A lawyer for Kim Kardashian's estranged husband wants to end his involvement in the former couple's divorce proceedings.

Marshall Waller says irreconcilable differences have arisen between him and Kris Humphries, and he should be allowed to leave the case.

He filed paperwork Thursday, one day before he and Kardashian's attorney are expected to appear in court for a scheduling hearing.

Kardashian is asking a judge to schedule a trial as soon as possible, while Waller has been advocating for more time to prepare.

If Waller is allowed to leave, it could delay a judge's decision on a trial date.

The N.C. Court of Appeals has upheld a judge's order unsealing documents in a bitter divorce case involving the head of stock-car racing.

Lawyers for NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France have fought for years to keep confidential the details of his 2008 divorce from Megan France, a Charlotte woman he has married and divorced twice.

The appeals court ruled in 2011 that the public's right to public court proceedings outweighed France's interest in maintaining secrecy. Mecklenburg County District Court Judge Jena Culler then reversed the earlier order of another judge, unsealing the divorce records.

Brian France then appealed again, effectively keeping the documents sealed until the appeals court ruled. France's lawyer, John Stephenson Jr., had argued at a court hearing in September that allowing one judge to overturn the order of another judge of equal rank would lead to "judicial anarchy."

The three-judge appeals panel ruled Monday that Culler's decision to unseal the divorce records was valid. Because the decision was unanimous, Brian France does not have the right of automatic appeal to the N.C. Supreme Court.

An Indiana diocese asked a federal court on Monday to reject a lawsuit by a former parochial school teacher who claims she was fired for violating Roman Catholic doctrine by using in vitro fertilization to try to get pregnant.

The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and St. Vincent de Paul school in Fort Wayne argued in court documents that Emily Herx's lawsuit should be barred by a federal law that prevents religious workers from suing their employers for job discrimination. That so-called "ministerial exception" law was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in January.

Further, diocese attorneys say any court review of church teachings or employment practices would violate the constitutional separation of church and state and guarantees of religious freedom.

The Roman Catholic Church shuns in vitro fertilization, or IVF, which involves mixing egg and sperm in a laboratory dish and transferring a resulting embryo into the womb.

An appeals court says a single spank doesn't qualify as domestic violence.

A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal on Friday quashed an injunction for protection against domestic violence.

It cited common law and a 2002 Florida Supreme Court ruling that says reasonable or non-excessive corporal punishment can be used as a defense against child abuse charges.

Circuit Judge Karen Gievers of Tallahassee had issued the injunction against a father identified in the ruling only as "G.C."

He had been accused by his former wife of spanking their 14-year-old daughter once on the buttocks with his hand.

The father said the teen had been disrespectful and defiant. The girl said she was only being sarcastic.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has hired the attorney who represented Jennifer Aniston in her split from Brad Pitt to handle his divorce from Maria Shriver.

The Hollywood actor-turned-governor has officially engaged the services of Robert Kaufman, who specializes in keeping star splits low-profile, TMZ reported Wednesday.

Kaufman, whose other famous divorce clients include Reese Witherspoon and Jessica Simpson, has already been in touch with Shriver's attorney, Laura Wasser, to "move forward" with negotiations, according to TMZ sources.

Schwarzenegger, 63, announced his separation from former NBC journalist Shriver after 25 years of marriage on May 10.

A week later, reportedly at Shriver's insistence, he acknowledged that he had fathered a child with a longtime household employee over a decade ago.

The couple is believed to have a prenuptial agreement, but it may not stand in light of their long marriage and Schwarzenegger's infidelity.

Their net worth is estimated to be between $200 million and $400 million, meaning their divorce could be one of the most expensive celebrity splits ever.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the estranged wife of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt will ask a L.A. Superior Court judge to order the immediate sale of the team.

According to two people familiar with the legal proceedings, Jaime McCourt, the former CEO of the Dodgers who is embroiled in a contentious divorce with her husband, is expected to urge Judge Scott Gordon to order a sale before Commissioner Bud Selig and the league can seize the cash-strapped club.

Jaime McCourt believes the actions of her husband have put the storied franchise's value in danger. Gordon, who is overseeing the couple's divorce, is expected Thursday to set a date to hear her request, according to the Times.

D.C.'s highest court has ruled against opponents of the city's same-sex marriage law, saying they cannot ask voters to overturn it.

Opponents had wanted to challenge a law that took effect in Washington in March allowing same-sex couples to marry. They attempted to get approval to put an initiative on the ballot asking city voters to define marriage in the city as between one man and one woman. But city officials balked, saying a district human rights law barred initiatives that would authorize discrimination.

On Thursday, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled 5-4 that officials had the authority to keep the measure off the ballot and acted appropriately.