, John Hollins Sr., 2.) I must appear on television and publicly clear his name by stating that the allegations in the original divorce complaint were false, and 3.) I must agree to a joint custody arrangement.

"He further stated that he planned to 'take down' John Hollins Sr. and he could not do that as long as Mr. Hollins, Sr. was still representing me. He told me that if I chose to keep Hollins, Sr. as my attorney, he would be forced to 'take me down with Mr. Hollins.'"

Hollins Sr., who is handling the case with his son, John Hollins Jr., has been one of the most prominent divorce attorneys in Nashville for several decades. He also represented Alice Zimmerman, Lee Ann Womack and Trisha Yearwood in their divorces. He is currently representing Mary Jane Williams, the wife of Hank Williams Jr., in her divorce.

Evans stated Schelske said Hollins "knew what he was doing when he filed the original complaint" and he knew the allegations were not true. "Craig also stated that Mr. Hollins, Sr.'s behavior was unethical and that he was known for his unprofessional conduct. Further, Craig stated that he had heard from several attorneys that Mr. Hollins, Sr. is 'corrupt, plants evidence, lies and sets people up.'"

"Craig further stated that he had been 'holding his attorneys back' but he would turn them loose on me if I did not give him an answer immediately," Evans' affidavit stated. "He practically cried and stated that he did not want to do that to the mother of his children but would if he was forced to do so. He stated that this would start World War III."

Addressing Schelske's alleged three conditions, his attorney Anne Russell, said, "All of those statements as well as the characterization as 'threats' are completely' denied." Russell's comments were in a Feb. 14 letter to Hollins Sr. that was included as an exhibit in the filing.

"It would appear as set forth in our Answer that your client tends to perceive any disagreement with her as a 'threat,'" Russell wrote. "Our client has nothing to do with his wife's choice of agents or employees, nor has he demanded such actions as alleged. These allegations have as much credibility as the ones in Ms. Evans' Complaint for Divorce. Upon checking with our client, what actually was said was that making false allegations could pull her career down and she cannot prove what is false. That is a far cry from the alleged reported 'threat.'"

However, in Russell's Feb. 12 letter to both of Evans’ attorneys, which was also submitted as an exhibit, she said Schelske's team is open to mediation, but a critical issue that must be addressed is the restoration of Schelske's good name and reputation. "We would need a good faith agreement that this will be a major goal before scheduling a mediation," she wrote.

In the Feb. 12 letter, she said Schelske's team could not agree to the expedited scheduling order and trial that Evans' team has proposed in a court filing because more time is needed to fully represent Schelske and they may need to take additional depositions. However, she wrote, if Evans is willing to agree to joint custody and decision making and is fully prepared to withdraw, retract and issue a mutually agreeable public statement that clears Schelske of the original filing's allegations, then they may be in a better position to move forward without extended and full discovery.

"Please understand that our client simply cannot ignore the impact of these allegations on his name and the permanent affect on the parties' children," Russell wrote. "Mr. Schelske's name and reputation have been permanently destroyed by the allegations contained in Ms. Schelske's complaint and broadcast around the world. It is impossible to overstate the impact this ordeal has had on him, and will have on the parties' children in the years to come."