Woman Can Serve Husband Divorce Papers via Facebook, Judge Rules

Facebook isn't just for sharing viral cat videos and embarrassing family photos: one judge is allowing it to be used for a divorce.

That's how a Manhattan judge ruled in the case of Ellanora Baidoo, 26, who wanted to divorce her husband, Sena Blood-Dzraku, but had no mailing address for him and therefore no place to which she could send the paperwork. The judge is allowing Baidoo to serve her estranged husband with a divorce summons through Facebook.

The New York Daily News called the decision by Superior Court Judge Matthew Cooper a "landmark ruling."

Baidoo and Blood-Dzraku were married in 2009, but they allegedly never consummated the marriage because Baidoo wanted a traditional Ghanan ceremony. The husband and wife were only in contact via the telephone and social media, and Baidoo didn't know where to find him.

"I think it's a new law, and it's necessary," Baidoo's lawyer, Andrew Spinnell, told the Daily News. "We tried everything, including hiring a private detective – and nothing.

But that doesn't mean the message has necessarily been conveyed yet. "So far, he hasn't responded," Spinell said of his client's elusive husband. People