Randolph v. Randolph

252 So. 2d 99, 47 Ala. App. 172, 1971 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 449
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedAugust 25, 1971
Docket6 Div. 90
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 252 So. 2d 99 (Randolph v. Randolph) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Randolph v. Randolph, 252 So. 2d 99, 47 Ala. App. 172, 1971 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 449 (Ala. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

BRADLEY, Judge.

The appeal in this case is from a final decree of divorce in favor of appellant and a decree denying a rehearing of that final decree.

The appellant had sued for divorce on the grounds of cruelty and adultery. The trial court granted a divorce based on the ground of cruelty. The trial court also awarded to appellant $100.00 a month alimony, the residence of the parties on which there was a $4,000.00 outstanding indebtedness for which she was to be liable, all the furniture and furnishings in the house, and a 1961 Pontiac automobile.

The decree was rendered by the trial court on April 9, 1970, but was not filed in the register’s office until June 30, 1970.

On May 8, 1970 appellant filed an application for a rehearing of the issues involved in the proceedings on the merits previously decided by the court on April 9, 1970. This application was set down for hearing and then continued to May 26, 1970. On May 26, 1970 the matter was continued until June 4, 1970 and on June 4, 1970 continued to June 30, 1970. On June 30, 1970 the application for rehearing was overruled.

On July 27, 1970 appellant filed a Petition for Modification of the original decree, and on the same day it was continued by the court until August 18, 1970.

Then, on August 31, 1970, appellant filed notice of appeal from the final decree and the decree overruling the application for rehearing, and security for costs with the register of the trial court. The citation of appeal was not served on counsel for appellee, however, until October 27, 1970, nor was there a request for the citation of appeal tó be served on appellee’s counsel until October 27, 1970.

Appellee states in his motion to dismiss the appeal, filed in this court on December 11, 1970, that a hearing was held on August 18, 1970 by Judge Mize on the petition to modify the original decree, and said matter was taken under advisement. Then, on October 23, 1970, Judge Mize by letter to counsel for both parties informed them of his decision in regards to the petition to modify.

The evidence in this case shows that the parties to this appeal were married in 1947 and lived together as man and wife apparently without too much difficulty until 1966.

There was born to this marriage two children who, at the time of the filing of the complaint, were no longer dependent on the parents for support.

Appellant stated that their marital troubles commenced when appellee started [175]*175committing adultery with a woman by the name of Laura Evans.

Laura Evans testified that she was not married, was a cousin of appellee’s, and worked at the Goodrich plant. She stated that she had known appellee all of his life and liked him very much as a friend, but did not love him.

She stated that she had been in his company on several occasions, but always with others present. She denied having committed adultery with him.

Appellant testified that she had never seen appellee and Laura Evans together, but that other people had told her that they had seen the two together at various places.

Gordon Rosen, an attorney in Tuscaloosa and one of appellant’s lawyers in a prior divorce proceeding, stated that he had seen appellee walking from Laura Evans’ house to his car on one occasion and on two other occasions had seen appellee’s car parked in the street near Miss Eváns’ house.

Miss Evans stated that appellee’s car had been parked in the street near her house on two or three occasions, but it was because appellee had gone somewhere else with other persons and left his car -there. She further stated that he'did not come in her house on these occasions.

Appellant also said that appellee had been turned out of his church because of his adultery and public drunkenness.

Appellant testified to several episodes of heatings at the hand of appellee and she stated that she was afraid of him.

Appellant said that appellee was employed at the B. F. Goodrich plant in Tuscaloosa, and at the time of the hearing she said that appellee’s earnings were about $10,000.00 a year, although a lot of this money was the result of overtime pay. She also said that he was division chairman of his labor union there at the plant. She stated that he also belonged to several fraternal organizations such as the Disabled American Veterans and the American Legion. He was also secretary-treasurer, of the credit union at the plant.

Appellant had testified that appellee was away from home a lot in the evenings, and she suspected him of meeting Miss Evans.

The appellant testified that she had gone, no further in high school than the ninth grade, had been a housewife all of her married life, had no training for gainful employment, and had tried unsuccessfully to obtain employment.

Appellant made twelve assignments of error, but, in brief, argues in effect only two of them. Those assignments not argued are deemed waived. Rule 9, Supreme' Court Rules.

The two' assignments that were argued' raised two issues: (1) that the trial court erred in not finding from the evidence that appellee was. guilty of adultery, and (2) that the trial -court erred by decreeing. $100.00 per month as' alimony when it should have been much more.

Appellee has filed a motion in this court asking us to dismiss the appeal taken by appellant for the reason that the appeal was not "perfected within 60 days of the date the decree was rendered, as is required by Title 7, Section 789, Code of Alabama 1940, as Recompiled 1958.

We will address ourselves to the motion to dismiss first.

On the Motion

Appellee contends that the 60 day period for taking an appeal from a final decree of divorce as.required by Section 789, supra, commenced to run in this case on April 9, 1970, the day the decree granting the divorce was rendered by the trial court. And, since the notice of appeal and security for costs were not filed until August 31, 1970, the appeal was filed too late, being inore than sixty days from April 9, 1970.

In his motion appellee contended that we could not consider the date of the denial [176]*176of the application for rehearing as the starting date for computing the 60 day-period for appeal purposes because there had been-a discontinuance in the rehearing, proceedings. He stated that the trial court had failed to enter an order on May 26, 1970 continuing the hearing on the application for rehearing to June 4, 1970.

Th'e-record- in' this court was subsequently corrected to show that there had been an order entered on May 26, 1970 continuing the rehearing matter until June 4, 1970.

The record as corrected fails to support the contention that there was a discontinuance of the rehearing proceedings.

The corrected record shows that the decree overruling the application for rehearing w;as rendered and filed in the register’s office on June 30, 1970.

The record also shows that the final decree of divorce that was rendered by the trial court on April 9, 1970 was not filed in the register’s office until June 30, 1970,. which is the same day that the application for rehearing decree was filed in said office;

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

Related

Noble v. Noble
315 So. 2d 601 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 1975)
Dean v. Dean
284 So. 2d 276 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 1973)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
252 So. 2d 99, 47 Ala. App. 172, 1971 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 449, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/randolph-v-randolph-alacivapp-1971.