Russell v. Russell

838 S.W.2d 909, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 2849, 1992 WL 319724
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 1, 1992
DocketNo. 09-91-099 CV
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 838 S.W.2d 909 (Russell v. Russell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Russell v. Russell, 838 S.W.2d 909, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 2849, 1992 WL 319724 (Tex. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

OPINION

WALKER, Chief Justice.

Appellant tells us that, “This is a case involving man and woman.” Actually and factually this is a case involving a man, seven women, eleven children, two continents, perhaps only one ceremonial marriage, questions of informal marriage and according to appellant’s brief, “more twists and turns than a mystery novel.” Perhaps more succinctly stated this case is a trial judge’s nightmare, which now, is before this Court for interpretation.

Our story begins somewhere in Great Britain, perhaps Scotland. Whether it was a dark and rainy night, the record speaketh not.

Our review begins with appellee’s attorney questioning appellant:

Q. Dr. Russell, would you please state your name, sir?
A. James Lambie Russell.
Q. Dr. Russell, we have heard a great deal of testimony from Mrs. Russell about 1964. And without going through each and every city and year, did you meet Mrs. Russell in approximately 1962 or ’63, approximately?
A. Yes.
Q. Was that in the state of New York?
A. Yes.
Q. Was your oldest son, James, bom in the state of New York?
A. Excuse me, I’m having some trouble speaking, Your Honor, my throat—
Q. Was your oldest son, James, born in the state of New York?
A. No, oldest son was bom in Scotland.
Q. I’m not talking about those children of that relationship, Doctor, the relationship with Margaret Kish that started in the state of New York?
A. Yeah.
Q. How many children were born of that relationship?
A. Five.
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Q. Okay. Now, it is my understanding from what all your attorney has solicited from my client that you have never ever married any of these women?
A. That’s in here. I’m not sure in Britain.
THE COURT: I didn’t understand that.
MR. MATHENY: He was not sure whether he was married in Britain or not.
Q. (By Mr. Sparks) So you might have been married?
MR. MATHENY: May still be.
Q. (By Mr. Sparks) To another woman in Britain and—
A. It’s possible.

Upon leaving Scotland appellant journeyed to America, the state of New York to wit, where he first met appellee in 1962. In 1964 the first of five children was born to appellant and appellee’s relationship. Without tracing each of appellant’s moves upon leaving New York state suffice it to say that when appellant would move, appel-lee would move with obvious cohabitation.

Even though, from 1962 to the time of appellee’s filing her petition for divorce, appellant and appellee had a very close cohabital and holding out relationship, ap[912]*912pellant also had other interests, with other women, who bore other children, which appellant biologically fathered. The statement of facts before us is rather hodge-podged, giving neither us nor the trial court much insight. We can discern that; appellant was listed as “husband” on a Certificate of Death of one Vawn Hall Russell in 1965; that appellant was sued for divorce by one Sarah Corbin after fathering two of her children; that allegedly appellant defended the Corbin suit for divorce by positing that he could not be married to Corbin because he was married to Margaret, appellee herein.

On February 28, 1991, the Honorable James M. Farris signed a thirty-two (32) page Decree of Divorce. Judge Farris, sitting without a jury, affirmatively found that there was an informal marriage between petitioner, appellee herein, and respondent, appellant herein, with an inception date of March 22, 1972. The trial court determined that appellant, in open court in a prior divorce proceeding filed against him by Sarah Corbin, defended that action by denying that he could be married to Sarah Corbin because he was married to appellee. The trial court held appellant’s declaration, that he could not be married to Sarah Corbin because he was married to appellee, amounted to a judicial admission. Appellant says that such a finding was arbitrary and without supportive evidence.

In 1981, appellant believing death to be imminent, decided that a ceremonial marriage was in order. Appellant stated his reason as, “Like I said, I was going to die and I wanted to have the Social Security given to the children.” Thus on July 1, 1981 appellant and appellee were ceremonially united in wedlock. The record is unclear as to which of appellant’s eleven children were preferred for Social Security. We mention this only because the record represents that appellant was a generous biological Dad to all of his eleven children.

Appellee’s brief mis-statingly represents that no findings of fact or conclusions of law were requested of the trial court in this nonjuried proceeding. Appellant’s counsel actually filed two such requests but neither was pursued in conformity with Tex. R.Crv.P. 296.

“In a nonjury trial, where no findings of fact or conclusions of law are filed or requested, it is implied that the trial court made all the necessary findings to support its judgment, [citations omitted] When a statement of facts is brought forward, these implied findings may be challenged by factual sufficiency and legal sufficiency points the same as jury findings or a trial court’s findings of fact.” Roberson v. Robinson, 768 S.W.2d 280, 281 (Tex.1989).

Prior to addressing appellant’s four points of error we must attend to the proposition of both appellant and appellee that the case before us is one of first impression in Texas calling for an interpretation of Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 1.91(b) (Vernon Supp. 1992), as amended, effective September 1, 1989. We believe it helpful to set forth § 1.91 Tex.Fam.Code Ann. in its entirety which is titled, “Proof of Certain Informal Marriages”'.

(a) In any judicial, administrative, or other proceeding, the marriage of a man and woman may be proved by evidence that:
(1) a declaration of their marriage has been executed under Section 1.92 of this code; or
(2) they agreed to be married, and after the agreement they lived together in this state as husband and wife and there represented to others that they were married.

We now set forth § 1.91(b) as same appeared both before and after its amendment, effective September 1, 1989:

(Preamendment): In any proceeding in which a marriage is to be proved under Subsection (a)(2) of this section, the agreement of the parties to marry may be inferred if it is proved that they lived together as husband and wife and represented to others that they were married.
(Postamendment): A proceeding in which a marriage is to be proved under this [913]

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Related

Russell v. Russell
865 S.W.2d 929 (Texas Supreme Court, 1993)
Flores v. Flores
847 S.W.2d 648 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1993)

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Bluebook (online)
838 S.W.2d 909, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 2849, 1992 WL 319724, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/russell-v-russell-texapp-1992.