As Congress and the president talk about ending so-called abuses in the credit card industry like sudden rate hikes and late fees, Brady Dougan is in Connecticut courts fighting claims that he owes his ex-wife nearly $1 million for being 12 days tardy with a $7.5 million divorce-related payment.

The 49-year-old chief executive, who lives in Greenwich, suffered a blow in his legal case Wednesday, when the state Appellate Court ruled 2-1 that he must abide by the late payment penalty terms in his 2005 divorce agreement with Tomoko Hamada Dougan.

Retired state Supreme Court Justice David Borden, sitting on the Appellate Court for Dougan v. Dougan, wrote that Brady Dougan is a "highly educated and financially sophisticated" person who "wants to avoid the obligation that he knowingly undertook."

Supreme Court Justice C. Ian McLachlan, appointed to the high court in January, voted with Borden in the appellate ruling. He noted that at the time of the divorce agreement, Brady Dougan's estate was worth nearly $80 million and it appeared he could have made the $7.5 million payment soon after signing the deal.

The Appellate Court overturned a Superior Court decision and sent the case back to the lower court to decide how much Dougan should pay his ex-wife.

It was not clear if Dougan planned to appeal to the state Supreme Court. A message was left Thursday with his attorney, Gary Cohen.