Dan Gross | Katz, wife's kin in prenup row

ATTORNEY

Edward J. Hayes

says that

Harry Jay Katz

's lawsuit against the estate of Katz's late wife

Tracey Birnhak

is "completely meritless."

Katz, 66, a reformed playboy, former restaurateur and theater owner, filed suit last year in Common Pleas Court in an attempt to set aside and void a prenuptial agreement signed in April 2000 by him and Birnhak. The matter is listed for trial on July 23.

Katz and Birnhak married in May 2000. Birnhak, who died of cancer four years later at age 45, was a part-owner, with her parents Marilyn and J. Robert Birnhak of Weight Watchers of Philadelphia, Inc. Her assets, including real estate, Weight Watchers stock, and other investments, were listed at over $2 million. The prenup essentially states that in the event of divorce, both parties would keep their pre-marital assets and wouldn't owe each other.

Interestingly, Katz's assets in the pre-nup are listed as none.

The document says his sole income is a trust set up by his parents, and states that the expenses of the trust are greater than the income he receives.

Katz's legal complaint alleges that his late wife's finances were not properly revealed in the prenup and therefore the document should be nullified, and he should be entitled to part of her estate.

Hayes, attorney for the Birnhak estate, says Katz had six months after Birnhak's will was exercised in 2004 in which to contest it. "Mr. Katz, with very competent counsel, signed a prenuptial agreement of his own free will." His counsel was Chuck Peruto, Jr., who gave his legal service as a wedding gift.

Katz's lawyer Michael E. Stosic declined comment, but reached yesterday, Katz said that "Promises were made to me by the Birnhaks when I took care of their dying daughter and was a permanent caregiver to her in my own home until her death.

"I married her after she was diagnosed with Stage 4 terminal cancer and I loved her," Katz says.

Katz points out that he received the Wellness Community's "Caregiver Award" for "giving up my life to care for my wife," and is confident his suit has merit.

A wedding with an after-party

Q102's Diego Ramos is lucky his fiancee Jennifer Rightmyer is still marrying him Friday night.

He's booked a public after-party at Fado (15th & Locust) and invites Q102 listeners to join him and his new bride 'round midnight.

Ramos and Rightmyer will wed in Center City and on Sunday are off to Maui for two weeks. The Booker Show will be on vacation for the first week and will return without him for the second week.

Wallet returned, cash missing

After polishing off two cheesesteaks at Pat's King of Steaks Thursday night, Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Dave Lieber lost his wallet somewhere along 9th Street. Lieber, a Penn grad and former Inqwaster reporter, was in town for the National Society of Newspaper Columnists convention at the Sofitel. He canceled his credit cards and the like and upon arriving home in Texas Sunday night he found a U.S. Priority Mail package with his wallet inside. There was no name or return address, and his $180 cash was the only thing missing from the wallet. A note in the package read only: "I found this on the street in Philie." Lieber is grateful to "whomever sent it back. And to whomever got my $180, at least go buy yourself a cheesesteak."

Cue the Journey ballad . . . now

If you believe the scuttlebutt coming out of one local television station, a steamy affair beween two anchors, each married to others, led one half of the naughty duo to be reassigned and the other culprit's marriage to dissolve.

Don't bother writing or calling us asking for their names. If we were gonna use them we would have just done so. Think of this like the "Sopranos" finale, only far less clever or frustrating.

Local girls get 'Made' by MTV

Doylestown's Allisha Smith, Abbey Philips and Amanda Alayan will be seen on MTV's "Made" at noon Saturday. In the hour-long show, MTV teams up with ABC soap "All My Children," as the BFFs who share a passion for acting compete for a chance to be "Made" into a guest-star on the long-running soap. *

If you have something you'd like to share with Dan, call 215-854-5963, or e-mail grossd@phillynews.com. To read Dan's recent columns, visit http://go.philly.com/dangross.