Court Opinion

ID: 9443062
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 19:10:02.920965+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:29:21.745847
License: Public Domain

FAHY, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur in reversal and remand. The further proceedings which should be had, however, in my opinion are not entirely those indicated by the opinions written by Judge Miller and by Judge Washington. I agree with Judge Miller as to the instalments which accrued prior to the time the minor children, respectively, came of age. These are fixed obligations, or judgment debts, no modification of the amounts having been sought or made prior to the time such instalments became due. To the extent Franklin v. Franklin, 1948, 83 U.S.App.D.C. 385, 171 F.2d 12, is inconsistent with this view, I concur in overruling that case and in reverting to the rule laid down by this court in the earlier cases referred to by Judge Miller. Such indication of a different view as might be gleaned from the statements in the still earlier cases of Tolman v. Leonard, 1895, 6 App.D.C. 224, and Alexander v. Alexander, 1898, 13 App.D.C. 334, 45 L.R.A. 806, is insufficient in my opinion to lead to a different result. This is especially so in view of the approach taken by the Supreme Court to’ the question of statutory construction in Sistare v. Sistare, *6851910, 218 U.S. 1, 30 S.Ct. 682, 54 L.Ed. 905, and the references to Sistare v. Sistare in the later cases of Barber v. Barber, 1944, 323 U.S. 77, 65 S.Ct. 137, 89 L.Ed. 82, and Griffin v. Griffin, 1946, 327 U.S. 220, 66 S.Ct. 556, 90 L.Ed. 635. I should add that I am persuaded to this view not because of the impact in other jurisdictions of the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution on decrees of our local courts, but because I believe our own laws properly construed bring this measure of stability to such decrees.
As to instalments which matured subsequent to the time each of the minors came of age I think they are subject to modification, though the application to that end be filed subsequent to the due date of such instalments. To this extent my conclusion coincides with the views set forth in the opinion of Judge Washington. I would depart from Lockwood v. Lockwood, 1947, 82 U.S.App.D.C. 105, 160 F.2d 923, and the cases therein relied upon, insofar as they are to the contrary.1
The reason I distinguish between the instalments which matured prior to the majority of the children and those which matured thereafter is that the decree shows on its face that the instalments are in part for the maintenance of children. This type of provision is authorized by § 16-411, D.C. Code (1940), and is to be read as within the references contained in § 16-413 of the Code to “granting alimony and providing for the care and custody of children,” that is, minor children.2 Thus the monetary part of the decree contains a provision inserted because of a situation which would end with the mere passage of time, namely, the care of minors. In these circumstances the equitable and policy considerations set forth in Franklin v. Franklin, and in the opinion of Judge Washington, in favor of a power of retroactive modification, seem to me to counterbalance the competing considerations which give a more absolute character to arrearages which accrued prior to the majority of the children, when the factual situation to which the decree applied accorded with its terms. The rule adhered to by the majority should not apply to debar modification as of the time changed conditions occurred where the inevitability of their occurrence is forecast by the terms of the decree.
This does not mean, however, that there must be a reduction, or any recoupment of amounts which might have been paid prior to application for modification. Once the decree is opened the changed circumstances on the whole might lead the court to increase the amount, notwithstanding that the coming of age of the children is the basis of the right to obtain reconsideration.
While, therefore, the provisions of § 16-413 of the D.C.Code are in my opinion not in and of themselves sufficient to authorize the court to reduce the amount of arrearages of, instalments of alimony, those provisions do not prevent modification of such arrearages where the amount specified in the decree explicitly includes the care of a minor. On equitable considerations such a decree may be modified retroactively, but only to the time the minor became of age; that is, to the time a condition covered by the decree ceased to exist,3 and only as to *686unpaid instalments. We should read the decree as though it provided in terms, as it does in substance, that the stated amount of each instalment should be paid during the minority of the children or thereafter unless modified by the court. In event of such modification, however, any amounts not previously paid, and which accrued after majority of the children, would be subject to adjustment.
I agree that laches on the part of the wife has not been shown. In all other respects I would at this time do no more than rule that all questions relating to enforcement should be reconsidered and redetermined by the District Court in the light of these views and with the aid of such additional affidavits or other evidence as, in the discretion of the court, might be received on remand.
WASHINGTON, Circuit Judge, with whom EDGERTON and BAZELON, Circuit Judges, concurred:
I.
The central problem in this case is whether or not the pertinent District of Columbia statute gives the courts of this jurisdiction power to modify an award of alimony so as to cancel or remit in part installments of alimony which are past due.
Our first duty is to examine the wording of the statute itself. It provides: “After a decree of divorce in any case granting alimony and providing for the care and custody of children, the case shall still be considered open for any future orders in those respects.” 1
On the face of it, this legislation gives very broad powers. It permits the court to issue “any future orders” in respect of alimony. And evidently the word “future” is used here as synonymous with “later,” 2 so that the phrase means “any orders to be issued at a later time.” Common sense would seem to say that “any later orders” means “all later orders” rather than “some later orders” or “later orders which are not retroactive.” The statute by its terms thus appears to permit retroactive modification of alimony awards. Ordinarily we could stop there, for if the statute is clear on its face there is no need to search further. But this problem has had a tangled history in this jurisdiction.
Prior to our decision in Franklin v. Franklin, 83 U.S.App.D.C. 385, 171 F.2d 12, this court had held on three occasions that the courts of this jurisdiction did not have the power which the statute on its face appears to give. The holdings were unequivocal. Caffrey v. Caffrey, 55 App.D.C. 285, 4 F.2d 952; Biscayne Trust Co. v. American Security & Trust Co., 57 App.D.C. 251, 20 F.2d 267; Lockwood v. Lockwood, 82 U.S.App.D.C. 105, 160 F.2d 923. Not one of those decisions, however, attempted to interpret the statute either through its language, or its legislative history, or by what other jurisdictions had done under similar laws, or by considering the policy questions involved in administering the act. Instead, they all relied on certain earlier decisions of this court and the Supreme Court which arose in a different context — namely, under the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution, art. 4, § 1, where the court of one jurisdiction was considering the lav/ of another jurisdiction in order to determine what effect should be given to an alimony decree of that other jurisdiction. The principal cases relied on were Sistare v. Sistare, 218 U.S. 1, 30 S.Ct. 682, 54 L.Ed. 905, and Phillips v. Kepler, 47 App.D.C. 384. In the Sistare case the Supreme Court said that where the described situation arises, where there is doubt as to the law of the foreign jurisdiction, and where the foreign statute does not expressly provide for retroactive modification of alimony orders, “every reasonable implication must be resorted to against the existence of such power in the absence of clear language manifesting an intention *687to confer it.” Sistare v. Sistare, supra, 218 U.S. at page 22, 30 S.Ct. at page 688; see also Barber v. Barber, 323 U.S. 77, 82, 65 S.Ct. 137, 89 L.Ed. 82; Griffin v. Griffin, 327 U.S. 220, 66 S.Ct. 556, 90 L.Ed. 635, to the same effect. It has been ably argued before us, in line with what this court evidently thought on several past occasions, that this rule for the construction of foreign statutes is controlling or at least highly persuasive in the present controversy. On the other hand, this court in Franklin v. Franklin did not consider this reasoning persuasive, pointing out that the full faith and credit clause cases “do not hold that a court which formerly issued an order for maintenance or the like must, re 'rd-less of equity and good conscience, enxorce payment of accrued installments years later. Those cases * * * hold only that other courts should enforce such payment if the court that issued the order would do so. So far as Caffrey v. Caffrey, * * * Biscayne Trust Co. v. American Security & Trust Co. * * * and Lockwood v. Lockwood * * * imply that the issuing court lacks authority to apply equitable principles when asked to enforce payment of accrued installments under its own order, those cases rest on a misunderstanding of the earlier cases and should be overruled.” 83 U.S.App.D.C. 385, 386, 171 F.2d 12, 13. (Citations omitted.)
In other words, within the narrow context of the full faith and credit clause, the Supreme Court and this court have laid down a rule for construing the law of other jurisdictions for the purpose of implementing the policy of that clause, so as to give maximum enforcement to the judgments of sister states. Obviously a rule of construction in such a context is hardly binding or even persuasive in a case where the court is interpreting its own statute in the light of its own local policy, totally apart from any considerations as to giving full faith and credit to the judgments of other jurisdictions. Watts v. Watts, 1943, 314 Mass. 129, 49 N.E.2d 609, 612-613; Winkel v. Winkel, 1940, 178 Md. 489, 15 A.2d 914, 922-923. It follows that, as Franklin v. Franklin pointed out, the decisions in the Caffrey, Lockwood, and Biscayne Trust Company cases cannot be considered as settled and final authority expressing the law of this jurisdiction.
It should be noted that Franklin v. Franklin is not the only authority in this jurisdiction holding alimony decrees modifiable retroactively. In Tolman v. Leonard, decided in 1895, this court said: “The allowance of alimony is not in the nature of an absolute debt. It is not unconditional and unchangeable. It may be changed in amount, even when im arrears, upon good cause shown to the court hewing jurisdiction. The fact that such a decree may be sued upon under certain circumstances, or enforced, as is the case in some jurisdictions, by either execution or attachment of the person, or both, does not, in our opinion, change its essential character.” 6 App.D.C. 224, 233.3 (Emphasis supplied.) And the United States Supreme Court, in Audubon v. Shufeldt, in discussing the nature of alimony, quoted this statement from the Tolman case with approval, as it did a statement of an Illinois court that “there may be such circumstances as would authorize the chancellor to even change the amount to be paid by the husband, where he is in arrears in payments required under the decree.” 181 U.S. 575, 579-580, 21 S.Ct. 735, 737, 45 L.Ed. 1009; see also Wetmore v. Markoe, 196 U.S. 68, 73, 25 S.Ct. 172, 49 L.Ed. 390. These were cases in which the Supreme Court held arrearages in alimony not provable in or discharged by bankruptcy proceedings. Again, the Supreme Court was speaking in a context other than that here involved, and its statements are in no way controlling in this case. But this again demonstrates that the rule in Sistare v. Sistare for con*688struing foreign statutes is not here determinative.
n.
Let us next consider what the courts of other jurisdictions have done with regard to the present problem. First, it may be well to note that the New York courts, subsequent to the decision of the Supreme Court in Sistare v. Sistare, reached a conclusion opposite to the Supreme Court’s “implication * * * against the existence of such power”; in interpreting a New York statute substantially identical in all pertinent aspects to that which was involved in the Sistare case, the New York courts held that retroactive modification was permissible. Karlin v. Karlin, 280 N.Y. 32, 19 N.E.2d 669; see 6 A.L.R.2d 1289-1290, 1292-1293. Subsequently, the New York statute was amended so as to leave no possible doubt that this result was desired by the legislature. Other states with statutes analogous to the one here in issue have reached a similar conclusion.4 For example, in Watts v. Watts, 1943, 314 Mass. 129, 49 N.E.2d 609, 612, the court held there was power retroactively to modify the decree under a statute which provided that the court may “revise and alter its decree relative to the amount of such alimony or annual allowance and the payment thereof, and may make any decree relative thereto which it might have made in the original suit.” A. like result has been reached by courts in those jurisdictions where power over alimony is not alone derived from statute but also at least in part is inherent in the equity jurisdiction of the court.5 There is, of course, considerable contrary opinion, but much of it relies, erroneously we believe, on Sistare v. Sistare and similar cases.6 Even in those states *689which interpret their statutes as not permitting retroactive modification generally, many of the courts have read in exceptions for peculiarity appealing .circumstances, such as alimony accrued after the remarriage of the wife.7
All in all, decisions in other jurisdictions appear to us to offer no support for ignoring or cancelling the grant of power contained in the District of Columbia statute; in our view, they show that such a grant should be regarded as a valued instrument of equity and justice.
III.
Turning to the policy considerations, the practical factors which reveal the wisdom or unwisdom of judicial decisions, they again suggest that the decision in Franklin v. Franklin is sound. The Court of Appeals of Maryland, a state from which much of our law is drawn, has the following to say in this regard: “The reasons in support of a modification of future instalments of alimony are only less in degree in reference to the instalments which have accrued due. There may have been error in the amount fixed because of mistake in the husband’s faculties. The capacity to pay may be materially reduced either by unforeseen diminution in estate or of failure in earnings through incapacity, loss of position or of employment. When the failure to pay is attributable to such a cause, it is equitable to make a conformable modification in alimony which has accrued due. To deny a court of chancery such a power prevents the rectification of an obligation which would not have been created had the chancellor been able to anticipate the later faculties of the husband and defeats the rule that the maintenance afforded the separated wife through alimony is not to be greater than what she would have enjoyed in cohabitation.” Winkel v. Winkel, 178 Md. 489, 15 A.2d 914, 919.
To the same effect is Nelson on Divorce & Annulment, where it is said: “Practically, moreover, there may well be, and frequently are, situations where a husband is brought in, charged with delinquencies, after the lapse of a considerable period of time during which he had reason to believe that his ex-wife was not going to insist on payment in full, or he could not, for one or another sound reason, make the payments ordered. To require that he have made an application for modification of his obligation as soon as he realized his situation is overly technical. He may well not even have realized it, and he may not have had the means to apply or the technical knowledge necessary to appraise what the law would expect of him. A less stringent rule, that the court may modify, does not mean that the court must modify. ' It simply retains the power of the court to act in the premises as reason and justice may require. It is therefore submitted that the purpose of statutes authorizing generally the modification of such awards is not limited to future payments, and that such provisions should not be so construed unless their language is explicitly compulsory.” (2d ed. 1945, Vol. 2, p. 423.)
Furthermore, there are certain situations in which blind and rigid enforcement of the text of a decree would be thoroughly unjust. For example, if the wife has secretly remarried, without the knowledge of the former husband, what possible justification is there for compelling the latter to pay arrearages accruing after the date of the remarriage? Any rational system of jurisprudence would in such a situation find power to modify the decree retroactively.8 Or, as in the case before us, the decree may have provided for the support of *690a minor child; no possible justification exists for compelling the former husband to pay amounts in respect of the child’s support for the period after it has reached majority.
We may note that Franklin v. Franklin presented an exceedingly harsh situation. There, subsequent to the divorce, the wife had in effect deserted her children when she took up living with another man. She stated that she did not wish to accept checks made out in her married name, and that her former husband need pay her no more money. The latter thereafter supported some of his children directly, but did not seek court modification of the alimony order until several years later, when the wife sought to collect arrears. Unquestionably the better practice on his part would have been to seek prospective modification of the award. But not all divorced husbands are lawyers. Nor can they always readily obtain or afford advice of counsel. They are faced with a practical situation and act as the circumstances seem to require. Where they act reasonably and in good conscience it seems harsh to penalize them because they were uninformed or unwise and did not seek court aid. Cases prior to Franklin v. Franklin, such as Caffrey v. Caffrey, supra, illustrate the difficulties and inequities which arise when courts charged with responsibility in the domestic relations field are deprived of flexibility in handling the problems before them.
On the other side is the fact that alimony payments should be certain, that they should be promptly met by the husband, and that the latter should not be given the right sua sponte to readjudicate the amount he should pay. It can be argued that to permit retroactive modification invites a husband not to pay in the hope that the court will let him off lightly. Further, it has been suggested that retroactive modification may impose hardship on a wife who relied upon the provisions of the decree.9 There is force to these arguments, but we cannot find them determinative. For when the District Court exercises its discretion in these matters it should act on the principle that the power to remit arrears may only be exercised in the rare case where unusual hardship and inequity would result from enforcement. And in all cases the circumstances of the wife must be carefully considered, as well as those of the husband. Contempt citations are available against those who in bad faith and without conscience seek to avoid the duties which the alimony order imposes. We wish to make it clear, also, that in our view alimony arrearages should be and are enforceable by execution without the necessity of obtaining a new judgment. We do not think that such enforcement is inconsistent with the existence of power in the District Court to modify its outstanding decree retroactively. See Tolman v. Leonard, 6 App.D.C. 224, 232-233. The husband who fails to come into court to seek modification must take the risk that execution will be issued for the sums he has neglected to pay.
The decision in the Franklin case did not change and was not intended to change the fact that an order awarding alimony imposes an obligation of high seriousness to the individuals involved. The carrying out of that obligation is a duty to the community as well as to the family; it cannot be ignored by the person obligated merely because he has moved from the jurisdiction, or because he has chosen to incur new family ties and responsibilities. What Franklin v. Franklin held was that in a proper case equity could re-study the position of the parties and issue such new or modified orders as might presently be called for, in the exercise of sound judicial discretion. In this aspect, that decision simply brought the law as to arrears in alimony into harmony with the long-established rule, discussed below, permitting the wise use of equitable discretion in withholding the contempt sanction against defaulting husbands. Caffrey v. Caffrey, 55 App.D.C. 285, 4 F.2d 952; Eliasson v. Eliasson, 68 App.D.C. 391, 98 F.2d 263. And, as the *691decision in Franklin illustrates, it is the rare and unusual case, where the inequity of enforcement seems clear, that justifies retroactive modification of alimony orders. The court’s discretion should not be applied in a manner which encourages defendants to delay, or attempt to avoid, complying with their alimony obligations.
IV.
Such are the reasons which have led us to the conclusion that Franklin v. Franklin was correctly decided. We recognize, however, that it may be suggested that these reasons are outweighed 'by another consideration, not related to the merits of the central issue but to a collateral matter. That consideration may be stated thus: if it is held that the courts of this jurisdiction have the power to modify a decree for alimony retroactively, it may then follow that District of Columbia alimony decrees will not obtain enforcement, as to arrearages, when suits based on them are brought in other jurisdictions.10
The Supreme Court, in interpreting the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution in Lynde v. Lynde, 1901, 181 U.S. 183, 21 S.Ct. 555, 45 L.Ed. 810, and Sistare v. Sistare, 1910, 218 U.S. 1, 30 S.Ct. 682, 54 L.Ed. 905, stated that to the extent that a decree of alimony is subject to modification in the jurisdiction where rendered, it is not 'final and need not be given effect elsewhere. Those decisions have been followed by the great majority of state courts. But they were rendered over forty years ago, and the question as to whether a modifiable decree is entitled to full faith and credit cannot be considered a closed one. The majority opinions in Barber v. Barber, 1944, 323 U.S. 77, 65 S.Ct. 137, 89 L.Ed. 82, and Griffin v. Griffin, 1946, 327 U.S. 220, 66 S.Ct. 556, 90 L.Ed. 635, did not reach that question, but specifically left it open.11 In recent years the law as to full faith and credit has been more fully explicated, and as a result its coverage has in effect been considerably extended beyond that prevailing at the time of Lynde v. Lynde and Sistare v. Sistare. Further, in recent years four Justices of the Supreme Court have strongly expressed the view that finality, in the sense with which we are here concerned, is not a prerequisite to extraterritorial enforcement under the full faith and credit clause.
In Barber v. Barber, supra, Mr. Justice Jackson, in a concurring opinion, said: “Neither the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution nor the Act of Congress implementing it says anything about final judgments or, for that matter, about any judgments. Both require that full faith and credit be given to ‘judicial proceedings’ without limitation as to finality. Upon recognition of the broad meaning of that term much may some day depend.” Fie deemed it unnecessary to consider whether the alimony decree for which enforcement was sought “might under some hypothetical circumstances be modified.” 323 U.S. at page 87, 65 S.Ct. at page 141.
In Griffin v. Griffin, supra, Mr. Justice Rutledge12 reached the same conclusion with regard to a New York alimony decree. He said:
*692“The judgment under New York law is prima facie valid, if it is not conclusively so. It affords foundation for the issuance and levy of execution. In the absence of timely assertion of grounds requiring it to be set aside, it becomes conclusive.
“This Court has not heretofore held that such a judgment is not entitled to full faith and credit. Contrary dicta reflecting the belief that it would be lacking in necessary finality are, in my opinion, neither conclusive nor sound. Certainly in the absence of any suggestion that the judgment has been questioned in the forum where rendered, adequate opportunity being there afforded, nothing but the most technical and absolute conception of ‘finality’ could be thought to deprive it of credit. * * *
“The full faith and credit clause does not in any case require that a judgment, to be credited, must be endowed with absolute finality. It is enough, in my opinion, if the judgment is endowed by the law of its origin with finality sufficient to sustain the issuance and levy of execution, although the same law may afford an opportunity for setting aside or modifying it upon the making of a specified showing.” 327 U.S. at pages 246-247, 66 S.Ct. at page 568.
Mr. Justice Black joined in that opinion, as did Mr. Justice Frankfurter, who further pointed out: “But it is said that the State rendering the original judgment for alimony may allow, as New York has done here, mitigation of such judgment even as to accrued instalments. If so, such mitigating defenses may be set up when the decree for alimony is sued on in a sister State as well as when enforced in the rendering State. A judgment may have been paid and yet a suit thereon may be brought in another State. While such a defense, if well founded, precludes a second recovery on that judgment anywhere, the availability of such a defense does not bar suit on such a judgment in a sister State.” 327 U.S. at page 249, 66 S.Ct. at page 570.
The views expressed by Justices Jackson, Frankfurter, Rutledge, and Black appear to us to have convincing force. The mandate of the full faith and credit clause is sweeping; it sets up no limitations in terms of finality. Further, as a matter of sound public policy we consider that alimony decrees should be given effect in all jurisdictions, whether or not they are subject to retroactive modification. The relative ease with which a person may move from one state to another would permit avoidance of the duty of support under such decrees by that simple expedient, if the full faith and credit clause be construed not to require their enforcement. Such a result would be contrary to the very purpose of that clause, which was designed to weld the separate states into a firmer union and insure that obligations incurred in one state would be enforced in another.
It may be argued, for the contrary view, that the technical difficulties of enforcing a modifiable decree of a sister state render such enforcement impractical. But we do not deem those difficulties to be insuperable. If the law of the sister state is relatively clear as to when modification is permissible, the state in which enforcement is sought may, as Mr. Justice Rutledge pointed out, consider the defenses that could have been raised in the state of rendition. Comparable problems of determining the law of a foreign jurisdiction constantly arise in our Federal system. ' And, as Mr. Justice Frankfurter has pointed out, “If, perchance, relief from accrued instalments is based on considerations of policy peculiarly within the local understanding and discretionary determination of judges of the originating jurisdiction, sister State tribunals have ample power of abstention to respect such local qualifications.” Griffin v. Griffin, 327 U.S. at page 250, 66 S.Ct. at page 570. Thus, the court in which enforcement is sought may hold the case, pending action by the defaulting spouse in the original jurisdiction seeking retroactive modification.13
*693An alimony decree of the District Court provides basis for execution as instalments accrue without further court action. Until modified, the right of the wife is absolute. Under such circumstances we consider, for the reasons set forth above, that the decree should be entitled to full faith and credit. Further, there may be basis for extraterritorial enforcement apart from the requirements of full faith and credit. Several states have held that as a matter of comity they will enforce a modifiable alimony decree, even as to future instalments.14 Considerations related to the extraterritorial effect to be given decrees issued in this jurisdiction, therefore, do not in our view constitute any barrier to holding them modifiable.
V.
We turn new to the question of what disposition should have been made of the instant case by the District Court. In a divorce decree issued in this jurisdiction in 1936, Mrs. Kephart was awarded alimony in the amount of $75.00 per month for the support of herself and her two minor daughters. Appellee, her former husband, remarried not long after the divorce decree and established a new home in Maryland. In .1937 he was held in contempt for failure to pay alimony, but purged himself by paying the amount due. By 1943, however, he had entirely ceased making payments to his former wife. In June 1949 appellant brought this proceeding, seeking a contempt citation and a judgment for arrears. The relief sought was denied, and Mrs. Kephart appealed.
The trial court did not accompany its order by an opinion. The record shows, however, that the husband contended that the appellant-wife was barred by laches. In his affidavit the husband also pointed out that the two daughters of the first marriage had come of age and that he was responsible for the support of two children by the second marriage. In essence, this defense amounts to a request by the husband that the trial court exercise its equitable discretion in two somewhat related but different respects: As to the first, the defense of laches, the husband is contending that the lapse of time, the delay in seeking enforcement, and the change in circumstances, as a matter of equity bar the wife from any relief whatever. Secondly, he is contending that the trial court should reconsider the circumstances of the parties and as a matter of discretion deny the wife relief both as to the contempt citation and the judgment for arrears.
As we have noted, the trial judge denied all relief to the appellant-wife. As he made no findings of fact or conclusions of law, and gave no explanation for his decision, it is possible that he concluded that the wife was barred by laches and that there was no need or occasion for the exercise of discretion either with respect to the issuance of a citation for contempt or a judgment for arrears in alimony. If this was the basis for the trial judge’s decision, we are of the view that he was in error. If he concluded that the defense of laches was not available here, but that as a matter of equitable discretion he would deny all relief to the appellant-wife because of the change in the circumstances of the parties, we think there was an abuse of that discretion.
First, as to laches: While laches may in some instances be a defense to proceedings such as this, the circumstances must be such as to show not merely some element of hardship to the husband, but also that default or delay by the wife was in part the cause of that hardship. Here, the husband’s absence from the jurisdiction, and the wife’s poverty, illness, and difficulties in obtaining counsel, all indicate that whatever delay there has been should not operate as a complete excuse to the husband. Marshall v. Marshall, 164 Md. 107, 163 A. 874. There was no showing that the husband assumed new obligations in reliance upon any statements or actions by his former wife. No elements of estoppel were present. The wife constantly requested that he comply with the court order. In cases of far longer *694and less justifiable delay the courts have held the defense of laches not available.15.
Second, as to the exercise of equitable discretion apart from laches: It has long been the law in this jurisdiction that under certain circumstances of hardship a husband will not be held in contempt for default in meeting instalments of alimony. Thus, in Caffrey v. Caffrey, 55 App.D.C. 285, 4 F.2d 952, this court held that where the husband was injured and unable to find employment, and as a result was without funds to pay the alimony due, he would not be held in contempt. Similarly, where other circumstances of severe hardship existed: Eliasson v. Eliasson, 68 App.D.C. 391, 98 F.2d 263. But, at the same time, this court has held that where the lack of fluids was due to the voluntary assumption of obligations on the part of the husband and lack of diligence in attempting to find employment, the defaulting spouse would not be excused from his obligations and contempt proceedings would be entertained. Kelly v. Kelly, 78 U.S.App.D.C. 97, 137 F.2d 254. And, as to the question of enforcing or remitting arrears in alimony, we consider that for the reasons we have given the decision in Franklin v. Franklin should remain the controlling statement of the law.
In the case now before us, the appellant-wife was prima facie entitled to the relief which she requested. We see no circumstances here which would justify denial of all relief to her. As to the judgment for arrears, the relief the wife requested should be granted, unless the court modifies the alimony order in the exercise of sound judicial discretion, within the frame of reference outlined above. With regard to the citation for contempt, again that relief should be granted unless the court, exercising sound judicial discretion, finds that circumstances mitigating the husband’s default are such as to make the contempt citation unduly harsh.
We consider, therefore, that the judgment of the District Court should be reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.

. The actual decision in Miller v. Miller, 1941, 74 App.D.C. 216, 122 F.2d 209, does not seem to me contrary to my views. There this co'urt explicitly stated, “We are not concerned with the question whether the Nevada court now could or would, on application, modify the decree so as to reduce the amount of the alimony, in view of changed circumstances which include the maturity of the children on the one hand and an increase in appellant’s salary on the other.” 74 App.D.C. at page 218, 122 F.2d at page 211.

. In Sistare v. Sistare, supra, the coverage of the decree included the maintenance and education of a minor child, but the present point was not expressly considered or decided.

. Amicus curiae Burnett suggests that unless the words in the decree “maintenance for the children” are surplusage the former husband might be entitled to a credit for that portion of the total which is deductible by reason of the emancipation, or the reaching of majority, by the children.
I do not specifically discuss the problem involved in the possible death of a child before becoming of age, because unnecessary in the present case.

. See. 16-413 of the D.C.Code (1940 ed.); act of March 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1346, ch. 854, § 978.

. Webster’s New International Dictionary (2d ed., unabridged) defines the adjective “future” as “1. That is to be or come hereafter; that will exist after the present; as the next day is future to this. 2. Pertaining or relating to time that is to come; later.” (p. 1023)

. See also Alexander v. Alexander, 13 App.D.C. 334, 332. Lynham v. Hufty, 1916, 44 App.D.C. 589, is not contrary. There the court held that the lower court could not modify or vacate a judgment adjudicating arrears in alimony. But we specifically said, with regard to an alimony order, that “until complied with [it] is subject to modification by the court, either by increasing or diminishing the amount, or even hy vacating the order.” 44 App.D.C. 589 at page 599. (Emphasis supplied.)

. Por an extensive collection of cases and discussion of the subject, see 6 A.L.R. 2d 1277 (1949), where the conclusion is reached that “if there is any point to be gained in characterizing a view as majority or minority, it is submitted that the courts in the majority of the states have the power to grant the husband relief, either directly by canceling arrears or indirectly by refusing to enforce payment or by restraining the wife from collecting arrears.” (p. 1279) Reaching the same result as Watts v. Watts, the Massachusetts case discussed in the text, under similar statutes, see Lytle v. Lytle, 1947, 319 Mich. 47, 29 N.W.2d 138; Conklin v. Conklin, 1947, 223 Minn. 449, 27 N.W.2d 275, 6 A.L.R.2d 1274; Ashby v. Ashby, 1921, 174 Wis. 549, 183 N.W. 965. See also Rudd v. Gerken, 1949, 67 S.D. 534, 295 N.W. 491; Duffy v. Duffy, Ch.1941, 19 A.2d 236, 19 N.J.Misc. 332; Madden v. Madden, 1945, 136 N.J. Eq. 132, 40 A.2d 611; Crane v. Crane, 1942, 26 Tenn.App. 227, 170 S.W.2d 663; Wilson v. Wilson, 1947, 143 Me. 113, 56 A.2d 453, 456. Prior to specific statutory prohibition of retroactive modification, the Oregon court held that the power to “set aside, alter, or modify” its decree permitted remittance of arrearages in alimony. Brandt v. Brandt, 1902, 40 Or. 477, 67 P. 508, 510. See Briggs v. Briggs, 1946, 178 Or. 198, 165 P.2d 772, 166 A.L.R. 666. New York has already been discussed. See also Van Dusen v. Van Dusen, 1940, 258 App.Div. 1020, 17 N.Y.S.2d 96.

. Winkel v. Winkel, 1940, 178 Md. 489, 15 A.2d 914; Ex parte Jeter, 1940, 193 S. C. 278, 8 S.E.2d 490.

. Holding against the general power retroactively to modify alimony decrees see Epps v. Epps, 1929, 218 Ala. 667, 120 So. 150; Atkinson v. Atkinson, 1936, 233 Ala. 125, 170 So. 198; Rochelle v. Rochelle, 1938, 235 Ala. 526, 179 So. 825 (distinguishing decrees for separate maintenance, which are retroactively modifiable, and those for alimony after divorce, ■ which are not); Adair v. Superior Court, 1934, 44 Ariz. 139, 38 P.2d 995, 94 A.L. R. 328; Johnson v. Johnson, 1935, 46 Ariz. 585, 52 P.2d 1162 (holding retroactive modification permissible back to the date the petition for modification was filed); Greer v. Greer, 1942, 110 Colo. 92, 130 P.2d 1050; Blanton v. Blanton, 1944, 154 Fla. 750, 18 So.2d 902; Igney v. Igney, 1940, 303 Ill.App. 563, 25 N.E. 2d 608; Davis v. Davis, 1937, 145 Kan. 282, 65 P.2d 562; Whitby v. Whitby, 1948, 306 Ky. 355, 208 S.W.2d 68; Snow v. Snow, 1937, 188 La. 660, 177 So. 793; Nelson v. Nelson, 1920, 282 Mo. 412, 221 S.W. 1066; Kelly v. Kelly, 1945, 117 Mont. 239, 157 P.2d 780; Woehler v. Woehler, 1938, 107 Mont. 69, 81 P.2d 344 (as to separate maintenance, can reduce amount with regard to “enforcement”) ; Schrader v. Schrader, 1947, 148 Neb. 162, 26 N.W.2d 617; Sango v. Sango, 1926, 121 Okl. 283, 249 P. 925; Parenti v. Parenti, 1945, 71 R.I. 18, 41 A.2d 313; Myers v. Myers, 1923, 62 Utah 90, *689218 P. 123, 30 A.L.R. 74; Beers v. Beers, 1913, 74 Wash. 458, 133 P. 605; Robinson v. Robinson, 1948, 131 W.Va. 160, 50 S.E.2d 455. Many of these decisions rely on Sistare v. Sistare; few give any reasons for their conclusion other than to state the result.

. See McHan v. McHan, 1938, 59 Idaho 496, 84 P.2d 984; Parker v. Parker, 1928, 203 Cal. 787, 266 P. 283; Cohen v. Cohen, 1906, 150 Cal. 99, 88 P. 267; Atlass v. Atlass, 1931, 112 Cal.App. 514, 297 P. 53; cf. Keck v. Keck, 1933, 219 Cal. 316, 26 P.2d 300.

. See cases cited supra note 7.

. Parenti v. Parenti, 1945, 71 R.I. 18, 41 A.2d 313; Davis v. Davis, 1937, 145 Kan. 282, 65 P.2d 562.

. See Keck v. Keck, 1933, 219 Cal. 316, 26 P.2d 360; Nelson v. Nelson, 1920, 282 Mo. 412, 221 S.W. 1066.

. In Barber v. Barber the Court found that under the law of the rendering state retroactive modification was not permissible, and went on to say “it is unnecessary to consider whether a decree or judgment for alimony already accrued, which is subject to modification or recall in the forum which granted it, but is not yet so modified, is entitled to full faith and credit until such time as it is modified.” 323 U.S. at page 81, 65 S.Ct. at page 138. In Griffin v. Griffin the suit was not Upon the alimony decree itself but a judgmeat thereafter entered upon the decree for arrears, which judgment the Supreme Court held was void for lack of due process. The Supreme Court specifically pointed out that the plaintiff in that case did not seek relief on the decree itself and accordingly the Court could not have decided what effect should be given that decree. 827 U.S. at page 235, 68 S.Ct. 556. This was in accordance with the Supreme Court’s traditional policy of not passing on constitutional questions unless absolutely necessary to the decision.

. Concurring iu part, dissenting in part.

. Such a procedure has been adopted in an analogous situation, where an otherwise final judgment is on appeal. In such cases the courts of the second jurisdiction will hold the matter in abeyance until the outcome of the appeal in the first state. See Note, 41 Col.L.Rev. 878 (1941).

. See 3 Nelson, Divorce & Annulment, § 33.47 (2d ed. 1945); Note, 132 A.L.R. 1272 (1941).

. See eases collected in 137 A.L.R. 894.