Court Opinion

ID: 4728713
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2021-08-12 02:53:57.466477+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:07:57.135603
License: Public Domain

RuDiax, J.
(concurring) — I concur in the judgment of affirmance but not in the application of Bal. Code, §' 5723 (P. C. § 4637), to the annulment proceedings of Mary Buckley against Andrew Buckley. Between these parties there was no marriage, and their property should be divided or distributed according to the rules governing the division or distribution of the joint accumulations of any other persons between whom no marriage exists. As applicable to such a proceeding, I approve the rule announced in the authorities cited in the majority opinion; viz., that the court may restore to the woman any property 'the man may have acquired by or through her, may compensate the woman for any pecuniary benefits derived by the man during the existence of such relation, or may make a just and equitable distribution of their joint accumulations. But this is very different from the power exercised by the court under § 5723. Under that section the court considers not only the party through whom the property was acquired, but also the merits of the parties and the condition they will be left in by the divorce. It not only considers the past but provides for the future as well. It may, and generally does, provide for the future maintenance and support of the wife, by general alimony or by an award of property, especially where the husband is at fault. None of these considerations enter into a decree of nullity. In the one case the property is simply distributed to those who have aided and assisted in its acquisition. In the other case the court exercises a broader discretion, distributes the property according to different rules, and adjusts the rights, duties, and obligations growing out of the marriage relation. It seems to me that even a superficial reading of this section would convince one that a valid subsisting marriage lies at its very foundation. I believe, however, that the division made by the lower court was equitable and just under all the circumstances, without any regard whatever to § 5723, and that its judgment should be affirmed.