Clauss v. Clauss

459 P.2d 369, 1969 Wyo. LEXIS 164
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 7, 1969
Docket3770
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 459 P.2d 369 (Clauss v. Clauss) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clauss v. Clauss, 459 P.2d 369, 1969 Wyo. LEXIS 164 (Wyo. 1969).

Opinion

Mr. Justice McINTYRE

delivered the opinion of the court.

Grace M. Clauss, defendant in an action for divorce brought by her husband, Robert A. Clauss, has appealed from a decree of divorce granted by the district court.

Appellant questions whether plaintiff had resided in Wyoming 60 days immediately preceding the filing of his complaint on July 21, 1967 and whether the court had jurisdiction to grant a divorce. She also questions whether grounds for divorce were sufficiently proved and claims plaintiff should have been denied a divorce because of mutual fault. A further assignment of error attacks the property settlement which the trial court made.

Jurisdiction

Section 20-48, W.S.19S7, prohibits the granting of a divorce unless the plaintiff “shall have resided in this state for sixty *371 days immediately preceding the time of filing the petition.”

While plaintiff claims Rawlins, Wyoming, as his place of residence, it is undisputed that he had sold his ranch near Rawlins in 1966; that he did not after that time acquire any other home or place of abode in Wyoming; and that during the 60 days immediately prior to filing his petition he had spent no more than eight or ten days in this state.

Our first consideration is whether Mr. Clauss ever became a bona fide resident of Wyoming after he acquired the Pine Grove Ranch about 25 miles south of Rawlins, in 1962. In examining that question, it must be kept in mind the determination of facts is ordinarily left to the trial court. Dawson v. Dawson, 62 Wyo. 519, 177 P.2d 200, 203. And where the evidence is in conflict, we must assume the testimony of the successful party to be true, with all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom. Gill v. Gill, Wyo., 363 P.2d 86, 87.

We mention these well-recognized appellate principles because attorneys for appellant have repeatedly referred to record pages containing the testimony of their own client, in connection with their argument that plaintiff never became a resident of Wyoming. However, assuming the testimony of plaintiff to be true, we find ample evidence for the trial court to have concluded plaintiff became a bona fide resident of Wyoming after he acquired the Pine Grove Ranch in 1962. That is not to say whether we would or would not have reached the same conclusion if we had been the triers of fact.

Evidence favorable to plaintiff included testimony that, from November 1962 until approximately November 1966, Mr. Clauss worked at and operated his ranching operations in Wyoming; that his ranch had a modern home, bunkhouse, barns, sheds and normal ranch buildings; that the ranch was plaintiff’s primary interest; that plaintiff’s ranching headquarters were at the Pine Grove Ranch; that the ranch was the home of Mr. Clauss; and that he intended it to be his home and domicile.

Also, there was evidence that during the period in question Mr. Clauss registered and voted in Wyoming; that he registered his motor vehicles in Wyoming; that he had a Wyoming driver’s license; that he maintained bank accounts in Wyoming; that he filed his federal income tax returns in Wyoming; and that Wyoming was given as his place of residence in various documents, including property settlement agreements with his wife.

There is no claim that Mrs. Clauss ever lived at the Pine Grove Ranch. She testified she did make visits to the ranch — for a day, a week, or two weeks. She also testified plaintiff and defendant had an apartment at the Country Club Apartments in Phoenix from some time in 1962 to about May in 1964; that in the spring of 1964 the Clausses went to Buffalo, New York, to work on and sell some of Mr. Clauss’ apartments; that during the summer of 1964 they spent some time at the ranch in Wyoming, some of the time in Phoenix, and some of the time on business trips to Mexico; that from January 1965 until May 1965 a home was rented at the Country Club Apartments in Phoenix; and that a move was made from there to the Colony Manor Trailer Park, where Mrs. Clauss claims the parties lived until Mr. Clauss closed the sale of his Wyoming ranch.

Mrs. Clauss claims she paid the rent on the Maryland Street home; and that Mr. Clauss paid the rent on the Country Club Apartments. We have no doubt Mr. Clauss spent substantial time in Phoenix with Mrs. Clauss during the, time he owned and was operating his ranch in Wyoming. The evidence does not establish the relative portion of time spent in Phoenix and in Wyoming while the ranch was owned and operated. However, even if the evidence did disclose such, it would not conclusively prove wheth *372 er plaintiff’s residence was in Wyoming or whether it was moved from place to place in Phoenix during the period of 1962 to 1966.

Appellant contends the matrimonial domicile is the place where the parties have established their home and lived together as husband and wife, which she says was in Phoenix. However, as indicated in 27A C.J.S. Divorce § 71, p. 249, the doctrine of matrimonial domicile as the basis of jurisdiction to grant a divorce has been replaced by the view that “unitary domicile” or the domicile of either spouse is the basis of jurisdiction in such actions. See § 20-49, W. S.1957.

We find sufficient in the evidence to show, as we have previously indicated, that the trial court — as fact finder — was justified in concluding Mr. Clauss became a resident of Wyoming during the time he owned and operated the Pine Grove Ranch in Wyoming.

The remaining part of the residence question is relatively simple. If plaintiff was a bona fide resident of Wyoming when he sold his ranch in November 1966, has he acquired another domicile since ? We do not say whether he has or has not. But, on the basis of the record before us, we can again say the trial court was warranted in find-' ing that plaintiff had not, at the time of filing his complaint on July 21, 1967, acquired another or new domicile.

Not only did Mr. Clauss testify affirmatively that he still considered Wyoming his home and place of residence and that he had acquired no new domicile since leaving his ranch, but Mrs. Clauss virtually corroborates his contention in that regard.

In her brief she states, after November 21, 1966, Mr. Clauss surreptitiously and without justification abandoned his Arizona domicile and his matrimonial domicile and spent some time in Des Moines, Iowa; Buffalo, New York; Phoenix, Arizona; Mexico; Ashville, North Carolina; and St. Paul, Minnesota. Appellant then refers to diaries which show Mr. Clauss stayed at the following list of places on the days indicated:

1967:
May 21 Des Moines, Iowa
May 22-23 Cheyenne, Wyoming
24 Roswell, New Mexico
25 Tucson, Arizona
26 Phoenix, Arizona
27 Salina, Kansas
28-30 Des Moines, Iowa or Tucson, Arizona
June 1-2 Tucson, Arizona
3-4 Roswell, New Mexico

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Bluebook (online)
459 P.2d 369, 1969 Wyo. LEXIS 164, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clauss-v-clauss-wyo-1969.