New-York tribune., 1912-11-16
SUES FOR Loss OF Wife
Nachinist Wants $50, 900 from
Woman'S Present Husband.
DEFENDANT A MILLIONAIRE
Wed 10 Years, Says Plaintiff,
When Spouse Left Him for
Benjamin Adriance.

Benjamin Adriance.
s.njamin Adriance. a millionaire. who
a, oresident Of the Savage Arms Com
..av and Of the Adriance Machine
vvo,k, OF Brooklyn, appeared in the su-
,r.r,e Court Yesterday as defendant IN a
,u, instituted by James p. Berney, a
,,scbinist employed by a typewriter
,,,pufacturing company. who says that
,Sr,ance aliensted the affections Of his
20. for which he demands $4,000 dam
,,as The former Mrs Berney is now the
~. Of Adriance. having obtained a de-
cree Of divorce against Berney In South
Dakota. It's validity. however, is the sub
,,et Of dispute In the alienation suit.
Besides the anguish Of mind and the
humiliation which Berney says he felt be-
cause of the action OF his wife. he de-
,lsrss that the news Of the step taken by
Mrs Rerney was such a shock TO one OF
their two grown sons, who was then i'm
Mexico. that II killed him. Mrs Berney
married Adrisnce four days after the
death OF the defendants FIRST wife. Ber-
nsy said that his domestic life was happy
from 1853. when he married the present
Mrs. Adriance. in Cory, Penn, until 1900,
when his wife met the defendant in q
Prooklyn streetcsr. From that day, de-
clared the plaintiff. the wealthy manu-
fscturer made a determined effort 10 win
the affections OF Mrs. Berney. and two
years after their first unconventional
meeting Mrs. Berney left her husband, he
added.
Berney said he waited eight years for
the return TO their once happy home OF
the woman who had been his wife for
nineteen years. He was unaware at that
time that she had gone TO South Dakota
and had severed their matrimonial bond
She got her decree in 1893, a year after
enc left Berney. but he said he knew
nothing about IL until 1910. At the same
time he learned that Mrs. Berney had
married Adriance. Mr.. and Mrs. Adriance
are living at Woodchf, n. J.
Say 5erney Was at Wedding.
Mr.. and Mrs. Adrisnce make the in
teresting statement that Berney attended
their wedding They also deny all the
allegations made by the plaintiff. Mrs.
Adriance says that Berney deserted her
before she even met Adriance and that
she obtained her South Dakota divorce
on the ground Of desertion.
But whatever we're the circumstances
Of the marriage Of Adriance and Mrs.
Berney, the plaintiff asserts that even
now she is not legally married to the de-
fendant because the decree which Mrs.
Berney obtained was not legal, in that
he never was served in the suit and had
no opportunity to defend himself This
point was argued before Justice Blanch-
ard yesterday. Adriance offered the de-
cree OF divorce which his wife procured
in South Dakota against Berney, but
counsel for Berney argued that 1t should
be excluded because OF its inyalidity.
For the defendant IL was argued that
he and his wife were residents Of New
Jersey and that in that state the divorce
decree was valid. Against this conten-
ton Berney says that his residence Is In
New York and despite the fact that his
wife deserted him, her domicile, accord
Ing TO the law Of New York State, was
where that OF her husband was. JUS
dee Blanchard reserved decision on this
point Of law.
Beney's lawyer said in opening his
case that Mrs. Berney neglected her hus-
band and practically ordered him out OF
their home in 1902. Mrs. Berney had also
stayed out nights said the attorney. Ber-
sey made his home a few doors away and
two days later Mrs. Berney moved and
occupied an elaborately furnished apart
pent In Brooklyn, under the patronage
Of Adriance." Continuing, the lawyer
said that Berney discovered that they
have been living together since then at
Woodcliff and at No. ISL Greene avenue,
Brooklyn.
Declares Adriance Was Boxrder.
Counsel for Adriance denied that his
client and Mrs. Berney had lived together
PRIOR to 1910 and declared that Mrs.
Berney had lived with her father in 1903
at Woodcliff, where Adriance was a
boarder Counsel added that Mr.. Ad-
nance was married, but that circum-
stances had arisen so that for fifteen
years prior TO this time he had not lived
under the same roof as his wife. His
marriage did not keep him from contract
Ing an enduring and honorable love for
Ars. Berney They loved each other as
man and woman should"
We will show YOU" he went on TO say,
mat the other allegations are untrue as
70 this couple living together in 1909"
berney took the stand. but he told only
oi MS marriage to Mrs. Adriance and
Where they lived, and identified Mrs. Adri-
snce as his wife. John E. Peterson testi-
nec that his father owned the place where
Aeranee and Mrs. Berney lived in 1909.
he was employed as a farmer on the
place. During the first two weeks that
the couple lived there, Peterson said, he
Knew OF no other person who lived with
tnem Mr.. Purdy, Mrs. Berney's father,
came a little later, he said. Peterson
knew that Adrisnce and Mrs. Berney oc-
cupied the only two bedrooms In tho
upper part Of the house, because the wit
ness had helped to distribute the furni-
nre. The two rooms were connected by
door.
Then Berney's lawyer called Adrisnce
a. one OF his witnesses. He asked the
defendant whether he had transferred
The Woodcliff house to Mrs. Berney IN
l1l, and Adriance denied having done SO.
That ended his examination until he tes-
unes in his own behalf.
process server testified that he served
Berney in the divorce suit brought by his
Wife In South Dakota.