In re Marriage of Hightower
Illinois Appellate Court
830 N.E.2d 862 (2005)

- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Larry Hightower (defendant) and Belinda Hightower (plaintiff) were married. Belinda discovered that Larry had committed adultery. The Hightowers continued living together for several years after this revelation and continued having sexual relations. Larry claimed that Belinda had forgiven him for the adultery. Belinda filed a petition for fault-based divorce based on Larry’s adultery. Larry filed a counterpetition for a no-fault divorce based on irreconcilable differences. He argued that Belinda's prior forgiveness of his infidelity supported the affirmative defense of condonation, preventing a fault-based divorce dependent on the adultery. The trial court agreed with Larry and granted the divorce on the ground of irreconcilable differences. Belinda appealed to the Illinois Appellate Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Grometer, J.)
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