Haven v. Trammell

1920 OK 348, 193 P. 631, 79 Okla. 309, 1920 Okla. LEXIS 117
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedNovember 16, 1920
Docket9855
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 1920 OK 348 (Haven v. Trammell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Haven v. Trammell, 1920 OK 348, 193 P. 631, 79 Okla. 309, 1920 Okla. LEXIS 117 (Okla. 1920).

Opinion

COLLIER, J.

On July 11, 1912, Ruby Haven (now Ruby Harriman) filed her petition for decree of absolute divorce of and from John Haven, hereafter designated plaintiff, in which she prayed for an absolute divorce, attorney’s fees, costs, .and for general relief. Judgment by default, on personal service, was rendered for absolute divorce, $1,000 alimony, $100 attorney’s fees, and for costs, which was “made a lien on all real estate owned by said plaintiff within this state”, a transcript of which said judgment was filed in the office of the district court of Roger Mills county, and an alias execution directed to the sheriff of Roger Mills county was issued, in pursuance of which land belonging to said plaintiff was levied upon in Roger Mills county.

A temporary injunction was granted by the county judge, in the absence of the district judge from the county, restraining the sheriff from selling said lands, which temporary injunction was dissolved by the district court. Thereafter, a second temporary injunction, identical as to statements made and relief prayed, was granted, and dissolved, the court making the following findings of facts:

“The court finds, as a matter of fact, that there was a decree of the district court of Woodward county rendered as alleged in the petition, making the judgment and decree of that court a lien upon any and all real estate of the defendant. That the judgment has not been paid; that execution has been issued against the defendant and levied upon his real estate; that the sale thereof was stayed by a temporary injunction, which was dissolved by this court, as shown by the journal 'entry of judgment introduced in this cause; that thereafter another execution was issued on the' same property and was again levied upon the land of the defendant in this cause; that the land upon which the execution is levied is the homestead of the defendant and his mother and two children which he is raising; that he has about six hundred dollars’ worth of personal property — the value of the land has not been shown.”

A timely motion for a new trial was made, which was overruled and exception saved, and the plaintiff gave notice'in open court of his intention to appeal from the judgment of the trial court dissolving said second temporary injunction to the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, and perfected this appeal.

The plaintiff, in support of his contention “that the court committed reversible error in dissolving said second temporary injunction”, urges, among other grounds which we deem unnecessary to recite, the following grounds:

“First, that the judgment as to alimony in this case is a void judgment for the reason that the petition in this case fails to specifically pray for alimony; second, that the land seized under an execution was, and is, the homestead of plaintiff, and is not subject to sale to satisfy any execution or judgment.”

The record discloses that neither one of said temporary injunctions was obtained co-temporary with the action for divorce, but both are separate and independent collateral attacks upon the judgment and decree rendered in said action; that the order dissolving the first temporary injunction was not appealed from; that the parties, the subject-matter, and relief prayed are identical in each of said temporary injunctions, and therefore the judgment in dissolving the said first injunction is a complete bar to the ease at issue, and it follows that the said second temporary injunction was res judicata, and the court did not err in dissolving said second temporary injunction.

In Baker v. Leavitt, 54 Okla. 70, 153 Pac. 1099, it is held :

“A final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction is conclusive between the parties and their privies in a subsequent action involving the same subject-matter, not only as to all matters actually litigated and determined in the former action, but as to all matters germane to issues which could or might have been litigated or determined therein. City of El Reno et al. v. Cleveland-Trinidad Paving Co., 25 Okla. 648, 107 Pac. 163, 27 L. R. A. (N. S.) 650; Woodworth, County Clerk, v. Town of Hennessey, 32 Okla. 267, 122 Pac. 224; Markham v. Dugger, 34 Okla. 492, 126 Pac. 190; Gosnell v. Prince, 36 Okla. 445, 129 Pac. 27; Engle et al. v. Legg, 39 Okla. 475, 135 Pac. 1058; Pioneer Tel. & Tel. Co. v. State, 40 Okla. 417, 138 Pac. 1033; Wiley v. Edmondson, 43 Okla. 1, 133 Pac. 38; Alfrey v. Colbert et al., 44 Okla. 246, 144 Pac. 179; Brown v. Carter et al., 42 Okla. 565, 144 Pac. 170; Prince v. Gosnell, 47 Okla. 570, 149 Pac. 1162; Earl v. Earl et al., 48 Okla. 442, 149 Pac. 1179; Corrugated Culvert Co. v. Simpson Township, 51 Okla. 178, 151 Pac. 854; Parks v. Haynes, 52 Okla. 63, 152 Pac. 400.

*311 While our holding that the subject-matter oí this appeal is res judicata renders it unnecessary to pass upon any other alleged errors insisted upon by the plaintiff, we have thoitglit proper to review the following other alleged errors assigned:

First. “That a district court has no jurisdiction to award alimony where the petition in a divorce ease does not specifically pray for alimony.”
Second. “That the homestead of a defendant in an action for divorce is not subject to legal levy and sale, for the satisfaction of an amount decreed as alimony.”

Based upon the authorities hereinafter cited, we are of the opinion that each of the two alleged errors aboye set out is without merit.

R. O. L., vol. 1, 883, says:

“Obviously, irrespective of the nature of the proceeding wherein an award of alimony is sought, the better practice would suggest that a demand' therefor, and the grounds pertinent thereto, should be fully alleged in the original pleadings. In divorce or separation suits, however, owing to the fact that a demand for alimony is not an essential part of the cause of action but is merely incidental thereto, it may be awarded in the absence of a specific request therefor in the original bill, and the jurisdiction-of 'the court is not dependent on an averment therein of the husband’s resources or ability to pay alimony. It is unnecessary for the original pleadings to anticipate a claim for alimony where -grounds for a divorce or separation are sufficiently alleged.”' Lynde v. Lynde, 162 N. Y. 405, 56 N. E. 979, 76 A. S. R. 332 48 L. R. A. 679; Cohen v. Cohen, 150 Cal. 99, 88 Pac. 267, 11 Ann. Cas. 520; Gaston v. Gaston, 114 Cal. 542, 46 Pac. 609, 55 A. S. R. 86; Sprague v. Sprague, 73 Minn. 474, 76 N. W. 268, 72 A. S. R. 636, 42 L. R. A. 419.

Section 4969, Revised Laws 1910, in part, provides:

“When a divorce is granted the wife, she shall be allowed such alimony out of the husband’s real and personal property as the court shall think reasonable.”

It is thus clearly fixed by our law that alimony is a mere incident to divorce, and when a divorce is granted, alimony may be awarded without it being prayed for in the original pleadings. t

In Corpus J-u-ris, p. 283, sec. 650, it is said:

“While a prayer for alimony may be inserted in the original or cross-bill, and this has been held to be the usual or better practice, it is not imperative that it should be asked for in the original pleadings.”

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Bluebook (online)
1920 OK 348, 193 P. 631, 79 Okla. 309, 1920 Okla. LEXIS 117, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haven-v-trammell-okla-1920.