Source: https://jdbar.com/cases/christian/
Timestamp: 2019-09-17 06:55:25
Document Index: 659764331

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2', '§ 643', '§ 21', '§ 886', '§ 24', '§ 873', '§ 36', '§ 715', '§ 37', '§ 37', '§ 21']

Christian v. Christian (Court of Appeals 1977) | New York Divorce and Appeals
Henrietta G. Christian, Respondent,
William L. Christian, Appellant.
42 N.Y.2d 63 (1977)
Argued February 17, 1977.
Stephen W. Schlissel and Charles S. Sherman for appellant.
George R. Hoffman for respondent.
Marriage being a status with which the State is deeply concerned, separation agreements subjected to attack are tested carefully. "A court of equity does not limit its inquiry to the ascertainment of the fact whether what had taken place would, as between other persons, have constituted a contract, and give relief, as a matter of course, if a formal contract be established, but it further inquires whether the contract [between husband and wife] was just and fair, and equitably ought to be enforced, and administers relief where both the contract and the circumstances require it" (Hendricks v Isaacs, 117 N.Y. 411, 417; [42 N.Y.2d 66] Hungerford v Hungerford, 161 N.Y. 550, 553).
These last two bases have become known as the "no fault" grounds, since they were designed to make separation a ground for divorce, regardless of fault, as long as the authenticity of the separation is supported by a separation decree or agreement (see Foster & Freed, Matrimonial Law [rev ed, 1973], p 29).1 "The decree [or agreement] is simply intended as evidence of the authenticity and reality of the separation" (Gleason v Gleason, 26 N.Y.2d 28, 35). This requirement as to a separation decree or agreement is peculiar to New York and reflects legislative concern over the fraud and collusion which historically infected divorce actions involving adultery. At the 1966 legislative session, the original broad proposal for a "living separate and apart" ground, as incorporated in the Wilson-Sutton Bill, at first rejected in the so-called "Leader's Bill", was finally incorporated in the compromise bill, conditioned on the requirements that there be a formal and filed written agreement and that the party seeking to come within the embrace of such ground prove that "he or she has duly performed all the terms and conditions of such agreement"2 (1 Foster & Freed, Law and the Family, pp 264, 333, n 9; p 337; Foster & Freed, The Divorce Law Reform [1970], p 22; see Littlejohns v Littlejohns, 76 Misc.2d 82, 86, affd on opn at Trial Term 42 A.D.2d 957).
It was the legislative intent to provide these nonfault grounds for divorce where marriages are dead, based on a recognition that it was morally and socially desirable, to society and to the parties to such a union, to enable them "`to extricate themselves from a perpetual state of marital limbo'" (Gleason v Gleason, 26 N.Y.2d 28, 35, 37, supra). The "vital and operative" fact, in subdivision (6) divorce cases, is the actual living apart of the parties — pursuant to the separation agreement (cf. id., p 37). Put a bit differently, the function of the document is "merely to authenticate the fact of separation" (cf. id., p 37). Once there has been a separation for one or more years (L 1970, ch 835, § 2) supported by the prescribed separation agreement with which there has been substantial compliance, the statute suggests no condition or restriction on the right of either party to commence the action (see Tantleff v Tantleff, 60 Misc.2d 608, 611, affd on limited grounds 33 A.D.2d 898). A number of decisions, following in the wake of the 1966 reforms, have held that even though individual clauses in a separation agreement were void, the agreement supplied grounds for divorce under subdivision (6) of section 170 of the Domestic Relations Law since such agreements survive for that purpose (see, e.g., Bruno v Bruno, 51 A.D.2d 862, mot for lv to app den 39 N.Y.2d 706; [42 N.Y.2d 70] Seligman v Seligman, 78 Misc.2d 632, 635; Hummel v Hummel, 62 Misc.2d 595, 599; but see Markowitz v Markowitz, 77 Misc.2d 586, 589, 592).
The cause of action in defendant's counterclaim is one for divorce under subdivision (6) of section 170, and the reply thereto asserts affirmative defenses. No cause is set forth by either party for enforcement or invalidation of the separation agreement. As to said counterclaim, it is the physical separation, rather than the writing, which constitutes the actual basis of the cause (Littlejohns v Littlejohns, 76 Misc.2d 82, 86, affd on opn at Trial Term 42 A.D.2d 957, supra; Hummel v Hummel, 62 Misc.2d 595, 599, supra). The agreement is "simply intended as evidence of the authenticity and reality of the separation" (cf. Gleason v Gleason, supra, p 35; Harris v Harris, 36 A.D.2d 594; see Martin v Martin, 63 Misc.2d 530, 533). In Littlejohns the agreement was viewed as evidence of the parties' actual and continued separation (p 86), and, in Markowitz, the instrument was said to be "merely documentary proof of a separation" (p 591). In Martin, a stipulation made in open court, the transcript of which was filed with the County Clerk, was held to carry no less weight than a written agreement, since the purpose of the filing provision in respect to separation agreements is to evidence the fact that the agreement was made before maintenance of the divorce action (but see Nitschke v Nitschke, 66 Misc.2d 435, 436-437; Jacobs v Jacobs, 55 Misc.2d 9).
Although a written separation agreement is a sine qua non to a divorce under subdivision (6), it is evidentiary in nature and admissible under general rules of evidence (see Richardson, Evidence [Prince — 10th ed], § 643). By the same token, proof independent of the agreement would also be admissible on the question of whether or not the parties actually lived separate and apart for at least one year. Therefore, if the separation agreement conforms to the statute but is otherwise found to be void and unenforceable insofar as its substantial provisions are concerned, generally it may still be accepted for the sole purpose of evidencing the parties' agreement to live separate and apart, thus satisfying the statutory requirement in respect to a separation agreement (see Henderson v Henderson, 47 A.D.2d 801, app dsmd 37 N.Y.2d 782; 11A Zett-Edmonds-Schwartz, NY Civ Prac, Matrimonial Actions, § 21.05, p 21-14; see, also, La Barge v La Barge, 84 Misc.2d 523, 524-525; but see Cicerale v Cicerale, 85 Misc.2d 1071, 1075). In this [42 N.Y.2d 71] same vein, it was held, long before 1966, in Reischfield v Reischfield (100 Misc. 561), an action for separation based on abandonment and other grounds, that, even though void, a separation agreement negated an abandonment since the husband and wife separated voluntarily (see Matter of Brown, 153 Misc. 282, 284; 16 NY Jur, Domestic Relations, § 886; see, also, Rosenbaum v Rosenbaum, 56 Misc.2d 221, 224). Since, as the Appellate Division here stated, "[t]he parties have lived separate and apart from each other pursuant to their agreement, which was properly executed and filed, and each has adhered to the terms thereof for a period of more than one year", the requirements of subdivision (6) were fulfilled and that court properly granted a divorce on the counterclaim.
Said court was of the view, however, that the portion of the agreement which called for an equal division of the assets listed in the annexed schedule was "so unconscionable as to be unenforceable" and that the wife should not be required to pay such substantial sums to her husband "upon the advent of such divorce in compliance with a portion of the separation agreement which is tainted with unconscionability" citing Riemer v Riemer (48 Misc.2d 873, affd 25 A.D.2d 956, mot for lv to app dsmd 17 N.Y.2d 915). In Riemer the word "unconscionable" bargain has been regarded as one "`such as no [person] in his [or her] senses and not under delusion would make on the one hand, and as no honest and fair [person] would accept on the other'" (Hume v United States, 132 U.S. 406, 411), the inequality being "`so strong and manifest as to shock the conscience and confound the judgment of any [person] of common sense'" (Mandel v Liebman, 303 N.Y. 88, 94). Unconscionable conduct is something of which equity takes cognizance, when warranted (see Weirfield Holding Corp. v Pless & Seeman, 257 N.Y. 536; Graf v Hope Bldg. Corp., 254 N.Y. 1, 4; Howard v Howard, 122 Vt. 27; 27 Am Jur 2d, Equity, § 24, pp 549-550; cf. 2 Pomeroy's Equity Jurisprudence [4th ed], § 873, p 1804).
Generally, separation agreements which are regular on their face are binding on the parties, unless and until they are put aside (2 Foster & Freed, Law and the Family, p 476; see, also, Schmelzel v Schmelzel, 287 N.Y. 21, 26; 2 Lindey, Separation Agreements and Ante-Nuptial Contracts [rev ed], § 36, subd 1, p 36-3). Judicial review is to be exercised circumspectly, sparingly and with a persisting view to the encouragement of parties settling their own differences in connection with the negotiation of property settlement provisions. Furthermore, when there has been full disclosure between the parties, not only of all relevant facts but also of their contextual significance, and there has been an absence of inequitable conduct or other infirmity which might vitiate the execution of the agreement, courts should not intrude so as to redesign the bargain arrived at by the parties on the ground that judicial wisdom in retrospect would view one or more of the specific provisions as improvident or one-sided.
If voidable, such an agreement may be set aside under principles of equity in an action in which such relief is sought in a cause of action or by way of affirmative defense (Susquehanna S. S. Co. v Andersen & Co., 239 N.Y. 285, 292-294; 16 NY Jur, Domestic Relations, § 715). Agreements between spouses, unlike ordinary business contracts, involve a fiduciary relationship requiring the utmost of good faith (Ducas v Guggenheimer, 90 Misc. 191, 194-195, affd sub nom. Ducas v Ducas, 173 App Div 884). There is a strict surveillance of all transactions between married persons, especially separation agreements (Hendricks v Isaacs, 117 N.Y. 411, 417, supra; Benesch v Benesch, 106 Misc. 395, 402; 2 Lindey, Separation Agreements and Ante-Nuptial Contracts [rev ed], § 37, subd 4, p 37-9). Equity is so zealous in this respect that a separation agreement may be set aside on grounds that would be insufficient to vitiate an ordinary contract (Hungerford v Hungerford, 161 N.Y. 550, 553, supra; Cain v Cain, 188 App Div 780, 782; Crowell v Crowell, 135 Misc. 530, 532, affd 229 App Div 771). These principles in mind, courts have thrown their cloak of protection about separation agreements and made it their business, when confronted, to see to it that they are arrived at fairly and equitably, in a manner so as to be free from the taint of fraud and duress, and to set aside or refuse to enforce those born of and subsisting in inequity. (Scheinberg v Scheinberg, 249 N.Y. 277, 282-283; Hungerford v Hungerford, 161 N.Y. 550, 553, supra; Matter of Smith, 243 App Div 348, 353; Ducas v Guggenheimer, 90 Misc. 191, 194, affd sub nom. Ducas v Ducas, 173 App Div 884, supra; Montgomery v Montgomery, 170 N.Y.S. 867, affd 187 App Div 882; see Validity of Separation Agreement As Affected by Fraud, Coercion, Unfairness or Mistake, Ann., 5 ALR 823, 827).
To warrant equity's intervention, no actual fraud need be shown, for relief will be granted if the settlement is manifestly unfair to a spouse because of the other's overreaching (2 Lindey, Separation Agreements and Ante-Nuptial Contracts [rev ed], § 37, subd 5, p 37-12; cf. Matter of Baruch, 205 Misc. 1122, 1124, affd 286 App Div 869; Pegram v Pegram, 310 Ky. 86, 89-90). In determining whether a separation agreement is invalid, courts may look at the terms of the agreement to see if there is an inference, or even a negative inference, of overreaching in its execution. If the execution of the agreement, however, be fair, no further inquiry will be made.
1. It is pointed out in Zett-Edmonds-Schwartz (vol 11A, NY Civ Prac, Matrimonial Actions, § 21.01) that all of the grounds for a separation decree, with the exception of imprisonment, are based upon the fault of one spouse or the other.
2. Chapter 700 of the Laws of 1968 substituted "substantially" for "duly".
The case of Christian v. Christian is provided as part of a free educational service by J. Douglas Barics, attorney at law, for reference only. Cases such as Christian v Christian may be overruled by subsequent decisions, different judicial departments may have different controlling case law, and the level of the court deciding each case will determine whether it is controlling law or not. Christian v. Christian is presented here to help illustrate how the law works in general, but for specific legal matters, an attorney should be consulted.