Van Dyke v. Van Dyke
Van Dyke v. Van Dyke
Opinion of the Court
Opinion,
We agree with the learned judge of the Common Pleas, that incompatibility of temper is not a cause for divorce in Pennsylvania, and we may add that it will not justify an abandonment by the husband or wife of his or her marital obligations and duties. If there is anything settled in the law of divorce, it is that the reasonable cause which will justify a desertion must be such as will authorize a dissolution of the marriage bond. Where a desertion is conceded or appears, and is without sufficient legal reasonable cause, it is presumed to be wilful and malicious, and, if persisted in for two years or more, will entitle the injured party to a divorce. In this case there was a desertion by the wife deliberately planned, and continued for more than four years before the libel was filed. Without notice to her husband,
We have examined and considered the evidence, and are convinced that the findings of the master are well sustained by it. The respondent alleged, as a justification of her abandonment of her marital duties, that her husband did not properly provide for his family. She testified in her own behalf, and called to the witness stand her sons John and George, and her daughter Mary, to corroborate her statement. She said: “ I left my husband because he failed to support me and my family. I was compelled to leave him for that reason. He would not give me any means whatever. Of course, he paid the rent. He gave me no money towards providing the table for eight or nine months before I left.” John said: “The only reason my mother left my father was because he did not pro
The foregoing extracts from the testimony clearly show that the cause of the desertion by the wife of her husband was his alleged inability or unwillingness to provide for his family as she thought he ought to, and that she excluded him from the table and denied him meals in his own house, when he declined to accept the position of a boarder therein. It is by no means certain that he refused to contribute to the support of his family according to his ability. The evidence on this point is conflicting, and the learned master reported that he could not find from it “ that the libellant had been derelict in his duty in that behalf.” There was some evidence of altercations between the parties, in which the husband used harsh and opprobrious language, but, as it distinctly appears from the testimony produced by the respondent that she left him because of his alleged failure to provide for his family or to pay his board in it,
The proceeding in the Quarter Sessions is not a bar to this action: Bealor v. Hahn, 117 Pa. 169.
The decree is reversed, at the cost of the appellee, and it is ordered that the record be remitted, with instructions to enter a decree for the libellant.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- T. E. VAN DYKE v. E. J. VAN DYKE
- Cited By
- 21 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Incompatibility of temper is not a cause for divorce in Pennsylvania, and will not justify an abandonment by tlie husband or by the wife of his or her marital obligations and duties. 2. The reasonable cause which will justify a desertion of a wife by her husband, or of a husband by his wife, must he such as would authorize a dissolution of the marriage bond by a divorce. 3. A desertion, which is without consent and without sufficient legal cause, is presumed to be wilful and malicious; and, if persisted in for two years or more, it will entitle the injured party to a decree of divorce. 4. Where the husband was not derelict in his duty to support his wife and family, his refusal to ¡jay his wife the ¡Drice of his boarding, will not justify her in deserting and abandoning him. 5. A proceeding in the Court of Quarter Sessions, under the act of April 13, 1867, P. L. 78, resulting in an order for the payment by the husband of an allowance to Ms wife, will not bar a divorce, at Ms suit, on the ground of desertion.