Polakis v. Polakis

CONLEY, P. J. This ease involves a fiercely contested domestic battle between Evangelos Polakis, a Modesto surgeon, and his wife, Matina. In some of its aspects the judgment of divorce that is questioned on this appeal must be affirmed, but, because of irreconcilable contradictions in the findings concerning the property problems of the parties, those issues will have to be redetermined.

The ancestry of each of the parties is of Greek derivation, ■and the trial judge in his memorandum of decision characterized them as “. . . persons of unusual and exceptional intellect, prone to be highly emotional. ...” They were married on August 21, 1960, but their quarrels and apparent incompatibility caused the wife, some years ago, to commence and pursue to completion an action for separate maintenance, although they had at that time one child, a boy born in October 1961. The decree was granted on March 2, 1964, and the two parties then lived separately until August 12, 1965. The husband, during that time or a large part of it, was qualifying as a surgeon.

An attempt at reconciliation, which appellant contends resulted in an actual reconciliation, began, and the parties lived together for approximately seven months principally in Modesto but for a short time in Fresno, and partly during a journey to Greece; during this period another child was conceived and a daughter was born in May of 1966.

On March 14, 1966, Dr. Polakis started a complaint for divorce in Stanislaus County; on May 11 of the same year, Mrs. Polakis filed an answer and a cross-complaint. When the case came on for trial, the following stipulation was entered into in open court:

[605]“Mr. Barker: [Attorney for defendant] Ready for the Cross-Complainant and Defendant, Your Honor. I believe at this time, counsel for Plaintiff and ourselves have a stipulation in which to enter with reference to the divorce itself, Your Honor, and that would be that it be stipulated that the Cross-Complainant, may proceed with her Cross-Comp1aint and take the divorce, however, without any prejudice to Your Honor’s decisions with reference to the matters of property in this case. And we’d request as a matter of convenience for the Court— that we proceed on our grounds for the divorce and then following that go into the property aspects with all parties present.