Alderson v. Alderson
California Court of Appeal
225 Cal. Rptr. 610, 180 Cal. App. 3d 450 (1986)
- Written by Whitney Kamerzel , JD
Facts
Jonne Alderson (plaintiff) and Steve Alderson (defendant) lived together for 12 years. After Jonne and Steve split up, Jonne sued Steve to recover an interest in the properties that the parties had accumulated during their relationship. At trial, evidence was presented that Jonne took Steve’s last name, as did Jonne and Steve’s three children. Evidence was also presented that Jonne and Steve held themselves out to the public as husband and wife, pooled their financial resources, and bought several properties with these pooled resources as husband and wife. Jonne testified that although she and Steve had a sexual relationship, Jonne cooked and cleaned for Steve and contributed to their owned properties in nonfinancial ways by organizing the books and making repairs. The trial court held that due to the parties’ conduct, an implied contract existed between the parties to share any and all property that was accumulated during their relationship. Therefore, Jonne was awarded an undivided half interest in the parties’ properties. Steve appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Merrill, J.)
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