Eward v. Eward

125 N.E. 468, 72 Ind. App. 638, 1919 Ind. App. LEXIS 307
Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided December 19, 1919·No. No. 10,334·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

Nichols, C. J.

—This is an action by appellee against appellant for divorce. The complaint is in two paragraphs, the first averring in substance that appellee and appellant were married March 1, 1905, and lived together as husband and wife until January 31,1917, at which time they separated, and have not since lived together; that appellant was guilty of cruel and inhuman treatment in this: She repeatedly told appellant and others that she did not love him; that she ordered him to leave home and told him that she did not want anything to do with him; that Jiis mother and family were ignorant and had “no sense”; that, for more than .... months before their separation, she refused to occupy the same bed with him and informed him that she had no affection or love for him; that she left him alone on his farm without making any preparation for his food and comfort, and that he was compelled to, and did, prepare his own food and make his own bed and care for his room for months, though his wife was physically able so to do; that by reason of such cruel treatment he became ill in December, 1916, and was confined to his bed; that during such illness appellant refused to let his mother and relatives visit him ; that she said to appellee and others that she was not responsible for His sickness, and “let him die”; that during such' sickness she cruelly and falsely charged [641] that appellee had lost his mind, and should be sent to the insane hospital, and that she sought to have him committed to such a hospital; that by reason of such cruel treatment he suffered great physical and mental anguish, and was compelled to, and did, leave his own home and go to his mother’s home in the city of Greensburg; that there is one child, a daughter, Frances, who is ten years old, and appellant is not a fit and proper person to have her care and custody. The second paragraph of complaint is substantially the same as the first, with the additional charge therein that prior to the separation, and without appellee’s knowledge, appellant was using intoxicating liquors to excess.

Appellant answered by a general denial, and the cause was submitted to the court for trial. There was a finding for appellee that he should have a divorce, that appellant was a proper person to have the care and custody of Frances, child and issue of the marriage, that appellant was not entitled to any alimony, and that there should be an allowance to appellant of $80 per month for the care, support, maintenance and medical attention of said child. There was a judgment and decree accordingly, from which, after motion for a new trial was overruled, appellant now appeals.

The error assigned by appellant which is here considered is that the court erred in overruling her motion for a new trial. The motion contains forty-three specifications of error, of which but two are statutory grounds for a new trial, to wit: That the decision of the court is contrary to law, and that the decision of the court is not sustained by sufficient evidence.

[642] 1. [641] Appellant has filed in this court her application for [642] an allowance for suit money including her expenses in prosecuting the appeal, and the support of herself and child during the pendency of such appeal. We are of the opinion that this application must he denied. There is no statute in this state authorizing the making of such an allowance in this court. Whether there was necessity for such an allowance, or for temporary alimony is a question within the sound discretion of the trial court, and cannot be presented to this court except by appeal from the court’s decision on that question. Kesler v. Kesler (1872), 39 Ind. 153; Snider v. Snider (1913), 179 Ind. 583, 102 N. E. 32.

2. Appellee insists that appellant’s brief is not suf.ficient to present any question to this court because appellant has not complied with Eule 22, clause 5, in the preparation thereof. After appellee’s objection to the brief, appellant has, by leave of the court, filed an amended or supplemental brief to meet appellee’s objection to the original brief. We hold that appellant’s original brief, with her amended or supplemental brief, shows a good-faith effort to comply with the rules of this court, and we are able therefrom to determine the matters in controversy. The case will be decided upon its merits.

3-4. The record in this case contains 700 pages, and the evidence therein is very contradictory. It would be wholly unprofitable for the court to enter into its details, and we are .not required so to do for the purpose of this decision. We are not unmindful of the rule that where there is a conflict of evidence this court will not weigh the evidence, but, where there is some evidence sustaining the trial court, that court’s decision will not be reviewed. In [643] divorce cases, however, there are three parties in interest—the appellant, the appellee and the public. The court has the responsibility of looking after the interests of society, as well as of the individual rights of the parties involved, and, while the court will not weigh the conflicting evidence for the purpose of determining the preponderance, it will review the evidence to determine whether the uncontradicted facts present a legal ground for divorce. 14 Cyc 734; Bacon v. Bacon (1909), 43 Ind. App. 218, 86 N. E. 1030.

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Eward v. Eward, 125 N.E. 468, 72 Ind. App. 638, 1919 Ind. App. LEXIS 307 (Ind. Ct. App. 1919).

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