Litvinuk v. Litvinuk

162 P.2d 8, 27 Cal. 2d 38, 1945 Cal. LEXIS 215
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 1, 1945
DocketL. A. 18795
StatusPublished
Cited by61 cases

This text of 162 P.2d 8 (Litvinuk v. Litvinuk) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Litvinuk v. Litvinuk, 162 P.2d 8, 27 Cal. 2d 38, 1945 Cal. LEXIS 215 (Cal. 1945).

Opinions

EDMONDS, J.

Paul Litvinuk sued for a divorce.. His wife, who was then living in Pennsylvania, came to California and filed an answer denying the charges made against her. When the case came on for trial, she was present but her counsel did not appear because he was then engaged in the trial of a criminal case before another judge of the same court. Following the denial of a continuance, the husband was awarded an interlocutory decree, and the wife has appealed from the judgment and also from several orders denying motions to set it aside and have a trial on the merits.

According to the affidavit of A. P. Coviello, on October 6, 1942, Mrs. Litvinuk retained him as her counsel. At that time, he declared, the case was set for trial on March 15, 1943, and he had no knowledge of any motion to be made for its advancement. On October 9th the husband’s attorney served a notice of motion for an earlier date of trial. There was then no substitution of counsel on file, and the notice was served upon the attorneys of record.

On October 16th the motion, which was unopposed, was granted and the case was reset for November 23d. According to an affidavit of the attorney for Mr. Litvinuk, it was on [40]*40October 16th, after the hearing of his motion, that Mr. Coviello informed him of the change of counsel; also,"although the substitution was dated October 5th, it was not signed by counsel then representing Mrs. Litvinuk “until a week or ten days after October 16th. ’ ’ But there is no denial of Mr. Coviello’s assertion concerning the date of his employment, nor is it asserted that the change of attorneys was made for the purpose of delaying the trial.

On November 23d when the case was called for hearing, Mr. Coviello moved for a continuance upon the ground that he was actually engaged in the trial of. the criminal case. The motion was denied by the acting presiding judge, but after the ruling was made, the case could not be heard; it was then continued to December 4th, with the order that if Mr. Coviello could not then be present, other counsel should be obtained.

On December 4th, Mr. Coviello was still engaged in the criminal case and made a motion, supported by affidavit, for a short continuance. The motion was denied, but again, because of other cases having priority, the Litvinuk case went over to December 7th, when it was transferred by the presiding judge to a trial department of the court. Mr. Coviello was still engaged in the criminal case and he so informed the court through a clerk who appeared for that purpose. A continuance was denied and, in the absence of Mrs. Litvinuk’s attorney, the court heard the testimony of her husband and a witness produced by him for the purpose of corroboration.

At the conclusion of this testimony Judge Stutsman ordered Mrs.'Litvinuk to “take the stand.” Upon being told by her that, “I can’t understand without my attorney here; I would like to have him here, ’ ’ the judge replied: ‘ ‘ The record shows your attorney has had plenty of chance to be here. . . . You get up on the stand and I will be your attorney.” Again Mrs. Litvinuk remonstrated, “But my attorney, I want him to be here, please.” After the judge repeated that the attorney “has had plenty of chance to be here,” he asked: “Do you want to tell me about your side of the ease ? ’ ’ Mrs. Litvinuk answered, ‘‘ I can’t tell it without my attorney. ” “ All right, ’ ’ said Judge Stutsman, “Decree granted to the plaintiff.” Custody of the child was awarded to Mrs. Litvinuk and her husband was ordered to pay $4.00 per week for the child’s support but no provision was made for the maintenance of the wife.

Later, on the same day, Mr. Coviello gave notice of a mo[41]*41tion, to be heard on December 16th, to vacate the minute entry ordering a decree of divorce in favor of the respondent and to reopen the ease. Accompanying the notice of this motion was an affidavit of Mrs. Litvinuk declaring that her husband, shortly before coming to California, had instituted an action for divorce in the State of Pennsylvania where they had formerly resided, and upon a trial Mr. Litvinuk was denied a divorce. She also stated that when the court proceeded with the hearing of the divorce proceeding, her counsel was still engaged in the trial of the criminal case which had occasioned the prior continuance and, for that reason, was not present to represent her. Ernest Best, the attorney for Mr. Litvinuk, in a counteraffidavit, did not deny that at the time the divorce proceeding was called for trial, opposing counsel was employed in the defense of a client charged with murder but, he said, as thirty-eight persons were being prosecuted and Mr. Coviello represented only one of them, by reason of “a working agreement with another counsel in the case” he was able to leave the trial from time to time “and do other work that is necessary.” Mr. Best also asserted “that to his knowledge no action was ever filed for divorce in the State of Pennsylvania where the divorce was denied.”

Mr. Coviello unaccountably failed to appear on December 16th and the court’s minutes record that “Said motion is denied.” Immediately thereafter findings and a decree of divorce were signed and filed. The judgment was entered December 18th. On January 4th, the appellant filed a motion for new trial upon substantially all of the statutory grounds. The motion was denied. Following the ruling, Mrs. Litvinuk gave notice of a motion, under section 473 of the Code of Civil Procedure, to vacate the decree upon the grounds of “mistake, inadvertence, and surprise.” With the notice there was served a verified proposed cross-complaint .for separate maintenance, charging Mr. Litvinuk with willful neglect. This pleading included allegations concerning the Pennsylvania proceeding asserted to have been tried and determined in the wife’s favor. The motion was submitted for decision upon affidavits and, on April 9th, was denied.

On April 21st, Mrs. Litvinuk filed a notice of appeal (1) from the judgment; (2) from the order denying the appellant’s motion to vacate and set aside the interlocutory decree and to reopen the matter for further proceedings; (3) from the order of the trial court denying her motion for a new trial; and [42]*42(4) from the order denying the appellant’s motion to vacate and set aside the interlocutory decree under section 473. But in the appellant’s opening brief, no points or authorities are presented as a basis for the reversal of the judgment, or of any of the challenged orders except the one by which the court denied relief under section 473 of the Code of Civil Procedure. As to that ruling, the denial of a divorce in the Pennsylvania proceedings, says the appellant, constitutes a valid defense to the present action and, accordingly, she is entitled to “her day in court.” Moreover, the argument continues, because of the interest of the state in safeguarding marital relations, public policy is against “easy” divorces. For these reasons, it is concluded, “the trial court erred and abused its discretion in denying the motion under section 473.”

In support of the rulings in his favor, the respondent contends that as his wife did not appeal from the judgment of divorce and the determinations of the trial court upon the motion to vacate and the motion for a new trial within the time provided by law, the only matter which may now be considered is the propriety of the order denying the motion made pursuant to section 473 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
162 P.2d 8, 27 Cal. 2d 38, 1945 Cal. LEXIS 215, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/litvinuk-v-litvinuk-cal-1945.