Court Opinion

ID: 9523490
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:43:05.088786+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:06:10.122059
License: Public Domain

Mr. JUSTICE BURMAN dissenting: The principal issue is whether a Nevada divorce obtained by the appellant while his complaint for divorce was pending in the Circuit Court of Cook County was entitled to full faith and credit. The record reveals that in December, 1967, James Keck, the plaintiff, filed a complaint for divorce in the Circuit Court of Cook County in which he alleged as grounds, mental cruelty and constructive desertion. Dolores Keck, the defendant, filed an answer to this complaint and a countercomplaint for separate maintenance in February, 1968. In October, 1968, while the case in the Circuit Comt of Cook County was pending, the plaintiff went to Nevada and, shortly after arriving, commenced proceedings to obtain a divorce. Dolores Keck was personally served in Chicago with a summons and copy of the complaint from the Nevada court on December 5, 1968. On the defendant’s motion, plaintiff was enjoined on December 23, 1968, from proceeding with his suit for divorce in Nevada. Nevertheless he obtained an ex parte decree for divorce in Nevada on December 27, 1968. Upon entry of the decree, the plaintiff returned to Chicago. On June 27, 1969, the plaintiff presented to the Cook County Circuit Court a motion to dismiss the countercomplaint for separate maintenance together with a certified copy of the Nevada divorce decree, alleging that the marriage between the Kecks no longer existed by virtue of the Nevada decree. The defendant countered with a motion to strike the motion to dismiss, alleging that the plaintiff had never established a bona fide domicile in Nevada. Following a hearing, the motion to dismiss the countercomplaint was denied. At this time tire court stated that it made no finding as to the validity of the Nevada decree. Subsequently, the case was called for trial and testimony heard on several different occasions. After hearing the evidence, the court dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint and granted the defendant separate maintenance on her countercomplaint. At this time the court expressed the opinion that the Nevada decree was invalid, but at plaintiff’s instance admitted it into evidence. I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that there is no basis, in fact or in law, for the trial court’s refusal to recognize the Nevada divorce decree and to give it full faith and credit. The requirement that the courts of one state give full faith and credit to judgments rendered in sister states is established by Article IV, Section 1, of the United States Constitution. It has long been recognized, however, that this requirement operates only when “the jurisdiction of the court in [the sister] state is not impeached, either as to the subject matter or the person.” (Thompson v. Whitman (1873), 85 U.S. (18 Wall.) 457, 483.) In actions for divorce, jurisdiction of the subject matter is predicated upon domicile. (Williams v. North Carolina (1945), 325 U.S. 226, 229.) In Ludwig v. Ludwig (1952), 413 Ill. 44, 48, 107 N.E.2d 848, 851, the Illinois Supreme Court, after reviewing the principles underlying the recognition of foreign divorce decrees, concluded: “Thus the court, in determining whether full faith and credit should be given to the out-of-State divorce decree, may properly inquire into the bona fide character of the domicile of the party who secured that divorce.” It is apparent therefore that the trial court in the present case had the right to inquire into the bona fides of the plaintiffs alleged domicile in Nevada and that its refusal to recognize the Nevada decree is error only if the record does not support the conclusion that the plaintiff was not a bona fide domiciliary of that state. By the testimony of the plaintiff himself it was established that he had only resided in Nevada for approximately two months and that he had returned to Chicago immediately upon obtaining a divorce decree. Upon his return he took up residence in the same apartment in which he had lived prior to leaving and for which he had continued to pay rent during his absence. He had not quit his job with the Safeco Insurance Company prior to leaving, but had arranged a leave of absence, and upon his return, resumed his employment there. During his stay in Nevada he retained his Illinois driver’s license and bank accounts. He contacted a lawyer about a divorce one or two days after arriving in Nevada. ' The foregoing clearly supports the conclusion that the plaintiff went to Nevada for the sole purpose of obtaining a divorce and that he intended all along to return to Illinois. Such an intention would have precluded his acquiring a domicile in Nevada. (See Williams v. North Carolina (1945), 325 U.S. 226; Ludwig v. Ludwig (1952), 413 Ill. 44, 107 N.E.2d 848; Atkins v. Atkins (1946), 393 Ill. 202, 65 N.E.2d 801.) I am convinced therefore that there is an adequate basis, both in law and in fact, for the trial court’s conclusion that the Nevada decree was invalid and that his refusal to accord to it full faith and credit was not error. Having concluded that the trial court properly refused to recognize the Nevada divorce decree, it is necessary to consider briefly whether it was correct in dismissing the plaintiff s complaint and awarding the defendant separate maintenance. Section 1 of the Divorce Act, Illinois Revised Statutes, Chapter 40, was amended in July, 1967, to include extreme and repeated mental cruelty as a ground for divorce in Illinois. Prior to July, 1967, this ground had not existed. In Honey v. Honey (1970), 120 Ill.App.2d 102, 104, 256 N.E.2d 121, 122, it was held that the amendment to Section 1 was not intended to have a retroactive effect, and consequently that only acts of mental cruelty occurring after July, 1967, could form a basis for divorce in Illinois. In the present case, the testimony established, and the plaintiff admitted, that the acts which constituted the alleged mental cruelty occurred prior to 1967. The trial court was correct therefore in concluding that the acts alleged could not constitute grounds for divorce and in dismissing the complaint. In addition to extreme and repeated mental cruelty, the plaintiff alleged constructive desertion, charging that the defendant had denied him sexual intercourse for a number of years. The plaintiff’s testimony in this regard was denied by the defendant, and after hearing all of the testimony, the trial court concluded that, inasmuch as the plaintiff’s testimony was not corroborated, he had not established the right to a divorce on the ground of constructive desertion. I am satisfied that the record supports this conclusion. Even if the trial court had found a denial of sexual intercourse, it is well established that, in Illinois,' such denial, in and of itself does not constitute constructive desertion. Fritz v. Fritz (1899), 138 Ill. 436, 28 N.E. 1058. The plaintiff urges that there was insufficient evidence upon which to base a decree for separate maintenance. He argues first that there was no proof that the parties were married, second that there was no proof that their separation was without the fault of the defendant and third that the court’s finding that the defendant was not entitled to alimony precluded a finding that she was entitled to separate maintenance. The first point is evidently based upon the plaintiff’s belief that the court improperly refused to recognize the Nevada divorce decree. As I believe that the court’s finding with respect to the Nevada decree was proper, I need not consider this contention further. I note, however, that in his complaint plaintiff admitted that the parties were married in Cicero, Illinois, on September 4, 1948. With respect to the second point, I have examined the record carefully and conclude that the court’s finding was based upon substantial evidence. As to the third point, the court merely held that the defendant is not entitled to alimony at the present time. There is no merit in this third contention. For the foregoing reasons, I would affirm the decree in toto.