Kenyon v. Kenyon

44 Fla. Supp. 2d 96
CourtCircuit Court for the Judicial Circuits of Florida
DecidedAugust 15, 1990
DocketCase No. 81-11539-20
StatusPublished

This text of 44 Fla. Supp. 2d 96 (Kenyon v. Kenyon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Circuit Court for the Judicial Circuits of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kenyon v. Kenyon, 44 Fla. Supp. 2d 96 (Fla. Super. Ct. 1990).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

JOHN S. ANDREWS, Circuit Judge.

FINAL JUDGMENT

HISTORY OF THE CASE

THIS CASE was tried for two full days before this Court on February 15, 1990, and on April 10, 1990. ROBYN KENYON and ROGER KENYON were divorced by a Final Judgment of Dissolution entered by this Court on November 5, 1981. The Final Judgment of Dissolution incorporated the terms of a Separation Agreement and Property Settlement which was entered into by the parties on September 29, 1981. By the terms of that Agreement, ROGER KENYON agreed to pay ROBYN KENYON Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) [97]*97per month permanent periodic alimony, and, in addition, the Agreement provided the following in Paragraph 4(a):

“(a) The alimony obligation of the Husband, including his obligation to pay the premiums on the aforesaid $100,000 term life insurance policy shall terminate upon the remarriage of the Wife, upon her permanently residing with a non-related adult male, or the death of either the Husband or the Wife.” (emphasis supplied) .

ROGER KENYON, prior to the institution of this case, filed in this Court a similar action seeking to terminate the Wife’s alimony based upon the Agreement entered into by the parties on the grounds that she was, at that time, “permanently residing with a non-related adult male”. He won that case in the lower court. ROBYN KENYON appealed the lower court’s Judgment and the Second District reversed. Kenyon v Kenyon, 496 So.2d 839. In November of 1987, ROGER KENYON was permanently residing with a non-related adult male, specifically ALVIN J. JENSEN, in or near Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Mr. Jensen is not the same non-related adult male who was the subject of the Husband’s first Supplemental Petition to Terminate Alimony. After extensive discovery, motion practice, testimony before this Court on several different occasions by both of the parties during the discovery and motion stages of this case, during which time this Court had several and substantial opportunities to observe the demeanor and candor of the parties and AL JENSEN, the case was tried.

THE LAW

Three cases in the State of Florida have described and wrestled with the problem of a former husband attempting to terminate alimony based upon the fact of the former wife living with another man. In all of those cases, the former husband, the paying spouse, has lost on appeal. Those cases are Mulhern v Mulhern, 446 So.2d 1124, Kenyon v Kenyon 496 So.2d 839, and Herrero v Herreo, 528 So.2d 1286. Those cases have been very helpful to this Court in understanding the law of Florida as it should apply to the facts of this case, and this Court has applied the law of each of those cases in reaching its judgment in this case. In Kenyon, the trial judge made almost no findings to support his conclusion. The Second District, in its opinion, concluded that the proof of eighteen (18) nights of living with another man did not amount to “permanently residing”. However, in that case,the court gave no further indication of the evidence that it might require in order to prove “permanently residing”.

In Herrero, the Second District did give this court a clear indication of the quantum of proof it would require in order to meet the [98]*98Husband’s necessary burden. In that case, the Court indicated that there needed to be more than an indication of the sharing of beds. There should be evidence of such things as sharing of closets, dresser drawers and medicine cabinets and that there should be some indication of a merging of life courses.

In Mulhem, that court indicated that there would need to be a substantially greater showing than the spending of a few nights together at the boyfriend’s apartment, although the court did not give an indication as to what quantum of evidence would be necessary. The court did say that, in that case, there was no evidence that the former wife kept her clothes at the boyfriend’s apartment, that she ate or prepared meals there, that she maintained a telephone or mail listing there, or showed any other use or indication that she considered that as her residence.

THE FACTS OF THIS CASE

ROGER KENYON, this time, has been able to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that ROBYN KENYON is, in fact, permanently residing with a non-related adult male, ALVIN J. JENSEN. That residence is taking place in Mrs. Kenyon’s A-frame home near Maggie Valley, North Carolina or in JENSEN’s apartment in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. ROGER KENYON has proved, and this Court believes, the documentary evidence presented by the Husband, including photographs and the witnesses presented by the Husband which the Court now summarizes. Photographs taken by ROGER KENYON and CRAIG MEYERS clearly indicate both men’s and women’s clothing in ROBYN KENYON’s closet in her A-frame. CRAIG and LINDA MEYERS testified that they saw AL JENSEN wearing the same clothes that they had seen hanging in ROBYN KENYON’s closet. They also testified that AL JENSEN’s dirty laundry was in ROBYN KENYON’s home. DAWN KENYON, ROBYN and ROGER’S daughter-in-law, testified that she saw AL JENSEN’s clothes in ROBYN’s laundry area and in her washer and drawer. TED CONNOR testified that on one occasion he went to the A-frame with AL JENSEN, and AL JENSEN removed some of his clothing. The clothes that he removed were on a hanger. He further testified that ROBYN and AL not only share the closet in the A-frame, but they share the closet in the apartment across the street from the Wife’s restaurant in Maggie Valley. He also testified that when he spent a night in the apartment, he saw women’s clothes hanging in the closet.

CRAIG and LINDA MEYERS, DAWN KENYON, ROGER [99]*99KENYON and TED CONNOR all testified that they observed, on widely separated occasions, men’s toiletries and shaving equipment in the downstairs bathroom of the A-frame. Further, TED CONNOR testified that, when he stayed in the apartment, he observed ROBY KENYON’S makeup and toiletries in the bath room of that apartment.

The Meyers testified that ROBYN and AL entertained them at the A-Frame, made dinner for them there, and that AL fixed drinks. They were also invited to breakfast with both AL and ROBYN. TED CONNOR testified that he saw ROBYN and AL eating breakfast and drinking morning coffee together at the A-frame. DAWN KENYON, the daughter-in-law, testified that AL JENSEN did not act like a guest when he was at the A-frame while she visited there for a week but that he treated the house as his own and that he and ROBYN stayed together in the upstairs bedroom the whole time she was there.

There was substantial evidence proving that AL JENSEN used ROBYN KENYON’s telephone as both his home phone and for business purposes and that he both received and made telephone calls from that phone during the early morning and late evening hours. ROBYN KENYON had, herself, labeled the phone calls on her phone bills which indicated AL JENSEN’s usage of the telephone. This Court does not believe that AL JENSEN would leave his apartment, at which he testified he lived, in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, drive up the mountain at 11:00 o’clock at night to use the telephone and then go back to his apartment. This Court further does not believe that he would do that for phone calls as early as 8:00 a.m.

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Related

Kenyon v. Kenyon
496 So. 2d 839 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1986)
Herrero v. Herrero
528 So. 2d 1286 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1988)
Mulhern v. Mulhern
446 So. 2d 1124 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
44 Fla. Supp. 2d 96, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kenyon-v-kenyon-flacirct-1990.