Williams v. Williams

RICHARDS, J.

Appeal from a judgment of the superior court of Sonoma County annulling the marriage of John Joseph Williams and Nora Maguire Williams.

The undisputed evidence shows the following facts: Upon the entry of this country into the recent World War, Williams enlisted in the infantry, was in due time sent to Prance with the First Division and took part in some of the active service in which that division was engaged. On or about the eighth day of June, 1918, he was wounded in the head by shrapnel, received treatment for said injury, and later returned again to active service. Williams was again wounded on or about the 20th of July, 1918, and as a result thereof it was necessary to amputate his right foot. He was given treatment at various hospitals until, under date of September 7, 1918, he was admitted to the Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, D. C., for observation, at which hospital he remained until September 9, 1919, and was then transferred to the Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco. Under date of November 21, 1919, the army medical board recommended Williams for discharge as “unfit for service as a soldier because of (1) amputation of right leg just above ankle joint. (2) Dementia praecox, paranoid type,” and made the further statement that “soldier cannot be released from military control without danger to himself or others. Soldier to be discharged at this post and turned over to his sister, Mrs. B. F. Clark, who will assume responsibility for his care and treatment.” Williams was discharged from the army December 1, 1919, and delivered into the custody of Mrs. Clark, who resided in Oakland, Alameda County, California. On or about January 15, 1920, Williams, without making known his intention, left the home of Mrs. Clark, went to Washington, D. C., and under date of February 15th was there married to Nora Maguire. He remained in Washington until about April 4, 1920, when he returned to California, going to Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, where he became noisy and

[484]

obscene, destructive, impulsive, and suffered from hallucinations, was removed to a city hospital, and on the 30th of April was by the superior court of Sonoma County found to be afflicted with dementia praecox, paranoid type, and was committed to the state hospital at Talmadge, Mendocino County, California, May 1, 1920. The medical staff at said state hospital diagnosed the case as dementia praecox, paranoid type, and pronounced the patient incurable. Under date of May 10, 1920, at the hearing had upon the petition of Ruth Williams to be appointed his guardian and alleging him to be incompetent, the said superior court adjudged that John Joseph Williams was mentally incompetent and incapable of taking care of himself and managing his property, and thereupon appointed Ruth Williams as the guardian of the person and estate of the said incompetent. Thereafter and on November 10, 1920, Ruth Williams, as said guardian, commenced this action, alleging that at the time of the marriage heretofore referred to, John Joseph Williams was mentally incompetent and was incapable of contracting said marriage, and praying that the marriage be annulled and the bonds of matrimony dissolved. The case came on for hearing and upon the conclusion thereof the court filed its findings of fact wherein it recited with much of detail the foregoing facts, and found therefrom that at the time of the marriage “at all times since, and is now, mentally incompetent and of unsound mind” and as conclusions of law therefrom “John Joseph Williams is entitled to have the said marriage . . . annulled.” Judgment was entered accordingly. From said judgment defendant prosecutes this appeal.