Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries, who were married for 72 days but whose divorce case has dragged on for 18 months and counting, were due in court in Los Angeles for a mandatory hearing Friday. But the Brooklyn Nets player wasn’t there — and it might not bode well for his case against the reality TV star.

Humphries “is claiming that there was purportedly a delay or cancellation of sorts with his scheduled flight to Los Angeles [from New York City], hence the no-show,” a “source” told E! on Friday. According to Lynn Soodik, a certified family law specialist who is not involved in the Kardashian-Humphries case, if Kris wasn’t granted permission to appear via telephone, he could be held in contempt of court.

“It’s really bad if he didn’t appear and he didn’t get permission not to be here,” Soodik told E! “It seems like it’s not as important to him.”

Humphries, 28, has alleged for 18 months that he was duped into marrying Kardashian, 32, and has pushed for an annulment based on fraud instead of a divorce, which would have been long settled by now. So it’s probably incorrect to claim that the hearing wasn’t “important to him” — especially since TMZ reported that Humphries was spotted in New York City at 1 a.m. Friday, just a few hours before the hearing was scheduled to begin, looking “extremely upset.”

As for why Humphries and Kardashian were supposed to appear in court on Friday, they were scheduled for a “mandatory settlement conference,” which according to Soodik is where judges try to get the two parties to “hammer out a deal. They are trying to get them to settle without a trial. You have an experienced judicial officer listening and telling you what they think your outcome will be at trial. … [Often this leads to cases] being settled on the courthouse steps.”

But Kardashian and Humphries’ legal team were unable (or unwilling) to reach a settlement, so the divorce trial is still set to begin May 6. Meanwhile, a hearing to determine whether to sanction Humphries for his no-show has been set for April 19, and yet another pretrial hearing has been scheduled for May 2.

Should Humphries be held in contempt of court for his failure to appear at a mandatory hearing? Should Kardashian just give him an annulment already? If she continues to refuse to give him an annulment, what will the outcome of their divorce trial be? Share your thoughts in the comments section.