WILLIAM P. MCMICHAEL
v.
IRENE COOLEY MCMICHAEL
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In a 1947 Florida divorce case, the husband appealed a decree granting divorce to his wife and affirming her ownership of a jointly-improved homestead property that he had transferred to her approximately five years earlier in settlement of anticipated alimony claims. The court upheld the lower court's findings and the property settlement despite the husband's contentions that the marriage was invalid and that no consideration existed for the conveyance.
The court affirmed the decree, holding that the trial court had ample substantial evidence to support its findings despite conflicting testimony, that the wife's conduct, though imperfect, did not preclude divorce relief, and that the marriage was presumed legal and the husband was not in a position to question it after continuing to live with the wife for years following discovery of any purported defect.
“It is a rule that one coming into equity, must come with clean hands. And as was said in Sahler v. Sahler, 17 So. (2nd) 105 at text 107, 154 Fla. 206, where both parties are at. fault relief should be withheld from both.”
Establishes the clean-hands doctrine in divorce proceedings and that courts may withhold relief from both parties when both are at fault.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe parties married in 1920 and had two adult sons. They jointly purchased and improved a Homestead, Florida home consisting of the main residence and…
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The marital relationship of the parties to this cause dates from 1920. There are two sons of this union, each is now over the age of twenty-one years.
Both parties contributed to the purchase price of the home in Homestead, Florida, and to the improvements on the property, namely, two apartments on the rear of the property title thereto having been placed in both parties. About five years ago the appellant transferred to appellee his interest in. the property on agreement the same should be in lieu of ali.mony and suit money by virtue of divorce action then planned.
*414In- the divorce action from which this appeal arises, the appellee, complainant in the divorce action, claimed to own the property mentioned above. Appellant denied her grounds for divorce, did not specifically deny the marriage, but did deny that appellee was entitled to claim the property, on the ground that conveyance had been made for convenience, and nothing else, and that there was no consideration therefor.
The cause was referred to a Master for taking testimony, and he took same and made report to the county, with findings of law and fact. Exceptions were fully fixed, and were overruled and denied. Appellee was granted divorce, the Master’s fee of three hundred ($300.00) dollars was apportioned between the contending parties in equal amounts, viz: $150.00 each, and appellant was permanently enjoined from harming, molesting or bothering appellee and .from entering into the premises known as 113 N. W. 1st Street, Homestead, Florida.
Appellant contends the final decree should be overthrown, because it is not sustained by the testimony, and that appellee is herself not free from fault, and for that reason should be denied a divorce.
The court had ample, substantial evidence, though conflicting, to sustain the decree. In such state of the record we would not be justified in holding him to be in error. See Burns v. Burns, 153 Fla. 79, 13 So. 2nd, 599; Tomberlin v. Tomberlin, 145 Fla. 254, 199 So. 48, 49.
It is a rule that one coming into equity, must come with clean hands. And as was said in Sahler v. Sahler, 17 So. (2nd) 105 at text 107, 154 Fla. 206, where both parties are at. fault relief should be withheld from both.
In the case at bar, it may be said that appellee is not shown to be entirely blameless or free from fault, in that her conduct as established could not be prescribed as a model for married women. She has certainly not been shown to be immoral, although much testimony was offered with that evident object in view.
Appellant contends his marriage with appellee was not legal.. There is no pleading expressly raising this point. It is urged that if there be no marriage, then there could have *415been no alimony and if no alimony, of necessity, there was no consideration for the settlement as related to the property.
The testimony of both parties is meagre in relation to the divorce from appellant’s first wife. Whether he was divorced, when he married appellee, and some question arose regarding same, or whether he had never been divorced until about five years ago, is not clear. Certainly the law would presume a marriage to be legal until otherwise shown.
Appellee testified that she first learned there was any question that it wasn’t legal about four or five years ago, that she broke down and went to bed over it, and did not want the children to know it.
The parties continued to live together thereafter, and he is not in position to question their status. See Jones v. Jones, 161 So. 836, 119 Fla. 824.
Appellant did not question the conveyance to his wife on constitutional grounds and indeed such contention would not have been consistent with the position he has asserted. The Court’s order which in effect confirmed appellee’s claim to the property as a settlement in lieu of alimony appears to be warranted by the testimony.
The decree appealed from is affirmed.
Affirmed.
CHAPMAN, C. J., THOMAS and BARNS, JJ., concur.
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The Ins. Co. OF the State OF Pa. v. The Est. OF Frank Guzman, 421 So. 2d 597 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)…ecting the burden of producing evidence. Section 90.304, Florida Statutes (1979), provides: In civil actions, all rebuttable presumptions which are not defined in s. 90.303 are presumptions affecting the burden of proof. . McMichael v. McMichael, 158 Fla. 413, 28 So. 2d 692 (1947). . Sacks v. Sacks, 267 So. 2d 73 (Fla.1972). . Contra, Gard, Florida Evidence § 3:14 (2nd ed. 1980). .The trial court expressed concern that in the absence of the sheriffs reports and correspondence between the county and Ca…
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Marshall v. Marshall, 386 So. 2d 11 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)…v. Humphrey, 136 So. 2d 257 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962). The party seeking equity should come with clean hands. If both parties have knowingly participated in the fraud, the court should leave them where it finds them. McMichael v. McMichael, 158 Fla. 413, 28 So. 2d 692 (1947). Here, if the court leaves the parties where it found them, the husband remains for all purposes the natural father of this child; the child is legitimate and his welfare is served. As noted above, the paramount concern is for the welfare of…
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Aberdeen Golf & Country Club v. Bliss Constr., Inc., 932 So. 2d 235 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)…ance with the contractual dispute resolution procedures prior to filing a lawsuit. As such, neither party is in a position to seek or receive a disposition of this case that is based on equitable principles. See McMichael v. McMichael, 158 Fla. 413, 28 So. 2d 692, 693 (1947)(in cases where “both parties are at fault [equitable] relief should be withheld from both”). Furthermore, because neither Aberdeen nor Bliss satisfied the conditions precedent to litigation under the dispute resolution provisions of the…
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Meta A. Sahler v. Eli I. Sahler, 154 Fla. 206 (Fla. 1944)
- Jones v. Augusta Jones, 119 Fla. 824 (Fla. 1935)
- Burns v. Burns, 153 Fla. 73 (Fla. 1943)
- McQuagge v. State, 153 Fla. 79 (Fla. 1943)
- Tomberlin v. Tomberlin, 145 Fla. 254 (Fla. 1940)