71 N.Y.2d 284 | NY | 1988
OPINION OF THE COURT
We agree with the Appellate Division that ¿ party to a concluded matrimonial action, who had a full and fair opportunity to contest title to the former marital home, is barred by res judicata principles from subsequently and separately reopening that issue. The discretionary authority reposed in the courts under Domestic Relations Law § 234 is not to the contrary and may not be read as conferring unilateral and unfettered options on parties in this respect. We thus affirm.
Appellant Yvette Boronow, a French citizen, moved to New York from Puerto Rico in 1949 at the age of 18. In June 1956,
In July 1982, Mr. Boronow brought a motion seeking modification of the divorce decree, including possession of the house. In October 1982, the former wife instituted the present action seeking a declaratory judgment that, under principles of Puerto Rican law, a conjugal contract existed between the parties entitling her to one half of the marital estate, including the marital premises, and seeking to impress a constructive trust upon the premises. She alleged that title to the premises was supposed to have been held jointly and that she was deceived by her husband who, without her knowledge and consent, had her name kept off the deed. She moved to consolidate her action with her former husband’s motion to modify; he cross-moved to dismiss on the grounds that she had failed to state a claim and that the action was barred by res judicata, collateral estoppel, and the Statute of Limitations. The Trial Justice denied both the motion to consolidate and the cross motion to dismiss. That court held that Domestic Relations Law § 234 makes resolution of title issues permissive in a divorce action, thus permitting a subsequent plenary action to adjudicate that issue; that a cause of action for constructive trust had been adequately pleaded; and that the moving papers provided an insufficient basis to determine that the action was not timely commenced.
The Appellate Division reversed, finding the action barred by res judicata and by the Statute of Limitations (Boronow v Boronow, 111 AD2d 735). It held that the question of title to the marital premises could have been, but was not, raised and litigated in the prior matrimonial action and that res judicata barred this subsequent action. It added that even if such an
Yvette Boronow appeals to this court urging that we adopt the trial court’s view, while Eugene Boronow counters that we should affirm the Appellate Division analysis.
In pertinent part, Domestic Relations Law § 234 provides: "[i]n any action for divorce, for a separation, for an annulment or to declare the nullity of a void marriage, the court may (1) determine any question as to the title to property arising between the parties” (emphasis supplied). Differences have arisen among the departments of the Appellate Division as to whether the statute permits a subsequent and separate litigation of title questions between ex-spouses after a matrimonial action has been finally determined or whether such litigations are barred by res judicata principles (compare, Perry v Perry, 79 AD2d 851; Szabo v Szabo, 71 AD2d 32; Weichold v Weichold, 54 AD2d 1015; with, Scattoreggio v Scattoreggio, 115 AD2d 531; Rakowski v Rakowski, 109 AD2d 1; Marinelli v Marinelli, 88 AD2d 635; see, Scheinkman, Practice Commentary, McKinney’s Cons Law of NY, Book 14, Domestic Relations Law C234:2, at 76).
The Third and Fourth Departments have not allowed res judicata principles to block actions involving questions of title between ex-spouses who failed to raise or litigate the issue in a prior matrimonial action. Reasoning that the statutory language of Domestic Relations Law § 234 is permissive only, they hold that "[fjailure to raise or litigate the title question in the first action does not constitute a waiver or bar of any rights based upon such title” (Perry v Perry, 79 AD2d 851, supra; see also, Szabo v Szabo, 71 AD2d 32, 36, supra [questions of title between ex-spouses should be raised in a separate and plenary action, not in a motion relating back to the divorce decree]; Weichold v Weichold, 54 AD2d 1015, 1016, supra [a separate and plenary action to adjudicate rights as to title may be brought when they were neither litigated nor raised in the matrimonial action]). We reject those holdings and that reasoning.
The reasoning of Rakowski (supra) is consistent with our interpretation of Domestic Relations Law § 234. In Kahn v Kahn (43 NY2d 203), we observed that the principal reason for the relevant 1962 amendment to Domestic Relations Law § 234 "was to 'make it unnecessary to bring a separate action or proceeding to determine questions relating to who has title to property’ (Siegel, Practice Commentaries, McKinney’s Cons Laws of NY, Book 14, Domestic Relations, § 234, p 123 [1964])” (id., at 208-209), and that the legislative history of the amendment establishes that "[i]ts essential purpose was procedural: to permit a court in a marital action to resolve disputes involving possession and title to property arising as an incident to the marital action” (id., at 209). The parties in a matrimonial action are not freed from the obligation to litigate all issues affecting the marriage merely because the courts are empowered by the statutory amendment to procedurally dispose of title issues or make allowance for their consideration in a separate action.
In a matrimonial action, where the essential objective is to dissolve the marriage relationship, questions pertaining to important ancillary issues like title to marital property are certainly intertwined and constitute issues which generally can be fairly and efficiently resolved with the core issue. The courts and the parties should ordinarily be able to plan for the resolution of all issues relating to the marriage relationship in the single action (Matter of Reilly v Reid, 45 NY2d 24, 28, supra). Insofar as Yvette Boronow had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the title-to-property issue in her divorce action and, in fact, raised the title issue in an affidavit in the divorce action, res judicata was correctly applied by the Appellate Division here. Fragmentation in this area would be particu
We need not decide other issues since they are subsumed in the decision on the primary ground.
Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed, with costs.
Chief Judge Wachtler and Judges Simons, Kaye, Alexander and Hancock, Jr., J., concur; Judge Titone taking no part.
Order affirmed, with costs.