Case Name: ROSE K. CROWE A/K/A ROSE K. DE GIOIA, PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT, v. SERGIO DE GIOIA, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT
Court: New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New Jersey
Decision Date: 1981-05-05
Citations: 179 N.J. Super. 36
Docket Number: 
Parties: ROSE K. CROWE A/K/A ROSE K. DE GIOIA, PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT, v. SERGIO DE GIOIA, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
Judges: 
Reporter: New Jersey Superior Court Reports
Volume: 179
Pages: 36–52

Head Matter:
ROSE K. CROWE A/K/A ROSE K. DE GIOIA, PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT, v. SERGIO DE GIOIA, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division
Argued January 27, 1981
Decided May 5, 1981.
Before Judges MICHELS, KOLE and ARD.
Carl J. Palmisano argued the cause for appellant (Palmisano & Goodman, attorneys; Scott J. Marum on the brief).
Anthony B. Vignuolo argued the cause for respondent (Borras, Goldin & Foley, attorneys; Anthony B. Vignuolo and Martin S. Goldin, on the brief).

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
Plaintiff, an unmarried woman, instituted an action against defendant, with whom she had cohabited for a long period of time, alleging a breach of an express agreement that "he would take care of her and support her for the rest of her life, and that he would share with her his various assets." The gravamen of her complaint appears to be identical to the type of agreement which first came to public attention in Marvin v. Marvin, 18 Cal.3d 660, 134 Cal.Rptr. 815, 557 P.2d 106 (Sup.Ct.1976), and was declared enforceable by our Supreme Court in Kozlowski v. Kozlowski, 80 N.J. 378 (1979).
After issue was joined plaintiff moved for and secured an interlocutory order of the trial court which (1) provided $125 weekly support and maintenance to plaintiff pendente lite; (2) required defendant to pay plaintiff's outstanding and future medical, dental, drug and other bills; (3) permitted plaintiff to continue in exclusive use of defendant's dwelling house and required defendant to continue to pay all costs; (4)enjoined defendant from disposing of his assets; (5) awarded a $350 counsel fee and costs in the amount of $120 pendente lite, and (6) allowed for depositions of each party. We granted defendant's application for leave to appeal and stayed the aforementioned order pending our determination.
Defendant argues that the trial judge lacked jurisdiction to order pendente lite support or counsel fees. We agree. The order in question provides plaintiff with interim relief pending resolution of her cause of action against defendant. The cause of action is based on an express agreement for support. Kozlowski v. Kozlowski, supra, does not afford cohabiting parties the status and rights which would emanate from a marriage. The relief afforded parties in an action of this nature is strictly limited to damages resulting from a cause of action in contract.
Plaintiff is not entitled to alimony or equitable distribution. Alimony may be awarded only in actions for divorce or nullity, and equitable distribution is awarded only in actions for divorce. N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23, et seq. [Kozlowski v. Kozlowski, supra, 80 N.J. at 383]
Moreover, the court went on to say:
To dispel any misunderstanding, we emphasize that our decision today has not judicially revived a form of common law marriage which has been proscribed in New Jersey since 1939) by N.J.S.A. 37:1-10. We do no more than recognize that society's mores have changed, and that an agreement between adult parties living together is enforceable to the extent it is not based on a relationship proscribed by law, or on a promise to marry. [At 387].
Thus, since our Supreme Court has already categorically mandated that plaintiff, in this type of action, is not entitled to alimony, we see no basis to allow pendente lite "support and maintenance" which we deem another name for alimony. In addition, we find no basis for the other collateral relief which was made part of the interlocutory order.
As we have indicated, in the case before us plaintiff alleges an express agreement made by defendant to support her for life. The agreement, if one exists, is by adult nonmarital partners. Plaintiff seeks damages flowing from defendant's alleged breach of contract. Consequently, plaintiff's action on the contract is properly an action at law. R. 4:3-1(a)(1) provides, in pertinent part, that: An action on a debt allegedly due under a contract is an action of a traditionally legal character. Dairy Queen v. Wood, 369 U.S. 469, 477 82 S.Ct. 894, 899, 8 L.Ed.2d 44 (1962). "A construction of fa] contract and a determination of the rights of the parties thereunder is assuredly within the province of a court of law." Ewing Tp. v. Trenton, 137 N.J.Eq. 109, 111 (Ch.1945). Accord, Government Employees Ins. Co. v. Butler, 128 N.J.Super. 492, 496 (Ch.Div.1974). "Generally speaking, breach of contract gives rise to an action for damages. When, but only when, that remedy is inadequate, the injured party may sue in equity." Sullivan v. Margetts, 9 N.J.Super. 189, 193 (App.Div.1950). See, also, Regan v. Lenkowsky, 137 F.Supp. 133, 140 (D.N.J.1956). Our Supreme Court, in Kozlowski v. Kozlowski, supra, 80 N.J. at 388-389, found money damages to be entirely adequate in remedying a nonmatrimonial partner's breach of his contract to provide lifetime support to an aggrieved partner.
. [I]f the plaintiff's primary right or the principal relief sought is equitable or probate in nature, he shall bring the action in the Chancery Division . All other actions in the Superior Court shall be brought in the Law Division
[Emphasis supplied]
Here, the primary relief sought is legal and the relief can and should be obtained in the Law Division. The distinction between law and equity has been set out in Massari v. Einsiedler, 6 N.J. 303.
Under the accepted practice prior to the adoption of the 1947 Constitution a defendant who had unsuccessfully defended a contract action in a law court could then apply to the Chancery Court for reformation of the contract. The Commercial Union Assurance Co. v. N.J. Rubber Co., 64 N.J.Eq. 338 (E. & A.1962). Likewise, a plaintiff who had prosecuted an action on a contract to judgment which was rendered for the defendant was not precluded from thereafter seeking reformation of the contract in the Chancery Court. Knight v. Electric Household Utilities Corp., 133 N.J.Eq. 87 (Ch.1943); affirmed, 134 N.J.Eq. 542 (E. & A.1943). The reason for the intercession by the equity courts was to prevent the injustice which sometimes resulted from the invulnerability of written instruments in a law court when such instruments did not express the actual intent of the parties but were unassailable in the law court because of the parol evidence rule. The basis for the equitable relief of reformation was the inadequacy of the remedy at law. Knight v. Electric Household Utilities Corp., supra. Under our present court structure we have a Superior Court, which has original general jurisdiction throughout the State in all causes. It is divided into a Law Division and a Chancery Division for the trial of causes. Where adequate relief can be obtained in the Law Division, there is no need for intercession by the Chancery Division since the entire controversy can be determined in the Law Division in one and the same suit. The furnishing of complete relief in one court has the design of the unified court structure effectuated by the 1947 Constitu tion. Our present judicial system is similar to that which is generally referred to as the "reformed procedure, wherein legal and equitable causes of action, legal and equitable defenses, and legal and equitable remedies may be united and determined by the same judgment. See Pomeroy's Equity Jurisprudence, (5th ed. 1941), vol. 1, § 84, p. 110; 45 Am.Jur., Reformation of Instruments, § 90, p. 639. [At 308-309]
Any contractual claim for equitable relief, for instance, quantum meruit, is an alternative request for relief subject to the determination of a legal right, i. e., the express contract. See C. B. Snyder Realty Co. v. Nat. Newark, etc., Banking Co., 14 N.J. 146, 162-163 (1953), and Moser v. Milner Hotels, Inc., 6 N.J. 278, 280-281 (1951), holding that an express contract excludes an implied one. Likewise, the equitable remedy of specific performance requires a clear, definite and precise understanding of the terms of the contract before enforcement. Hollister v. Fiedler, 30 N.J.Super. 203, 210 (App.Div.1954), mod. and aff'd 17 N.J. 239 (1955). The claim in the instant case, based on allegations of an oral agreement, falls short of this standard. Moreover, it is available only when the remedy at law is inadequate. Fleischer v. James Drug Stores, 1 N.J. 138, 146-147 (1948); Centex Homes Corp. v. Boag, 128 N.J.Super. 385, 393 (Ch.Div.1974). Therefore, the case is properly brought in the Law Division. See Eckerd Drugs of N.J. v. S.R. 215, Rite-Aid, 170 N.J.Super. 37, 41-42 (Ch.Div.1979).
In accord with the foregoing conclusion is McHenry v. Smith, 45 Or.App. 813, 818, 609 P.2d 855, 858 (Ct.App.1980). McHenry held that a contract action between two unmarried parties establishing economic arrangements for cohabitation is properly brought as an action at law. The court noted that:
The parties chose to regulate their lives and affairs by agreement. They had a right to do that, and the contract was enforceable. If the contract was breached by one of the parties, the other party was entitled to seek the relief obtainable at law. Plaintiff's action on the contract was properly brought as an action at law. [Id.]
Thus, because the parties' relationship is recognized as contractual rather than spousal, their cause of action is fairly heard in the law courts.
Our conclusion that this is an action at law lends emphasis to the argument that plaintiff's cause of action precludes equitable relief. Our dissenting colleague recognizes that matrimonial law cannot serve as a basis for awarding the type of preliminary relief granted by the court below. He simply states that the trial court's action was correct based on "settled equitable principles relating to preliminary relief in emergent situations requiring the preservation of the status quo and the prevention of irreparable harm, . " In doing so, there appears to be a determination that the plaintiff will ultimately succeed: "In my view, the record supports the conclusion that a prima facie case of probable successful ultimate relief under Kozlowski has been established by plaintiff." We must again disagree. The record is far too sparse to predict the ultimate successful party. The answer filed by defendant and the "factual history" in his brief would suggest a sharp factual dispute on critical issues which precludes prognostication of the outcome.
We are constrained to disagree with our dissenting colleague's innovative approach in granting preliminary relief before proof is adduced as to the exact nature of the relationship between the parties as well as the existence of the alleged agreement. The record before us does not allow us to agree with his conclusion:
. [T]here is no reasonable alternative remedy in an emergent situation . The existence of the new cause of action calls for the creative hand of equity to assure its proper implementation where necessary. See State v. East Shores, Inc., 154 N.J.Super. 57, 64 (Ch.Div.1977), mod. and aff'd 164 N.J.Super. 530 (App.Div.1979); Roach v. Margulies, 42 N.J.Super. 243, 246, (App.Div.1956).
In Hague v. Warren, 142 N.J.Eq. 257 (E. & A. 1948), the court said:
It is sometimes said that the grant of equitable relief is a matter of grace. If by "grace" is meant "favor," such may have been the rule when Chancery was incubated. But under constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process of law, it can hardly be supposed that the grant or denial of equitable relief may rest upon fancy or favor. All litigants in equity are entitled to the same result in identical situations, and the claim to that result has the statute of a right. "For if the constitutional provision 'due process of law' or as it is sometimes called, 'the law of the land' or, as the English phrase it, 'the rule of law,' means anything, it should mean equality in the determination of the rights of those affected." Grobholz v. Merdel Mortgage Investment Co. (Court of Errors and Appeals, 1934), 115 N.J.Eq. 411, 415 [at 262].
We see no basis to favor the plaintiff in this action before resolution of the factual dispute. We know of no better statement apropos of this situation than that contained in Temple v. Clinton Trust Company, 1 N.J. 219 (1948) where the Supreme Court, in charting the future of the then new judicial system, stated:
The rights of the parties are the same in equity as at law. Courts of equity may not "depart from all precedent and assume an unregulated power of administering abstract justice at the expense of well-settled principles." Heine v. The Board of Levee Commissioners, [86 U.S. 655, 19 Wall. 655,] 22 L.Ed. 223 (1873). Equity has no jurisdiction over that "large class of obligations called imperfect obligations, resting upon conscience and moral duty only, unconnected with legal obligations.. . Generally its jurisdiction depends upon legal obligations, and its decrees can only enforce remedies to the extent and in the mode by law established." Rees v. Watertown, 86 U.S. 107, 19 Wall. 107, 22 L.Ed. 72 (1873). [at 227-228]
In sum, we cannot, on one hand, recognize plaintiff's claim as a nonmarital contract action and then, on the other hand, proceed to clothe plaintiff with a panoply of pretrial relief which our courts have long recognized as emanating from traditional marriage law.
Finally, in addition to our determination above, we do not believe this to be a matrimonial action within the definition of R. 4:75. The language of the rule clearly deals with actions involving marriage or the nullity of marriage and all of the peripheral claims "between spouses and former spouses." Consequently there is no basis to allow counsel fees pursuant to R. 4:42-9(a)(1). See Pressler, Current N.J. Court Rules, Comment R. 4:42-9(a)(1) (1981). The trial court's order of September 10, 1980 granting plaintiff pendente lite relief is vacated. The matter is remanded for trial in the Law Division.
Reversed and remanded.