Case Name: Cátala v. Calderón
Court: Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
Jurisdiction: Puerto Rico
Decision Date: 1903-12-14
Citations: 5 P.R. 39
Docket Number: No. 26
Parties: Cátala v. Calderón.
Judges: Chief Justice Quiñones and Justices Hernández, Figue-ras and MacLeary concurred.
Reporter: Puerto Rico Reports
Volume: 5
Pages: 39–43

Head Matter:
Cátala v. Calderón.
Appeal from the District Court of San Juan.
No. 26.
Decided December 14, 1903.
Divoece —Adultey—Abandonment.—Adultery or abandonment by one of the spouses is sufficient ground for divorce.
STATEMENT OE THE CASE.
This is an action for divorce pending before us on appeal, with José Cátala, as appellant, and María Calderón, as respondent, the former being represented in this court by An-tinio Moreno Calderón, Esq., while the respondent failed to enter an appearance.
On July 20, 1902, José Cátala de la Cruz filed a complaint in the District Court of San Juan against his wife Maria Cal-derón, which complaint contains several allegations, of which the following will be set out herein: That on January 4, 1873, the appellant and respondent were legally married in the Church of Santa María de los Eemedios of San Juan, in the Island of Porto Rico, which marriage appears from a certificate issued in due form and filed in this suit; that by said marriage they had no children owing to the fact that when it was celebrated appellant was seriously ill and upon Ms recovery, the respondent had abandoned his home and had gone to live with a certain Martin Sostre. lie finally prayed that the marriage between José Cátala and María Calderón be dissolved.
The respondent, after being summoned in due form, appeared through her counsel and filed an answer to the complaint admitting that they had been married as stated; had lived together as husband and wife for nine years, and by said marriage had had four cMldren; that the appellant without any cause had abandoned his wife and children, for which reason she was obliged to work for her living, and since that time had had no illicit relations with any man, she being employed by Martin Sostre only as Ms washerwoman.
In the proceedings four witnesses testified in behalf of the appellant to the effect that they were acquainted with the litigants and of their own knowledge could testify that María Calderón lived with Martin Sostre in the same apartment, wMle two of the witnesses stated that the plaintiff and the defendant lived as man and wife.
-, The District Court of San Juan, on February 11 of this year, rendered judgment dismissing the complaint, with costs against the plaintiff.
From this decision José Cátala de la Cruz took an appeal to tMs court.
Mr. Moreno Calderón, for appellant.
The respondent made no appearance.

Opinion:
Mr. Justice Sulzbacher,
after making the above statement of facts, delivered the following opinion of the court.
This Supreme Court has held on several occasions that divorce should he granted for adultery, this being in conformity with the act of Congress known as the "Foraker Act," and, furthermore, according to an act of the Legislative Assembly of Porto Eico, the abandonment of the wife by the husband or of the husband by the wife, is also a cause for divorce.
It has been proven that the wife, María Calderón, abandoned her husband and lived maritally with another man; thus, in addition to the abandonment, adultery has also been nroven.
We adjudge that, in reversing the judgment appealed from, we should sustain, and do sustain, the complaint filed by José Cátala de la Cruz, and consequently the marriage bonds hitherto existing between the plaintiff and defendant are by this judgment forever dissolved, with costs of the proceedings in the District Court against defendant.
Chief Justice Quiñones and Justices Hernández, Figue-ras and MacLeary concurred.