183 A.2d 858 | Conn. Super. Ct. | 1962
Plaintiff has moved for judgment in accordance with the stipulation of the parties.
The complaint is in three counts. The allegations of the first count relate to a Nevada divorce decree of December 19, 1956, between the parties whereby the present defendant was granted a divorce from the present plaintiff-wife in which, notwithstanding her appearing to be the guilty party, she was awarded alimony from the present defendant, payable weekly until she should remarry. The allegations of the second count add to this that the present defendant has no assets to satisfy the decree, or to pay the arrearage, and that the plaintiff has no remedy at law. The allegations of the third count add to all of the foregoing allegations the fact that the defendant has plans to leave the United States and the plaintiff will be without remedy unless the relief prayed for is granted.
The plaintiff prays that the Nevada decree be made the decree of this court and be enforced in the same manner as a final decree of this court; that the present defendant be ordered to pay the alimony in arrears; that the defendant be ordered to pay the plaintiff weekly alimony of $15 until she remarries; that the defendant be enjoined from leaving the United States unless and until he pays the alimony in arrears and gives security for future alimony; and for further relief as to the court may seem proper.
At the short calendar session of June 16, 1962, plaintiff moved for a judgment in accordance with the stipulation of the parties, and the court was *370 asked to take the papers. No claims of law were then made nor any citations filed as to pertinent issues tendered by the motion and stipulation. The court then asked for a memorandum of the claims of law and authorities supporting the same, which has been furnished by memorandum dated June 25, 1962, as on file more fully appears. From this memorandum it appears that the purpose of the present action "is to carry out the alimony provisions of the Nevada decree."
Under certain and proper circumstances, this court will enforce the alimony and support decrees of a divorce judgment of a sister state. Sturtevant
v. Sturtevant,
The essence of the present proceedings as brought and pleaded is not the enforcement of the Nevada decree, but that the Nevada decree be made the judgment and decree of this court, with the same force and effect and enforceable as a final judgment and decree of this court. On this basis, the enforcement remedies would then be predicated upon a judgment and decree of this court, not upon that of Nevada. To this effect is the first paragraph of prayer of the complaint, of the first paragraph of the stipulation of the parties, and so incorporated in the proposed form of judgment. Paragraphs two and three of the stipulation appear predicated *371 upon the premise that a decree of this court similar to that of the Nevada decree would be entered, and paragraph four of the stipulation provides that in giving effect to the stipulation, paragraphs two and three of the stipulation should not be altered. Also, it does not appear that the lump sum payment of $300 mentioned in the stipulation is arrearage, thus permitting it to take on the aspect of an original order of this court based upon its own decree, duplicating that of Nevada.
To the extent that the motion of the plaintiff and stipulation of the parties request that the Nevada judgment or decree be made that of this state, the court regrets that it cannot agree to this proposition. One reason is that in this state divorce is the special creature of statute. Steele v. Steele,
So much of the plaintiff's motion and stipulation of the parties as requests this court to make the Nevada judgment its own judgment and decree is denied.
With respect to the requested and stipulated order that defendant be ordered to pay the plaintiff $300, and that defendant further be ordered to pay plaintiff weekly alimony of $12.50 until she should remarry, the motion in these respects is also denied, since for reasons previously stated these orders appear predicated upon a decree of this court duplicating that of Nevada, and not as in enforcement or modification of the foreign decree. This view of the matter makes unnecessary a consideration at this time, upon the requested weekly orders of alimony, of the effect of the failure of plaintiff to show whether the Nevada court may not itself change the orders of future alimony, as a basis for precluding an enforcement here of any future alimony payments decreed by the Nevada judgment. See Koster v. Koster,
Parenthetically, at least to the extent that any such future weekly order of alimony were to be *373
considered as in enforcement of the Nevada decree on the basis of comity, such an order would run contrary to the public policy of this state. The complaint shows that although the present defendant-husband was granted a divorce from the present plaintiff-wife, she nevertheless was awarded weekly alimony notwithstanding she appears to have been the guilty party. Our courts have been held to have no power to assign property of a husband to a woman divorced for her own misconduct. Allen v.Allen,
For the foregoing reasons, the court feels compelled to deny in toto the motion of plaintiff for judgment as per stipulation.