WALTER THOMAS BOUTON, APPELLANT,
v.
MITTIE LEE BOUTON, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1958-05-28
No. 130
THORNAL, CAMPBELL, and PAT-TISHALL, W. A., Associate Judges, concur.
103 So. 2d 680 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1958) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Walter Thomas Bouton appeals a divorce decree granting his wife Mittie Lee Bouton a divorce on grounds of mental cruelty and awarding her specific property interests. The appellate court affirms, finding that the master's findings of fact were supported by substantial evidence and properly confirmed by the chancellor.


Holding

The court affirmed the divorce decree and all property dispositions, holding that the master's findings were based on substantial evidence and were properly confirmed by the chancellor, and that defendant failed to make the required clear showing of error to warrant reversal.


Key Quotes

“findings of a master based on substantial evidence and confirmed by the chancellor will not be set aside in the absence of a clear showing of error”

Establishes the standard of review for appellate challenges to a master's findings and chancellor's confirmation thereof

Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Mittie Lee Bouton filed for divorce against Walter Thomas Bouton, alleging mental cruelty consisting of nagging, jealousy, and false accusations of im…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.

Topics

Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Divorce cases and more on FLexlaw


Opinion of the Court
ALLEN, Acting Chief Judge.

ALLEN, Acting Chief Judge.

This is an appeal from a final decree, dated March 2, 1956, entered in a chancery action for divorce by Mittie Lee Bouton against Walter Thomas Bouton. The decree granted plaintiff a divorce and disposed of the parties’ property in accordance with the recommendations of the general master, appointed by the chancellor to take testimony and make such recommendations. Defendant appeals, the p rties being referred to herein as they stood before the trial court.

The complaint charged mental cruelty consisting, generally, of nagging, jealousy and false accusations of immoral conduct, and in addition alleged that certain real and personal property of plaintiff was either improperly in the joint names of the parties or wrongfully possessed by defendant. There was also a counterclaim by the defendant. The general master, in his report, found that the plaintiff had proved the material allegations of her complaint, and that the defendant had not proved the allegations of his counterclaim. The master’s report then recommended that a divorce be granted to the plaintiff; that plaintiff be held the owner of a certain hotel, subject to a $4,-105.05 lien in favor of the defendant; that *681the parties be held each to have an undivided half interest in the proceeds from sales of certain other real property; that the plaintiff be held the owner of a certain Cadillac car; and that defendant be required to pay $1,500 attorney’s fee for plaintiff, plus costs.

Exceptions to the master’s report were filed by both the plaintiff and the defendant. The chancellor overruled all the exceptions by both parties, except one by defendant relating to attorney’s fees. That exception the chancellor partially sustained and partially overruled, holding that $1,500 was a reasonable attorney’s fee, but that one-half of such fee should be paid by each party.

It appears to the court that this appeal involves, primarily, the sufficiency of the testimony to sustain the lower court in granting the divorce and in determining the property rights of the parties as was done by the final decree. Approximately 700 pages of testimony were taken before the master, who recommended that the plaintiff be given a divorce and in addition, made recommendations which the lower court followed in determining the property rights of the parties.

The Supreme Court of Florida has repeatedly held that findings of a master based on substantial evidence and confirmed by the chancellor will not be set aside in the absence of a clear showing of error. Croom v. Ocala Plumbing & Electric Co., 1911, 62 Fla. 460, 57 So. 243; Florida National Bank & Trust Co. of Miami v. Brown, Fla.1949, 47 So.2d 748; Yarnelle v. Kollar, Fla. 1953, 62 So.2d 915.

We have examined the record and the briefs of counsel in this cause and heard the oral arguments at the bar of this court. It is apparent to the court that the master based his findings upon substantial, though conflicting, evidence, and that these findings w&re confirmed by the chancellor. Defendant has failed to make the “clear showing of error” required by the rule, above stated.

Defendant having shown no reversible error in the record, we therefore conclude that the decree appealed from should be affirmed.

Affirmed.

THORNAL, CAMPBELL, and PAT-TISHALL, W. A., Associate Judges, concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Ward v. Miami Lock & Hardware Co., 119 So. 2d 395 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960)
    …kins, 119 Fla. 689, 160 So. 679; Anderson v. Sandquist Const. Company, 131 Fla. 555, 180 So. 372; Port St. Joe Dock & Term. R. Company v. Maddox, 140 Fla. 110, 191 So. 775; Larkin v. Tsavaris, Fla.1956, 85 So. 2d 731; Bouton v. Bouton, Fla.App.1958, 103 So. 2d 680; and 2 Fla.Jur., Appeals, § 347. The appellant’s remaining contentions, as well as those of appellee Riviera Builders, Inc., have been duly considered and found to be without merit. Accordingly, the decree appealed from is affirmed. HORTON, C. J.…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw