Court Opinion

ID: 9675282
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 04:47:59.680249+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:32.880495
License: Public Domain

FOURNET, Chief Justice
(dissenting).
The defendant wife, having been divorced by her husband on the sole ground that the parties had been living separate and apart for a period of more than two years, is not entitled to alimony unless it is proved that she “has not sufficient means for her maintenance” and “has not been at fault.” In such a case, “the Court may allow the wife in its discretion, out of the property and earnings of her husband, alimony which shall not exceed one-third of his income.” Article 160 of the Louisiana Civil Code. The burden of establishing the fact that she was free from fault rests upon the defendant wife in such cases, and she is required tq prove her allegations with reasonable certainty. Hawthorne v. Hawthorne, 214 La. 905, 39 So. 2d 338.
The evidence in this case, in my opinion, falls far short of the proof required to establish that the defendant wife was not at fault in causing the marital discord that culminated in the separation that led to this divorce.
I, therefore, respectfully dissent from the majority view.