Davis v. Davis
New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
2009 Slip Opinion 08579 (2009)
- Written by Mary Katherine Cunningham, JD
Facts
Noel Davis (plaintiff) commenced a divorce proceeding against her husband, Shepherd Davis, (defendant) in November 2007. Before the complaint was filed in January 2008, the parties had been married for 41 years and resided in the same apartment. Noel’s complaint alleged one cause asserting cruel and inhuman treatment under New York Domestic Relations Law Section 170(1) and one cause asserting constructive abandonment under New York Domestic Relations Law Section 170(2). The complaint alleged Shepherd refused to engage in social interactions with Noel by refusing to celebrate holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Valentine’s Day with Noel. Shepherd also allegedly refused to attend social and family functions with Noel. The complaint also alleged Shepherd left Noel alone in a hospital emergency room on at least one occasion, removed her belongings from the master bedroom, and ignored her. The trial court granted Shepherd’s motion to dismiss Noel’s cause of action seeking a divorce on the ground of social abandonment. The trial court found the social-abandonment allegation failed to support a cognizable legal theory. Noel appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Dillon, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 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.
