Brett v. Brett

191 Iowa 262
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedApril 6, 1921
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 191 Iowa 262 (Brett v. Brett) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brett v. Brett, 191 Iowa 262 (iowa 1921).

Opinion

PRESTON, J.

The record is very large. TRe parties seem to have combed several states for testimony. All the depositions, transcripts of evidence, and exhibits have been certified. The questions are largely of fact. There were many witnesses. The evidence is very conflicting. Every circumstance and detail has been threshed out. Manifestly, it is impracticable to state more than the general character of the evidence, and our conclusions.

The two main points relied upon- by appellant are as to the legality of the marriage, and the amount of alimony in case the marriage is held to have been legal, and plaintiff entitled to a divorce. The other questions are argued, and elaborately, too; but the larger guns are trained upon the two propositions just stated.

1. Marriage: presumption: burden of proof. 1. Was the marriage between this plaintiff and defendant legal? The defendant herein has the burden. The presumptions are in favor of the validity of the marriage between the parties hereto. To overcome the presumptions, „ . , , . . n . . the evidence must be clear and convincing. Farr v. Farr, 190 Iowa 1005. It is doubtless true, as contended by appellant, that, if he has met the burden by the quality and quantity of proof required, the presumptions would be overcome.

The trial court held that the Dakota divorce, which is attacked by appellant, was valid, and-that the marriage between the parties to this action was a valid marriage. In reference to this matter, the trial court found that the South Dakota court,’ as shown by the findings of fact and conclusions of law, expressly passed upon the question of the actual and bona-fide residence of the plaintiff therein in the state of South Dakota; that the judgment is in accord with such findings of fact and conclusions of law, and, upon the showing made, the court in this ease was of the opinion that such finding should not be disturbed; that the question of the bona-fide residence of a party is sometimes difficult to determine; but that, from the evidence in this case, were the court to treat it as an original proposition, it would have no hesitancy whatever in holding, and the court found, that said South Dakota court reached the correct conclusion, both as to the facts and the law, and that the judgment based thereon was and is fully warranted. The evidence in the [266]*266Dakota ease was preserved, and appears in this record; and the plaintiff in that ease, who secured the divorce from plaintiff herein, was a witness in this case on behalf of this plaintiff, in regard to his residence in Dakota.

In addition to the above finding, the court was of the opinion that neither this plaintiff’s then husband nor the plaintiff herein is in a position to question that decree of divorce, because of the subsequent marriage of both her then husband and herself, since the Dakota decree was rendered; and further, that the decree could not be questioned by the defendant in this ease.

2. divokoe : tad °á maMng* deíauit. It appears that, some 85 or 36 years ago, when the plaintiff here was about 17 years of age, she married one Shain, from whom she was divorced, 2 or 3 years thereafter, for conduct which amply justified a divorce, if it is as plain-^iff claims. Subsequently, she married one Randall, who got into trouble, and she left him, and he secured a divorce from this plaintiff on the ground of desertion. Subsequently, and nearly 30 years ago, — to be exact, in 1892, — plaintiff herein married one Walter P. Byrum, who secured a divorce from her on July 10, 1903, on the ground of desertion. Byrum was a barber, without property or means, and had lived in different states. He and plaintiff lived in the state of Nebraska several years, where he was indicted for some sexual crime, and left Nebraska. Plaintiff refused to follow him, or to go with him, or to have anything further to do with him. The appellant challenges the good faith of the plaintiff in permitting her then husband to secure a divorce from her, when she had a cause for a divorce from him. But she was then living in Mason City, Iowa, and advised with the sheriff as to whether she was compelled to go to South Dakota and defend, who informed her she would not be compelled to go, unless she wished to contest the divorce. Either because she did not have the money to go, and to employ an attorney,-or because she did not care to, she did not do so. We think this is not such bad faith as to have the effect claimed for it by appellant. After Byrum secured his divorce from plaintiff, both he and this plaintiff were married to others. He married another woman in Indiana, and of this marriage two children were born, both of whom are still living. Later, that wife divorced Byrum, and he was married again to [267]*267a young woman with whom he is still living; and this plaintiff married one Gatlin, of Mason City, Iowa; but, on account of his drinking and cruel treatment, she secured a divorce from him, and subsequently married the defendant. Plaintiff testifies that, at the time of her marriage to the defendant, she told him of her prior marriages, and the result; that she would not stand for drinking, or his going with immoral women, or for being whipped; that she had had experience with those things before; that he said he had had troubles of -his own; that she was convinced it wTould be satisfactory on both sides; that defendant told her he wanted to have a home, and to avoid all those things. The defendant admits that he had some conversation with plaintiff about her prior marriages. Plaintiff believed she had a right to marry, and she and Byrum did marry others after the divorce, relying thereon. Defendant does not claim that plaintiff fraudulently induced him to marry her. They lived together about seven years. The defendant claims that he did not discover the alleged invalidity of the Byrum divorce until about July, 1918. This was after the adulteries and cruel treatment charged against him, while they were living together as husband and wife, and while they both believed they were such.

Appellee contends that neither the plaintiff herein nor By-rum can question the validity of the South Dakota decree, and that plaintiff is, therefore, divorced, under Code Section 3151, and her marriage to the defendant is valid. Many cases are cited on this proposition. Some of the Iowa cases are Mohler v. Estate of Shank, 93 Iowa 273, 280, 282; Hurley v. Hurley, 117 Iowa 621, 622; Ellis v. White, 61 Iowa 644, 646; Van Orsdal v. Van Orsdal, 67 Iowa 35; Shaw v. Shaw, 92 Iowa 722, 725; Leonard v. Leonard, 174 Iowa 734, 738. See, also, Farr v. Farr, supra. It is further contended by appellee that the defendant cannot attack the Byrum decree, for the purpose of annulling his matriage to plaintiff, on the ground that Byrum was not a bona-fide' resident of South Dakota for six months prior to the commencement of the Byrum divorce case, because 'this would be a collateral attack; and that a judgment valid as between the parties cannot be invalid as to third parties because of want of jurisdiction; and that, if one so acts as to estop himself from questioning a judgment, a third person may not take advantage [268]*268of the defect, and have the judgment decreed a nullity. A large number of cases are cited, among .them the following Iowa cases: Applegate v. Applegate, 107 Iowa 312, 322; Richardson v. King, 157 Iowa 287, 296; Johns v. Pattee, 55 Iowa 665, 666; Ruppin v. McLachlan, 122 Iowa 343, 348; Shawhan v. Loffer, 24 Iowa 217, 227;

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Bluebook (online)
191 Iowa 262, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brett-v-brett-iowa-1921.