The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-11-12
/ TO ESCAPE ALIA0NY.
Prominent New York Poll
tician Sued By Wife in
This State.

The motion of Judge Otto Grouse to
strike out the demurrer filed by Almerin
II. Lighthal to the bill of his wife,
Lucretia, before Vice Chancellor Pftney.
this morning brought out an interesting
divorce case from over the river Light
hall is prominent civil engineer and was
commissioner of the Park avenue CJew
York; improvement in 1884 He and his
wife were married January Is, 1866, in
New York, and have one child, a daugh-
ter According to the pleadings in a suit
for separation which Mrs Lighthall
brought against her husband in the Su-
preme Court of New York, they lived
happily together until June Is, 1896, when
Lighthall expelled his wife from their
home at Nineteentb street and Madison
avenue. They came together again and
matters went along smoothly until 1898
when Mrs. Lighthan alleges her husband
began to treat her cruelty and she dis
covered that he was drunkard. lie mad
drunken fits in which he treated her so
cruelty that she was compelled to begin
suit against him for separation. She
also alleges that in September, 1895 she
loaned her husband her diamonds SO that
he could raise some money. He promised
to return them to her as soon as he re-
ceived his salary, but when he got his
salary he failed to keep his word. In
September, 1897, the Supreme Court made
decree separating Mr.. and Mrs. Light
hall and ordering the husband to pay
the wife $40 a week during her natural
i1fe The defendant made a few payments
on this order and then moving to Sea-
warren, in this State, refused to pay any
more Soon after that Lighthau wanted
to visit New York to attend to some husi-
ness and he made an agreement with his
wife that if she would not attempt to
have him punished for disobeying the or
der of the Court he would pay her $40 a
week. He made one payment on this
latter agreement and then returning to
New Jersey refused to pay any more.
Mrs. Lighthall then retained Judge
Grouse and filed bill in Chancery to
enforce the decree of the New York
Courts Lighthall, who is a man of means.
spends his time on houseboat drifting
around from place to place, and Judge
Grouse had some difficulty in locating
him. Counsellor Applegate of Red Bank
filed demurrer for Mr.. Lighthall ara
Judge Grouse moved, this morning that
1t be stricken out on the ground that it
was not flied in time. Mr.. Applegate ex-
pressed surprise at this, as he said the
demurrer was signed on October 10 and
taken by messenger to the clerks office
that day, which was in time. Mr.. Grouse
said it was not marked filed, however.
until October II, and a reference to the
papers showed that to be correct. Mr..
roiI l.s- 3.
woman, but being nonresident the de-
fendant's counsel had insisted upon en-
forcing the rule and compelled her to
file bond for COSTS The Vice Chancel-
lor decided to strike out the demurrer
and allow the defendants 10 file new
one on terms, which means in this case
that Mrs. Lighthall will not be compelled
to file bond for COSTS
When the case had been disposed of a
lawyer named Spencer, who appears in
the case as solicitor for Lighthall, came
into court and told the Vice Chancellor
that he took the demurrer to the clerk s
10.
The Vice Chancellor asked Mr.. Spencer
some questions and ELECTED the fact that
the reason the demurrer was not filed on
that day was because the solicitor had
not enough money on deposit to meet the
costs, as the rule of court requires. Mr..
Applegate made a strong plea to have the
Vice Chancellor reverse his decision,
claiming that injustice had been done his
client by the clerks Withholding the pa
per until his fees were paid. The Vice
Chancellor grew indignant at this and
declared that he would do nothing to help
a lawyer who did not keep up his ac-
counts with the clerk. "I do not think
It is the policy of the State" he said,
"to allow men to practice law who do
not keep up their accounts"
He referred to the fact that defendants
counsel had enforced the rule against
Mrs Lighthall poor woman. and COM
PEELED her to give bonds for costs and
he was not going to show thenn any con-
sideration.