Cowles v. Cowles
Cowles v. Cowles
Opinion of the Court
On April 14, 1969 appellant-husband was ordered to pay appellee-wife $600 per month for her support and maintenance, which sum included payments on jointly owned real property in Virginia in which the wife resides.
Appellant argues that the trial court abused its discretion in failing to invoke the doctrine of forum non conveniens, either to vacate or to stay its order of April 14. Now that he has filed his suit for divorce in Virginia, he says, the courts of this jurisdiction must correct a most vexatious and harassing situation resulting from a multiplicity of suits. To state appellant’s argument is to demonstrate its weakness. Indeed, assuming the applicability of the doctrine of forum non conveniens, it would have been "an-Abuse of discretion for the court to grant rather than to deny the motion at that particular stage of the litigation. Wilburn v. Wilburn, D.C.App., 192 A.2d 797, 9 A.L.R.3d 538 (1963).
■ Appellant also argues that the trial court abused its discretion in failing to reduce the amount he must pay his wife for her support, claiming that since his retirement the payments ordered exceeded his net monthly income.
Affirmed.
. An appeal from that order was not perfected.
. Appellant’s net income has increased somewhat since the September 19th order because less is withheld from his retirement pay.
. The question is open, of course, for appellant to present such evidence of his current ability to pay in the Virginia divorce proceedings.
.In reaching this conclusion we do not consider the supplemental record filed by appellee which contains only an excerpt of appellant’s testimony at a prior hearing.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Jack Rawlston COWLES v. LaRue COWLES
- Status
- Published