55 Pa. Super. 261 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1913
Opinion by
This defendant resided in Allegheny county from infancy until he was of mature years, when, in 1898 he removed to California, and has never returned to this state. On May _ 13, 1905, at Redlands, California, under the assumed name of Edward R. Hunter, he was married to this plaintiff. Their subsequent relations are narrated by her, to be as follows: On May 14, they went to Los Angeles, th.e next day to San Francisco, where they remained for two weeks, then to Stockton for six weeks, and then to Fresno, where they remained until October 1, when they went to Randsburg, at which place the husband left the wife to go to Lindsey in search of work. All of these places are in California, and their unsettled living was due to the fact that each was a laborer, he being a stage driver and the wife a cook. Since the separation at Randsburg the parties have not met, though they exchanged letters until December 26, of that year. The parting was amicable because he had to have work and the wife sent his clothing after him.
On October 3, 1907, the wife removed to Bellevue, in
Service was had by publication as provided by the Acts of April 6, 1859, P. L. 387, and May 23, 1907, P. L. 227, when the defendant appeared and made defense by his attorney in fact. The cause was regularly proceeded in by taking testimony and hearings and resulted in a final decree, providing that the sum of $1,300 of the proceeds of real and personal estate, then in the hands of a trustee appointed by the court, be seized, etc.
This action is founded on the two acts of 1907, and 1909, infra, which latter act provides, sec. 1, “That if any man shall separate himself from his wife without reasonable cause, and, being of sufficient ability, shall neglect or refuse to provide suitable maintenance for his said wife, such wife shall be and is hereby empowered to bring her action, at law or in equity, against such husband for maintenance, in the court of common pleas of the county where the desertion occurred, or where she is domiciled; and the said court shall have power to entertain a bill in equity in such action, and shall make and enforce such orders and decrees as the equities of the case demand, . . . .”
It is not pretended that the alleged desertion occurred in the county of Allegheny in this state, or that the husband did not leave this state in perfect good faith for the purpose of establishing his domicile in California, where he has continually resided since 1898.
The right of the. wife to maintain this action turns on the interpretation to be given to the words, “or where
When her quest for her husband failed on her arrival, two months later (December 14), she instituted this proceeding to seize and sell the property that he had inherited from his mother. In the intervening time, she stayed in the home of Mrs. Sarah M. Hunnings as a servant in the family. “She paid me 12.00 per week and I went out nursing and worked by the day.” Her situation is not changed if we follow her to the time of filing the amended bill August 18, 1909. She described her life by saying that she remainéd at Mrs. Hunnings in Bellevue for ten months after her arrival, and afterward she was working around as a house servant, nurse, laundress, waitress, restaurant helper and keeping -a rooming house, for periods ranging from a few weeks to six months duration, in New Brighton, Beaver, Am-bridge and Beaver Falls in Beaver county, and at several places in Allegheny county. She changed her occupation and length of stay at any place as she altered her mind in regard to employer or location. These latter changes are of importance chiefly as evidence of her lack of domiciliary intent, and can only be construed to be but temporary sojourns for a special and particular purpose, in and out of Allegheny county. The record does not show any intention to surrender
On her own showing, her purpose in coming to this state and her stay in any part of it was indefinite as to
It is not necessary to decide whether the defendant is within the meaning of the words “absent himself from the commonwealth” as used in the second section of the act of 1909, or the form of the decree in regard to payment to the plaintiff of the whole sum mentioned. We confine our decision to the lack of necessary proof of her domicile in Allegheny county to give the courts of that county jurisdiction of her cause.
The decree of the court below is reversed and the bill dismissed.