Krause v. Krause
New York Court of Appeals
282 N.Y. 355, 26 N.E.2d 290 (1940)
- Written by Mary Phelan D'Isa, JD
Facts
A second wife (plaintiff) filed an action against her husband (defendant) in New York for separation and support. The husband sought to avoid liability to his second wife by alleging that the Nevada divorce he obtained against his first wife, when the husband and his first wife were living in New York, was invalid. The husband argued that he could not be liable for support because he was never legally married to his second wife—even though he obtained the Nevada divorce for the purposes of being able to marry his second wife. Under New York law, the Nevada divorce would not be recognized, which would render the second New York marriage invalid. The trial and appellate courts struck the husband’s defense of the invalid Nevada divorce as insufficient in law. The husband appealed and argued that New York public policy requires the court to protect the first marriage, even though it would advantage the husband.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Finch, J.)
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