Dodd v. Dodd
Dodd v. Dodd
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal from an order dismissing the complaint in an action to enforce a property settlement agreement between the parties, divorced husband and wife, and for other relief. There are three points of law propounded to us by the appellant-plaintiff. However, it will be sufficient if we give the substance of one question, and that is whether or not plaintiff has alleged in her complaint sufficient facts to state a cause for relief.
In his order dismissing the complaint the chancellor states in part:
“ * * * the Court * * * finds that the Complaint and the exhibits attached thereto, shows on the face of it that the plaintiff comes into court with unclean hands in that the Complaint shows that she is guilty of fraud and collusion practiced upon the Court in the original divorce suit between the plaintiff and defendant, which proceedings were attached to and made a part of the Complaint, The doctrine of clean hands, the doctrine that equity will deny its aid to an illegal transaction, and the decisions of the Supreme Court of this State, holding that a party guilty of fraud in obtaining a divorce decree is not entitled to subsequently come into court and complain that the other party to the divorce action has perpetrated a fraud from which the party seeks relief of a court of equity, compels the Court to find the Complaint fails to state a cause of action.
“The Complaint further shows on its face and by the exhibits attached thereto that the plaintiff testified in open court, under oath, that she did not want any of the property of the defendant, and said testimony completely negatives any allegation of fraud, coercion or duress.”
In her complaint the plaintiff alleges generally that the parties had married on March 28, 1933, and the relationship had continued until the 14th day of September, 1952, when she was forced to live separately and apart from him; that at the time of their marriage, which had lasted for more than 19 years, the defendant operated a small dairy farm, was heavily in debt and his property, including the dairy cattle, was heavily mortgaged; that from the outset she maintained a home for the defendant and took care of his three children by a prior marriage, and by her constant efforts during the entire time of the marriage, enabled him to pay off his debts and acquire
She further alleges that the defendant has failed and refused to go through with the property settlement, but plaintiff now has learned something of the nature of the true worth of defendant and gives as an indication of his wealth the sale of a piece of property, which was acquired during coverture, for a consideration in excess of one half million dollars. The complaint has several prayers, but the ones in which we are most interested is that the court, having inquired into the nature of any property settlement which may have been made between the parties, enforce such property settlement or modify such property settlement as equity and the changed position of the parties would warrant, and also that the court determine if and to what extent said property settlement in fact has been carried out by the defendant.
There was attached to the instant complaint a copy of plaintiff’s complaint in the divorce action, together with the transcript of the testimony, of which the following is a part:
“Q. Have you and the defendant reached a cash settlement regarding property? A. Yes.
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“Q. Now you know that I am the son-in-law of the defendant. Is that right? A. Yes.
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“Q. Did I advise you and answer your questions satisfactorily as to your rights regarding this property of the defendant, even though it’s in his own name? A. Yes.
“Q. Did I advise you that you would probably be entitled to permanent alimony in this case? A. Yes.
“Q. Under the circumstances I found ? A. Y es.
“Q. And did you instruct me that you didn’t want alimony? A. I told you I did not want it.
“Q. Is that still your intention now ? A. Still my intention and always will be.
"Q. Are you telling the Court now that you are accepting this cash settlement which the defendant voluntarily gave you in complete settlement; that you know what you are doing? A. I do know what I am doing.”
In the divorce decree the plaintiff was granted a divorce, and there was no mention of alimony or a property settlement. The defendant’s motion in the instant case simply stated that the plaintiff failed to show a cause of action upon which relief could be granted.
This court had a similar case before it in Peterson v. Peterson, Fla.App.1958, 107 So. 2d 745, in which the chancellor below had denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss, and motion to strike. We affirmed the decree in a per curiam decision which referred to the cases of Miller v. Miller, 1938, 134 Fla. 725, 184 So. 672; and Rush v. Rush, 1943, 58 Wyo. 406, 133 P.2d 366. In the Miller case, supra, our Supreme Court reversed a decree of the lower court on a petition in the nature of a bill of review to have the decree set aside insofar as it did not award the petitioner any sum for alimony. In so doing the court took occasion to say [134 Fla. 725, 184 So. 675]:
“In view of the liberality of the law relative to alimony and the rights a married woman may have in property of her husband when she assists in its acquisition or conservation, in addition to her usual marital duties and obligations, which should be considered in granting divorces, when the wife is not shown to be unworthy, the application to file the petition should have been*512 granted so that appropriate proceedings may be had thereon, to the end that right and justice shall be administered by due course of law. Sec. 4, Declaration of Rights, Fla.Constitution.”
The facts as proven in the Miller case, supra, are set forth in Miller v. Miller, 149 Fla. 722, 7 So.2d 9. In view of the fact that this is an interlocutory appeal, and that we are called upon to decide only whether plaintiff’s complaint contains equity, we are not concerned at this time with the ultimate outcome.
For the reasons stated we must hold that the chancellor’s decree dismissing the complaint for failure to state a cause of action must be reversed under the authority of Peterson v. Peterson, supra, Miller v. Miller, supra, and Rush v. Rush, supra.
Reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.