Duffey v. Duffey

SHINN, P. J. This is an action for divorce in which plaintiff sought, inter alia, to recover the sum of $12,000 (later reduced to $10,000) allegedly disbursed by her for household expenses at defendant’s instance and request and pursuant to his promise to repay her. Defendant cross-complained, seeking a declaration that the marriage was invalid, and fifed a counterclaim by which he sought to recover the sum of $5,748 (later reduced to $5,641) allegedly loaned to plaintiff. The court decreed that the purported marriage of the parties was void ab initio, denied defendant relief on his counterclaim, and entered judgment for plaintiff in the amount prayed for. Defendant appeals from the last mentioned portions of the judgment.

Plaintiff and defendant, both residents of Santa Barbara, went to Tijuana, Mexico, on January 24, 1950 where they entered into what purported to be a proxy marriage before a person who was not authorized by Mexican law to perform a marriage ceremony or to execute valid proxies therefor. They returned to Santa Barbara where they cohabited for the next three years, believing in good faith that they were husband and wife. During this time defendant and his two minor daughters resided with plaintiff, her mother and her daughter in an elegant home which was her separate property. Defendant’s minor son also lived there intermittently for about a year.

Defendant was employed as manager of Bekins Van & Storage in Santa Barbara at a salary of $7,200 per year. He owned 50 per cent of the stock of the local Bekins corporation on which' he received dividends averaging $8,300 per year. Plaintiff’s assets included $80,000 in a bank account which came from her deceased husband, building and loan deposits totaling $10,000, a vacant lot in Brentwood which she sold for $12,000 in 1950, her home which she valued at $54,000, [171]and 12 acres of surrounding land which she valued at $12,000. Plaintiff also received an allowance of $1,000 per month from the guardianship account of her daughter’s estate.

Buring the purported marriage the parties maintained four bank accounts. Plaintiff had a personal account in which she deposited the monthly allowance from her daughter’s guardianship account. Befendant also had a personal account in which he deposited his dividend checks. The parties maintained a joint household account in which defendant deposited his salary and to which plaintiff transferred money from her personal account. They also kept a joint capital, or building and investment account. The funds deposited in this account came from plaintiff’s personal account, from the estate of plaintiff’s deceased husband, from her monthly allowance, and from loans. Money in the capital account was used to improve plaintiff’s home, to build three houses on the surrounding acreage for eventual sale, and to plant another part of the acreage with avocado trees.