Court Opinion

ID: 9709694
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 03:53:08.362152+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:50.938507
License: Public Domain

FLAHERTY, Justice,
concurring.
As set forth by Mr. Justice Nix in his concurring opinion, this case illustrates the unsoundness of affording §§ 401(e, f) of the Divorce Code, Act of April 2, 1980, P.L. 63, No. 26 § 101 et seq., 23 P.S. § 401(e, f), retroactive application. I *392continue to adhere to the view expressed in my dissenting opinion in Bacchetta v. Bacchetta, 498 Pa. 227, 238-244, 445 A.2d 1194, 1200-1202 (1982), that as the legislature did not clearly and manifestly express an intent that property acquired prior to the effective date of the Code be classified as “marital property” and subjected to the equitable distribution provision of the Code, the application of § 401 is prospective only. Although the constitutional difficulties are obvious, it is not necessary to reach the question of the constitutionality of'the retroactive application of § 401, as does Mr. Justice Nix, as there are ample reasons to support the inescapable conclusion that the expressed legislative intent was that application of § 401 is to be prospective only. Thus, I concur in the result.
LARSEN, J., joins this concurring opinion.