It's not often that an employer sees fit to interject itself into the marital affairs of its executives.

But Capital Group Cos., the downtown Los Angeles money manager, is no ordinary employer. Fiercely private, the company convinced L.A. County Superior Court Judge John Sandoz to shield from public view sensitive parts of the divorce trial of one of its executives, Timothy Armour, and his wife, Nina Ritter.

Sandoz has closed the trial for opening statements and any testimony involving Capital's financial information, including the testimony of James Rothenberg, Capital's chief investment officer.

More than anything, the case highlights the extent by which Capital Group, a privately held company owned by 300 shareholders, is willing to go to keep information about its stock and executive compensation out of the hands of the public. The case also marks a trend in which wealthy individuals have sought to block public dissemination of financial information in contentious divorces

The divorce trial is focused on whether Ritter has the right, under California community property laws, to half of the private stock in Capital Group being held in a joint trust with her estranged husband.