Christian v. Christian

387 N.E.2d 1254, 69 Ill. App. 3d 450, 26 Ill. Dec. 326, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 2192
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedFebruary 23, 1979
Docket77-1512, 78-62 cons.
StatusPublished
Cited by48 cases

This text of 387 N.E.2d 1254 (Christian v. Christian) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Christian v. Christian, 387 N.E.2d 1254, 69 Ill. App. 3d 450, 26 Ill. Dec. 326, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 2192 (Ill. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE MEJDA

delivered the opinion of the court:

This appeal is taken from a judgment for plaintiff in her divorce action against defendant, and from the award of fees to plaintiff’s attorney both in the divorce proceeding and in defense of the appeal. The trial court entered judgment of divorce on plaintiff s complaint, dismissed defendant’s counterclaim and ordered defendant to pay plaintiff’s attorney’s fees in the amount of *2500. Defendant appealed from the judgment and order. Subsequently, pursuant to plaintiffs petition, the trial court awarded plaintiff’s attorney *3750 to represent plaintiff on appeal and defendant filed a separate appeal from that order. The appeals are consolidated in this court.

Defendant contends: (1) that the judgment of divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty is against the manifest weight of the evidence; (2) that the trial court committed reversible error in finding that defendant had made a gift of *1500 to his son; (3) that the trial court abused its discretion in awarding plaintiff attorney’s fees for the trial proceedings and, alternatively, that the fees were excessive; and (4) that the trial court abused its discretion in awarding plaintiff attorney’s fees for the defense of the appeal and, in the alternative, that those fees were excessive. The pertinent facts follow.

Plaintiff and defendant were first married on March 6, 1958, and divorced on October 21, 1974. Three children were bom to them during that marriage. The parties remarried on April 30,1976, and plaintiff filed a complaint for divorce on December 7,1976, alleging that defendant had caused her serious emotional and physical distress. Plaintiff also sought custody of their two minor children, child support and educational expenses for the children, alimony and attorney’s fees and costs. Defendant presented a counterclaim for divorce on the first day of trial, charging plaintiff with acts of mental cruelty and adultery. Testimony was taken from both parties, their two oldest children, Lynne and Lydell, and defendant’s mother, Esther Adams. The substance of the testimony of the witnesses will be discussed in conjunction with the specific issues raised by defendant.

After all testimony was heard, and following closing arguments, the trial court found that the evidence introduced by plaintiff sustained her allegations of mental cruelty. It further found that defendant did not prove the allegations of his counterclaim and ordered the counterclaim dismissed. Judgment for divorce was entered on behalf of plaintiff, granting plaintiff custody of the parties’ remaining minor child, Sabrina, and ordering defendant to make weekly support payments for her. Defendant was also ordered to make regular payments to contribute to the cost of Lydell’s education and to provide for life insurance benefits and medical expenses for Sabrina. Defendant was declared sole owner of a car purchased for Lydell’s use, but was ordered to pay Lydell *1500. Plaintiff retained sole title to the home which had been transferred to her by defendant in compliance with the divorce decree in their first marriage. The trial court further ordered defendant to pay plaintiff’s attorney’s fees in the amount of *2500.

Defendant appealed from the judgment of divorce, and plaintiff submitted a petition seeking prospective attorney’s fees for maintaining the appeal. The trial court ordered defendant to pay plaintifFs appellate attorney’s fees in the amount of *4500, to be paid in two equal installments. Upon the filing of a motion to vacate by defendant, the order was modified and the amount of fees reduced to *3750 for the defense of the appeal.

Opinion

I.

Defendant first contends that the judgment of divorce for plaintiff on grounds of mental cruelty is against the manifest weight of the evidence. Mental cruelty is a course of unprovoked, offensive conduct toward one’s spouse which causes embarrassment, humiliation and anguish so as to render the spouse’s life miserable and unendurable, and which actually affects the spouse’s physical or mental health. (Collins v. Collins (1977), 47 Ill. App. 3d 258, 361 N.E.2d 787; Rosenbaum v. Rosenbaum (1976), 38 Ill. App. 3d 1, 349 N.E.2d 73; McGowan v. McGowan (1973), 15 Ill. App. 3d 913, 305 N.E.2d 261.) The facts of the particular case must be considered in light of the parties’ pattern of conduct, their respective emotional make-up and the circumstances under which the conduct occurred (see Surratt v. Surratt (1957), 12 Ill. 2d 21, 145 N.E.2d 594; Collins v. Collins), and the ultimate test is the effect of the conduct on the complaining spouse and the marriage itself. (McGowan v. McGowan.) We conclude that the evidence adduced at trial amply supports the judgment of the trial court.

Plaintiff testified that defendant treated her as if she were “nobody,” calling her names such as “bitch” and “whore” every time he came home, and daily accusing plaintiff of infidelity. She stated that the name-calling and accusations took place in front of the children and her testimony was corroborated by both Lynne and Lydell Christian, the parties’ two oldest children. Lynne testified that she had been present when defendant called plaintiff names and accused her of sleeping with other men. Lynne further testified that the course of defendant’s conduct began about a month after the parties remarried, and continued nightly until it became necessary for one of the children to accompany plaintiff when she left the house in order to avoid further accusations. Lydell also testified that defendant daily insulted plaintiff and accused her of having a boyfriend.

Plaintiff’s testimony also discloses a pattern of abusive phone calls. Plaintiff had to get up for work at about 2:30 a.m. each morning and defendant worked at night. According to plaintiff, defendant would call her at odd hours every night, at times letting the phone ring without speaking to plaintiff when she answered, and at other times calling her names or accusing her of having a man with her. Both Lynne and Lydell testified that they had been present or answered the phone on various occasions when plaintiff received the phone calls.

As a result of defendant’s behavior, plaintiff testified, she lost 14 pounds, saw a doctor who prescribed tranquilizers for her nervousness, and was forced to take time off work. After defendant left the marital home, plaintiff became “peaceful” and did not have to see the doctor as often. All of defendant’s actions were unprovoked, plaintiff testified, because she treated defendant “as a husband” during the time they lived together after the remarriage.

Defendant maintains that plaintiff has not proved her allegations because of the lack of detail in her testimony, because she was impeached twice in the course of the trial, and because there was no showing that defendant’s actions were unprovoked. We disagree.

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Bluebook (online)
387 N.E.2d 1254, 69 Ill. App. 3d 450, 26 Ill. Dec. 326, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 2192, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/christian-v-christian-illappct-1979.