Opinion ID: 1812566
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: and IV. The Constitutional Issues

Text: Relators urged before the Second Circuit that the burden imposed upon a bad faith wife of a putative marriage (that of strict and conclusive proof that she contributed to the funds used to purchase property, and that those funds were obtained independently of the relationship or common endeavor with her putative husband) is an unconstitutional denial of equal protection because it does not apply to the bad faith husband. That allegation was not mentioned in the pleadings nor argued before the trial court but was asserted for the first time before the appellate court. The Second Circuit held that the constitutional issue could not be considered on appeal when not specially pleaded in the trial court. Our ultimate conclusion is that relators have satisfied the strict and conclusive proof burden. Therefore we need not decide whether the constitutional issue is before us, since raised for the first time in the court of appeal; [4] nor whether if before us the burden is unconstitutional because of discrimination against the wife.