Opinion ID: 2402348
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Premarital Conduct

Text: Next, Rosemarie argues that the general magistrate erred in refusing to consider evidence of the parties' relationship and agreements before the marriage. During the equitable distribution hearings, Rosemarie sought to introduce evidence of problems that existed before the marriage and for which the couple sought counseling. The general magistrate ruled that he would consider only evidence of fault or bad conduct of the parties during the marriage, not before. He based his ruling on § 15-5-16.1(a)(2), which allows the conduct of the parties during the marriage  to be considered in assigning property upon divorce. (Emphasis added.) We agree with the general magistrate that the clear language of this statute makes conduct of the parties before the marriage irrelevant for the purpose of equitable distribution. When its language is clear and unambiguous, this Court must interpret a statute literally. Accent Store Design, Inc. v. Marathon House, Inc., 674 A.2d 1223, 1226 (R.I. 1996). [T]here is no room for statutory construction and we must apply the statute as written. State v. DiCicco, 707 A.2d 251, 253 (R.I.1998) (quoting In re Denisewich, 643 A.2d 1194, 1197 (R.I.1994)). We hold, therefore, that the general magistrate did not abuse his discretion when he excluded evidence of each party's conduct before the marriage.