Wightman v. Wightman
Wightman v. Wightman
Opinion of the Court
David F. Wightman appeals an order denying full faith and credit to an Illinois final judgment in his divorce action against Barbara R. Wightman. We reverse.
The parties were married and maintained their marital domicile in Illinois. The husband commenced a divorce action there and had process served on his wife, who had moved to Florida, by means of the long arm statute. The complaint requested a dissolution of marriage and distribution of property. The wife did not contest the proceedings and a default was entered. The husband filed a petition to establish the foreign decrees of divorce and property distribution as final judgments in Florida. The wife responded with a motion to dismiss which the court granted on the grounds that the relief granted in the judgment of dissolution and the supplemental judgment of dissolution exceeded that asked for in the original complaint and that the wife was thus entitled to a renewed opportunity to appear and defend. The husband appeals.
The focus of this appeal is whether the Illinois court went beyond the relief initially sought in the pleadings
Accordingly, the order denying full faith and credit to the Illinois divorce decree and property distribution is reversed and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
. In his complaint, the husband requested that:
A. The parties be awarded a Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage dissolving the bonds of matrimony existing between the parties.
B. The petitioner he awarded his just portion of the marital property of the parties.
C. The petitioner be awarded his non-marital property.
D. That the petitioner may have such other relief as may be just.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.