Messersmith v. Messersmith

86 So. 2d 169, 229 La. 495, 1956 La. LEXIS 1317
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedFebruary 20, 1956
Docket41947
StatusPublished
Cited by101 cases

This text of 86 So. 2d 169 (Messersmith v. Messersmith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Messersmith v. Messersmith, 86 So. 2d 169, 229 La. 495, 1956 La. LEXIS 1317 (La. 1956).

Opinions

SIMON, Justice.

On June 5, 1947, Mrs. Hilda Louise St. Martin Messersmith filed suit for a separation from bed and board against her husband, William W. Messersmith, Jr., the temporary care, custody and control of their minor child and an award of alimony pendente lite for the maintenance and support of herself and child. As an incident to said suit, the district judge granted the provisional care, custody and control of said child to the plaintiff-wife and issued a restraining order prohibiting the husband from disposing of or alienating community assets. Rules nisi previously issued were made absolute and after due hearing the defendant-husband was condemned to pay alimony pendente lite to plaintiff for the maintenance and support of herself and minor child in the sum of $225 per month, beginning July 1, 1947. A preliminary injunction was issued against the defendant and Woodward-Wight & Co., Ltd., restraining and enjoining either or both from disposing of the shares of stock in Woodward-Wight & Co., Ltd., bearing the name of defendant-husband, and he was further enjoined from disposing of or encumbering other community assets.

The defendant-husband entered, in effect, a general denial, and in assuming the position of plaintiff-in-reconvention prayed for a judgment of separation from bed and board in his favor for causes alleged. After a trial on the merits, judgment was rendered on March 8, 1949 and signed on March 25, 1949, dismissing plaintiff-wife’s demand, and awarding a separation from bed and board in favor of the husband; custody of the minor child was awarded to the husband; and no provision was made for alimony in favor of the wife.

On March 11, 1949, during the interim between the date the judgment was rendered and the date it was signed, the wife sought by motion to have the alimony pendente lite awarded to her by judgment of July 1, 1947, increased. The lower court denied her demand, and on appeal before us the judgment denying the relief sought by her was affirmed.1

On April 8, 1949, the husband filed a separate suit for divorce on the statutory ground of two years’ separation. He alleged that the original separation of the spouses was due to the fault of the defendant-wife and in substantiation thereof incorporated the entire record of the suit for separation from bed and board filed by his wife. He also sought the permanent care, custody and control of his minor son.

For answer the defendant-wife entered, in effect, a general denial and alleged that the fault of their separation rested solely with plaintiff. Assuming the position of [505]*505plaintiff-in-reconvention she sought a judgment of divorce in her favor, custody of their child, alimony for herself and child, and an injunction prohibiting the disposal or alienation of any community assets.

On October 20, 1949, the district judge rendered judgment granting a divorce in favor of the husband. The defendant-wife’s demands were dismissed except she was awarded the custody of the child with reservation of the right to claim alimony for his support from the father. The judgment further ordered the taking of an estimative and descriptive inventory of all community assets and a partition thereof between the parties. Pending said partition the husband was enjoined from disposing of or alienating community assets in his possession or under his control until the final disposition of the respective rights of the parties. From this judgment no appeal was taken by either party.

Subsequent to the final decree of divorce the parties entered into a written stipulation agreeing and consenting to an amicable liquidation and partition of a considerable part of the property forming the community of acquets and gains existing between them in lieu of a formal notarial act of partition, the contested issues being left for determination of and judgment by the district court, predicated upon a stipulation of facts and admissions. Giving full force and effect to the stipulations and agreements entered into by the parties, the district court rendered judgment partitioning the community effects and decreeing the relief to which, in his opinion, each party was entitled. The defendant-wife has appealed, assigning specific errors to the portions of said judgment prejudicial to her; and the husband has answered the appeal.

Counsel for both parties, in briefs and oral arguments, having limited their appeals to the errors assigned as prejudicial to their respective interests, we shall consider these alleged errors in the order reflected by the judgment.

Under Article II of the judgment of the district court it was decreed that the 225 shares of stock of Woodward-Wight & Co., Ltd., and the 13 shares of stock of Republic Steel Corporation to be the property of the community and that said stock should be equally divided between the parties. Neither party contested the partition in kind of the Republic Steel Corporation stock. However, the husband, who is an employee of Woodward-Wight & Co., Ltd., contends that the Woodward-Wight stock should not be divided in kind, but that he should be allowed to retain all of said stock and pay to his wife one-half of its book value and asserts, in support thereof, a provision in the charter of the Woodward-Wight & Co., Ltd., which provides that before any stockholder can sell stock he must first offer the same to his co-shareholders or to the officers of the corporation. Obviously, the purpose of this restrictive provision was to retain in the officers and employees the ownership of the stock of said company.

[507]*507Under the expressed provisions of our LSA-Civil Code, “Every marriage contracted in this State, superinduces of right partnership or community of acquets or gains, * * * ” Article 2399, and “This partnership or community consists of the profits of all the effects of which the husband has the administration and enjoyment, either of right or in fact, of the produce of the reciprocal industry and labor of both husband and wife, and of the estate which they may acquire during the marriage, either by donations made jointly to them both, or by purchase, or in any other similar way, even although the purchase be only in the name of one of the two and not of both, because in that case the period of time when the purchase is made is alone attended to, and not the person who made the purchase. * * * ” Article 2402.

is nothing more fundamental in our law than the rule of property which declares that this community is a partnerpartnerin which the husband and wife own equal shares, their title thereto vesting at the very instant such property is acquired. Dixon v. Dixon’s Ex’rs, 4 La. 188, 23 Am. Dec. 478; Theall v. Theall, 7 La. 226, 26 Am.Dec. 501; Succession of Marsal, 118 La. 212, 42 So. 778; Succession of May, 120 La. 692, 45 So. 551; Beck v. Natalie Oil Co., 143 La. 153, 154, 78 So. 430; RamRamv. Beck, 151 La. 190, 91 So. 674; PhilPhilv. Phillips, 160 La. 813, 107 So. 584; Pfaff v. Bender, D.C., 38 F.2d 642; BenBenv. Pfaff, 282 U.S. 127, 51 S.Ct. 64, 75 L.Ed. 252; Succession of Wiener, 203 La, 649, 14 So.2d 475.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Kelly O. Orgeron v. Edward J. Orgeron, Jr.
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2024
Cook v. Marshall
Fifth Circuit, 2020
Whaley v. Whaley
218 So. 3d 360 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 2016)
Baumbouree v. Baumbouree
202 So. 3d 1077 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
New York Life Insurance & Annuity Corp. v. Cannatella
550 F. App'x 211 (Fifth Circuit, 2013)
Funderburg v. Superior Energy Services, Inc.
83 So. 3d 1148 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011)
Succession of Arabie
57 So. 3d 573 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011)
Succession of Duke
16 So. 3d 459 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009)
Fowler v. Fowler
861 So. 2d 181 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2003)
Corley v. Baden
781 So. 2d 768 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)
Robinson v. Robinson
778 So. 2d 1105 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2001)
In Re Succession of Moss
769 So. 2d 614 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2000)
Coleman v. Robinson
746 So. 2d 65 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1999)
Temple v. White Lakes Plaza Associates, Ltd.
816 P.2d 399 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 1991)
Little v. Little
513 So. 2d 464 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1987)
Dean v. Nunez
503 So. 2d 212 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1987)
Lovell v. Lovell
490 So. 2d 330 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)
McCoy v. McCoy
460 So. 2d 641 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1984)
Patterson v. Patterson
417 So. 2d 419 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1982)
Marriage of Castonguay v. Castonguay
306 N.W.2d 143 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1981)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
86 So. 2d 169, 229 La. 495, 1956 La. LEXIS 1317, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/messersmith-v-messersmith-la-1956.