Bennington v. Bennington

381 N.E.2d 1355 (1978)

From our private database of 46,200+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Bennington v. Bennington

Ohio Court of Appeals
381 N.E.2d 1355 (1978)

Play video

Facts

Mary Bennington (plaintiff) and Larry Bennington (defendant) married in 1946. In 1963, Mrs. Bennington suffered a stroke that left her partially paralyzed and permanently, completely disabled. The couple ceased having sex thereafter. In 1974, Mr. Bennington moved out of the house and into a travel van on the couple’s property. He moved to the van because Mrs. Bennington kept the house at a very high temperature and also kept the doors bolted at all times such that it took 15 to 20 minutes for her to let Mr. Bennington in when he arrived home from work. After moving to the van, Mr. Bennington continued to assist his wife and to perform household chores. In November 1976, Mr. Bennington left for Arizona without intending to return. He did return a month later, however. He went back to living in the van for three months then moved to an apartment. Mrs. Bennington sued her husband for alimony only, on the grounds of gross neglect of duty and abandonment. Mr. Bennington counterclaimed for divorce on grounds including gross neglect of duty, extreme cruelty, and living separate and apart for at least two years without cohabitation. The trial court granted a divorce on the grounds of separation without cohabitation, finding that the period during which Mr. Bennington lived in the van should count as part of the two years. Mrs. Bennington appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (McCormac, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 796,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials
  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 796,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 796,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,200 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership