LaVigne v. LaVigne

216 P.2d 75, 96 Cal. App. 2d 531, 1950 Cal. App. LEXIS 1405
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 20, 1950
DocketCiv. No. 14098
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 216 P.2d 75 (LaVigne v. LaVigne) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
LaVigne v. LaVigne, 216 P.2d 75, 96 Cal. App. 2d 531, 1950 Cal. App. LEXIS 1405 (Cal. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinion

BRAY, J.

The superior court awarded plaintiff wife an interlocutory decree of divorce on the ground of extreme cruelty, and all of the community property, denying defendant husband’s cross-complaint on the same ground. Defendant appealed.

Questions Presented

1. Insufficiency of the evidence. 2. Failure of the court to find upon the specific allegations of cruelty. 3. Abuse of discretion in awarding the community property.

1. Evidence.

The evidence was conflicting. Evidently the court believed the plaintiff and her corroborating witnesses. Our duty is to determine if their testimony substantially supported the court’s finding that defendant was guilty of extreme cruelty. (Oakley v. Oakley, 82 Cal.App.2d 188 [185 P.2d 848].)

The parties were married in 1930 and separated in May, 1946. Plaintiff testified that, particularly the last two or three years before their separation, defendant treated her in a cool manner; many times told her he did not love her, [533]*533and when she asked him why he stayed with her if he did not love her, he replied that “he would always be sure of a clean body when he got me and he got it for nothing”; he struck her many times, kicked and choked her, and that in 1945 he had threatened to kill her; that he would curse her mother and talk about her;. that he called her brother a “dumb cluck” and said he would not support her but wanted the brother to do so; that when she was operated on he went out celebrating; he could not be found for three days when his consent was necessary for her second operation; that he refused to pay the hospital and doctor bills, saying that “he didn’t give a damn where I made the money”; that her brother and mother paid these bills; that he treated her very disrespectfully and showed no affection towards her; that his course of conduct had adversely affected her health.

A Mrs. Harman testified that during the married life of the LaVignes and particularly in the last three or four years, she had visited their home as often as once a week; that defendant during the last years was always surly and snappy towards his wife; “would never call her by name, but ‘Get this,’ and ‘Get that,’ or ‘Do this.’ ” The witness asked defendant one day why he did not show his wife some affection and he said, “Oh, the hell with her, she’s nothing but a cold potato”; that if plaintiff spoke when they were sitting at the table eating, defendant would tell her to “shut up”; that the way he spoke to plaintiff made plaintiff very nervous. One night they went to the neighborhood show and defendant would not walk or sit with her and plaintiff.

Witness Jones, brother of plaintiff, testified that defendant ordered plaintiff around—“get me this and get me that, wanted her to cater to him all the time,” and that “He didn’t seem to treat her very nice” and “She was very upset”; that after the separation defendant followed plaintiff on one occasion and on a street corner said to her, “I will get even with you another time” and “Give me all the money and I will give you a divorce.”

Mrs. Santos testified that she lived in the same flat building as did plaintiff and defendant from 1935 to 1942 and that she was in and out of their home “like my own house”; that defendant used to quarrel and fight with plaintiff and “swear once in a while to her”; that he came home drunk sometimes and would say, “ ‘You go down to the corner and buy me some beer.’ She used to go out, raining or pouring”; that defendant criticized plaintiff by saying, “I don’t like [534]*534her,” “You are too old for me”; that when he was drinking he suggested that the witness was young “and why I didn’t go out with him. ’ ’ The witness called plaintiff on these occasions and told her to take defendant away and plaintiff would drag him out. The witness asked defendant, “Don’t you like her?—she do everything for you, she clean and she cook for you and goes and buy everything for you: What more do you want?” and he answered, “Oh, I don’t want any more, I got my blonde some place. ’ ’

Defendant denied mistreating plaintiff in any way, claimed that he had always been a good husband to her and that she constantly nagged him and that she had the entire handling of the community money. Two sisters of defendant corroborated defendant’s testimony.

Defendant contends, first, that the matters testified to by plaintiff do not justify a finding “that the defendant wrongfully inflicted upon the plaintiff grievous mental suffering” and secondly, that there is no corroboration of plaintiff’s testimony. It is not necessary to discuss the first point, as a mere reading of plaintiff’s testimony as herein outlined shows that the contention is not well founded. As to the second point, it is important to bear in mind the rule in eases of this kind. “ ‘The extent of the corroboration necessary for the granting of a decree of divorce is not defined in anjr of our statutes. It is not necessary to corroborate all of the acts of cruelty charged by the party to whom the decree is granted. Where a number of charges of cruelty have been made, corroboration of a single act of cruelty may be sufficient. [Citations.] Moreover, the rule requiring corroboration is not so strictly applied in hotly contested divorce actions as it is in actions where a decree is demanded upon the default of the opposing party. The principal object of the corroboration rule is to prevent collusion between the parties, and where it is clear from the evidence in a contested action that there is no collusion the court is justified in granting the decree upon evidence which is only slightly corroborated if otherwise the court is satisfied that the prevailing party is entitled to a decree. [Citations.]’” (McGann v. McGann, 82 Cal.App.2d 382, 386-7 [186 P.2d 424], quoting from Serns v. Serns, 70 Cal.App.2d 527 [161 P.2d 417].)

Plaintiff testified that defendant, among other things, had told her he did not love her, that he treated her very disrespectfully and showed no affection towards her. These matters were definitely corroborated by her witnesses as above [535]*535set forth. Such corroboration, under the rules above set forth, was sufficient even though the charges of striking plaintiff and other acts of cruelty were not corroborated, and even though the court stated, at the end of the case, “there is merit on both sides . . . both of them have not lived up to their marital obligations with reference to the treatment by each of the other. I think there has been undoubtedly nagging and unnecessary fault finding on both sides” and that he had decided “by a rather close margin” that plaintiff was entitled to the divorce.

2. Findings.

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Bluebook (online)
216 P.2d 75, 96 Cal. App. 2d 531, 1950 Cal. App. LEXIS 1405, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lavigne-v-lavigne-calctapp-1950.