May v. May

275 Cal. App. 2d 264, 79 Cal. Rptr. 622, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 1913
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 29, 1969
DocketCiv. 33525
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 275 Cal. App. 2d 264 (May v. May) 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
May v. May, 275 Cal. App. 2d 264, 79 Cal. Rptr. 622, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 1913 (Cal. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

*268 FOURT, Acting P. J.

Clifford Magee May in August of 1966 filed a complaint for divorce on grounds of extreme cruelty. His wife, Jean Lichty May, responded with a cross-complaint for divorce which she later amended to request separate maintenance, and once again during trial amended on motion to request a divorce on the ground of extreme cruelty. The nine-day trial took place in August 1967, and several weeks later the court’s proposed findings were presented ; counsel for Mrs. May thereupon filed objections and requests for special findings which were duly considered and acted upon. On November 24, 1967, the court filed its ultimate findings of fact and conclusions of law determining that each of the parties was entitled to a divorce from the other on the grounds alleged and purporting to divide equally the community property. In accordance therewith, the trial court on December 6, 1967, signed and filed an interlocutory judgment of divorce. In order to accomplish an equitable division of the community property, which included numerous parcels of unimproved real property, the decree required each of the parties to perform certain acts in implementation of specific property transfers. The motions of Jean May for a new trial and to stay execution of the decree were denied on January 11, 1968. On February 9, 1968, she appealed from the interlocutory judgment. Because she thereafter failed and refused to perform certain terms of the decree, the court by order of April 11, 1968, granted respondent’s motion pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 949 to require her to post a bond pending appeal in order to insure her faithful performance of the judgment in the event her appeal should be either dismissed or decided adversely. She has appealed from that order as well, and the appeals have been consolidated for our consideration.

In respect to the interlocutory judgment, appellant contends first that the evidence does not support the findings, and that the findings are inadequate to support the judgment with respect to the determination that her husband was entitled to a divorce on account of her acts of extreme cruelty, and on that basis she argues that neither the evidence nor the findings sustain an equal division of the community property. Secondly, she contends that, assuming that ah equal division of the community property was proper, it was not accomplished by the decree, from which it cannot be determined with certainty the extent of the inequity because not only are the properties inadequately described therein, but no findings of the dollar value of the respective properties were made and *269 entered by the court. In respect to her appeal from the order of April 11, 1968, appellant contends that since the execution of a divorce judgment is automatically stayed by appeal, the order requiring her to post a bond to stay execution pending appeal is improper. Except insofar as it is herein determined that appellant is entitled to specific findings relating to the dollar value of each and every item of community property, these contentions are without merit.

Appellant’s primary contention is that the evidence is insufficient and the findings are inadequate to sustain the conclusion that she committed acts of cruelty which entitled her husband to a divorce. The California Supreme Court has succinctly stated the applicable rules as follows:

“(1) The infliction of grievous mental suffering as a ground for divorce is a question of fact, to be deduced from the circumstances of the case in light of the intelligence, refinement, and delicacy of sentiment of the complaining party. [Citations.]
“(2) The sufficiency of the corroborative testimony in a divorce action lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. [Citations.]
“(3) When a finding of fact is attacked on the ground that there is no substantial evidence to sustain it, the power of an appellate court begins and ends with the determination of whether there is any substantial evidence, contradicted or uncontradicted, which will support the finding. [Citation.]” (Lipka v. Lipka, 60 Cal.2d 472, 475 [35 Cal. Rptr. 71, 386 P.2d 671].)

It is well established that the trial court has broad discretion in determining the relevancy, admissibility, and weight of the evidence, as well as its sufficiency to sustain a finding of extreme cruelty in a divorce action, and the exercise of that discretion will not be disturbed on appeal unless the evidence is so slight as to disclose an abuse of discretion. (Smith v. Smith, 215, Cal.App.2d 460, 462 [30 Cal.Rptr. 250] ; Correia v. Correia, 215 Cal.App.2d 368, 373-374 [30 Cal.Rptr. 297].) Moreover, “On appeal, conflicts of evidence must be resolved in favor of the judgment of the trial court. ’ ’ (Jensen v. Jensen, 196 Cal.App.2d 643, 645 [16 Cal.Rptr. 677].)

Although respondent’s complaint alleged the ground of extreme cruelty in general terms and appellant entered neither demurrer nor demand for further specificity (Code *270 Civ. Proc., § 426b) she interposed, written objections to the proposed findings of fact and requested, inter alia, specific findings relating to the acts upon which the trial court based its finding that respondent had suffered from her extreme cruelty. Following a hearing upon these objections, the trial court amended its findings to set forth the specific acts 1 of cruelty relied upon. Appellant claims that the acts described are trivial and inadequate, and are insufficient as a matter of law to sustain the finding of extreme cruelty on her part. Under the rules of law hereinbefore enunciated, the appellate court would not be justified in so determining. In fact, it *271 appears prima facie that respondent is entitled to a divorce where his wife has engaged in the cumulatively cruel conduct described. The trial court found that she was impolite to her husband’s business and social acquaintances, that she expressed to her husband and his acquaintances her distaste for her husband’s piano playing; that she told him that their children were more important to her than he; that she continued on a planned vacation with the children leaving her husband alone despite his then prevailing condition of physical pain and emotional upset occasioned by an accidental injury; that she prevented or discouraged the couple’s children from visiting their father on a later occasion while he was ill and hospitalized; and that she interfered with respondent’s interested discipline of his children. Appellant additionally urges that the findings are deficient because the court fails to identify the time, place and persons present when these acts occurred. Code of Civil Procedure section 632 requires the trial court to make findings on all material issues in the case. The court must make findings on all material issues in a divorce case as in other cases (Civ. Code, §131) but it is, in any event, only required to find ultimate facts and not probative facts.

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Bluebook (online)
275 Cal. App. 2d 264, 79 Cal. Rptr. 622, 1969 Cal. App. LEXIS 1913, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/may-v-may-calctapp-1969.