Biltgen v. Biltgen

250 P. 265, 121 Kan. 716, 1926 Kan. LEXIS 238
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedNovember 6, 1926
DocketNo. 26,025
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 250 P. 265 (Biltgen v. Biltgen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Biltgen v. Biltgen, 250 P. 265, 121 Kan. 716, 1926 Kan. LEXIS 238 (kan 1926).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Marshall, J.:

The plaintiff sued for a divorce on the ground of extreme cruelty. The defendant denied the allegations of plaintiff’s petition and asked for divorce on the ground of gross neglect of duty. In his answer, he set up a cause of action against the plaintiff in which he asked compensation for services rendered by him for the plaintiff on her property for a period of seven years at the rate of $5,000 a year. Judgment for divorce was rendered in favor of the plaintiff. No relief was granted the defendant on his cause of action against the plaintiff. The defendant appeals.

The court made extensive findings of fact, among which were the following:

“(24) That during all of his married life, the defendant has been addicted to the use of profane language, and on numerous occasions became angry, and used profane language extensively in the home, and in the presence of the plaintiff, and on a few occasions cursed her, and called her ‘A God-damn son of a bitch.’
“(25) That from the time shortly subsequent to their marriage until the date of their final separation, plaintiff and defendant, from time to time, engaged in violent quarrels, and on one occasion, about the year 19191, the defendant attempted to choke the plaintiff; on another occasion about the year 1919, threw a hair brush at the plaintiff, and on another occasion about the year 1921, struck her.”
“(27) That during the time the parties lived on the farm the quarrels and disagreements continued, and on or about the first day of September, 1922, the plaintiff rented a house in the city of Liberal and moved into the same, intending at the time to separate from the defendant, but shortly after she moved to town, the defendant also moved to the same house, and the plaintiff consented to resume her marital relations with him, and they continued to live together as man and wife until the 5th day of October, 1923, the expenses of the household being paid entirely by the plaintiff, and the quarrels and profanity growing more frequent and severe.
“(28) That about the latter part of August, 1923, the plaintiff and defendant [718]*718became engaged in a violent quarrel, and in the yard adjacent to the residence occupied by them in Liberal, the defendant, in anger, and in a tone sufficiently loud to be heard by the lady sleeping in the adjoining house, threatened to beat the ‘God-damn shit out of the plaintiff,’ and pursued about the yard, apparently, attempting to strike her.
“(29) That about the first of September, 1923, the plaintiff'concluded that she could not live in peace and harmony with the defendant, and concluded to separate from him, and entered into negotiations with him for the purchase of a surrender of the lease upon her land (farm) held by him, and as the result of such negotiations it was agreed between the parties that the defendant should seed said farm to wheat and then surrender the farm, with the growing crop thereon, all rights which he had under the lease, and all farming implements and other personal property owned by him on said farm, for the sum oi $14,000.”
“(31) That during the period between October 5, 1923, and the date of the filing of this suit, defendant talked with the plaintiff on business matters at the Stoufer home a number of times, and on several occasions she went with him in the daytime to the farm occupied by him, and on two occasions spent the night and occupied the same bed with him, at the home of her brother, in Seward county, Kansas.”

The court made another finding as follows:

“(11) That the parties lived and kept house in Liberal, until about the first of October, 1918, and during said time the defendant, sometimes voluntarily, and sometimes at the request of the plaintiff, assisted her in making improvements upon her farm lands in the vicinity of Liberal, looking after the purchasing of materials and the employment of laborers, and also assisted her in the marketing of her share of the crop received from her lands, and in making settlements and adjustments with her tenants. And such services were of the value of more than $100.”

Another finding reads:

“(39) Except as in these findings specifically stated, the court finds the facts generally in favor of the plaintiff, and against the defendant.”

The defendant requested a number of findings of fact, among which was the following one:

“Plaintiff requested the defendant to look after her separate property, as heretofore stated, and promised and agreed to pay him the reasonable value of his services, and that defendant performed said work under said agreement, and fully carried out all the terms of said agreement, and rendered such services to her as heretofore stated for a period of six years, and that such services were reasonably of the value of $5,000 per year. The services performed by defendant were not the usual and customary services required by the marriage contract, but were extraordinary services performed in building up plaintiff’s separate estate and property.”

The court did. not make any of the findings requested by the defendant.

[719]*719The defendant says that “the trial court erred in failing to make findings of fact upon material issues, as requested by appellant.” The defendant introduced evidence which, if it had been believed by the court, tended to support the findings requested by him. The evidence of the plaintiff supported the findings made by the court. The evidence concerning the extreme cruelty of the defendant, the gross neglect of duty by the plaintiff, and the contract for compensation to be paid by the plaintiff to the defendant for services rendered to the former by the latter, was so contradictory it could not be reconciled. Upon that contradictory evidence the court made the findings on which the judgment for divorce was rendered in favor of the plaintiff. The court failed to find that there had been a contract between the plaintiff and the defendant concerning compensation to be paid for services performed by the defendant for the plaintiff. The court did find in favor of the plaintiff on all issues not specifically covered by the findings of fact. Under these circumstances this court cannot say that the court committed error in failing to make the findings of fact requested by the defendant.

The defendant urges that “the trial court committed error in overruling defendant’s demand for a jury.” This is a divorce action, not an action for the recovery of money. The defendant sought to recover money under a cause of action set up by him. The plaintiff demurred to that cause of’action on the ground o* misjoinder. The court overruled the demurrer. It probably should have been sustained, but it is not necessary to decide that question at this time. Section 60-1506 of the Revised Statutes of 1923 provides for the control and equitable division and disposition of the property of parties to an action for divorce when the parties appear to be in equal wrong. Section 60-1511 provides for alimony or division of property when a divorce is granted. What division of property shall be made is largely within the discretion of the trial court. (Deeds v. Deeds, 108 Kan. 770, 773, 196 Pac.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
250 P. 265, 121 Kan. 716, 1926 Kan. LEXIS 238, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/biltgen-v-biltgen-kan-1926.