Opinion ID: 1812566
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Burden of Proving Good Faith

Text: Relators contend that the trial court erred in requiring them to satisfy a burden of proof that their mother was in good faith in contracting a marriage with Louie Gathright. Inquiry into whether Clara was in good faith [1] is relevant to a determination of whether the civil effects of marriage would run in favor of her and her heirs. C.C. 117. The trial court, relying on Succession of Davis, 142 So.2d 481 (2d Cir. 1962); King v. McCoy Bros. Lumber Co., 147 So.2d 77 (2d Cir. 1962) and Succession of Theriot, 185 So.2d 361 (4th Cir. 1966), held that once Louie put forth proof of the nullity of his marriage to Clara because of Clara's prior undissolved marriages, the burden then shifted to relators, claiming on Clara's behalf, to prove her good faith. This burden, he held, they failed to satisfy. Relators argue that the burden should not have been on them to prove their mother's good faith but rather that respondent, Louie Gathright had the burden of proving Clara's bad faith. They contend that the cases above cited are inconsistent with Lands v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of U. S., 239 La. 782, 120 So.2d 74 (1960), the case upon which they purportedly rest. Relators interpret Lands to hold that the burden of proving bad faith is always on the party attacking the second marriage; only when bad faith has been established, they allege, does the burden of proving the first marriage was no longer in existence shift to the defender of the second marriage. Their interpretation is erroneous. In Lands, Pauline Blackwell Lands claimed proceeds from an insurance policy payable to the widow of the decedent, Thomas Lands. It was shown at trial that Pauline had been previously married and left her husband, Willie Blackwell, in Mississippi. Eleven years later she married the decedent. She testified that she did not know whether her former husband was living or dead, that she had obtained no divorce from him and was unaware if he ever got a divorce from her, and that she had never seen or heard from him since leaving Mississippi. The district court rejected Pauline's claim and awarded the proceeds of the policy to the brother and half brothers of Thomas Lands, the next beneficiaries in the policy. After quoting extensively from Am.Jur., this court stated: We are in full accord with the majority view that a presumption exists as to the validity of a second marriage and that the burden of proof to show that it is a nullity is on the party attacking it. We do not think, however, that this presumption should be available to one who has deserted or abandoned a spouse of a prior marriage in another state and subsequently in this state remarries in bad faith and without reason to believe that the first marriage has been dissolved by death, divorce, or annulment. Whether a party in such a case is innocent and in good faith must depend upon the circumstances and facts of each case, and where innocence or good faith is once established, the burden of proof to show that the first marriage is still in existence is on the party attacking the second marriage. However, in such a case if bad faith is shown, the burden of proof to show that the first marriage was dissolved by death, divorce, or annulment prior to the second marriage is on the party whose marriage is under attack. We are mindful that as a general rule of law when a man and a woman marry and live together as husband and wife, they are presumed to have contracted the marriage in good faith. As we view the matter, however, for a party to a second marriage to be able to avail himself of the presumption of validity of such a marriage where it is shown that he has deserted his first spouse in another state, he must show that he entered into the second marriage in good faith. In the condition of the record as made up in the instant case, we are unable to determine with any degree of certainty whether Pauline Blackwell Lands was in good faith at the time she contracted her marriage with Lands, and we have concluded to remand the case in the interest of justice. She left Blackwell in Jackson, Mississippi, but we do not think that we should declare her in bad faith just because she admitted that she did not know as a matter of fact whether Blackwell was living or dead and that she had not obtained a divorce from him. It must be remembered that about 11 years had elapsed between her leaving Blackwell and her marriage to Lands, and during this time she never saw or heard from Blackwell. If she was in good faith and had reasonable grounds to believe that her first marriage had been dissolved, the presumption of the validity of her marriage to Lands would be available and she could rely on it, and the burden of proof would then be on appellees, the brothers, to show that her marriage to Blackwell was still in existence. In the event they should fail to do so, the validity of her marriage to Lands could be presumed and she would be entitled to the proceeds of the policy of insurance as his widow. On the other hand, if she should be unable to show that she contracted her marriage with Lands in good faith, the burden would then be on her to show to the satisfaction of the court that her marriage to Blackwell had been dissolved by death, divorce, or annulment. 239 La. at 790-92, 120 So.2d at 76-77. (Emphasis added). Hence, the holding of Lands is the following: (1) there is a presumption of the validity of a second marriage and the burden of proving invalidity is upon the party attacking it, (2) the presumption of validity does not run in favor of a spouse who has been shown to have a prior undissolved marriage, unless that spouse can show that he or she contracted the subsequent marriage in good faith. [2] Therefore, the trial judge correctly applied the law by imposing the burden of proving Clara's good faith on her heirs once Louie proved that Clara was previously married and neither widowed nor divorced.