From our private database of 37,500+ case briefs...

Simons v. Miami Beach First National Bank

United States Supreme Court

381 U.S. 81, 85 S. Ct. 1315, 14 L. Ed. 2d 232 (1965)

Facts

The wife of a New York married couple obtained a New York separation agreement that included an award of monthly alimony. Thereafter, the husband moved to Florida, where he obtained an ex parte divorce. The wife, who had only constructive notice of the Florida divorce proceeding, did not enter a personal appearance. After the husband died, the executor of his estate offered the husband’s will for probate in a Florida probate court. The wife appeared in the Florida probate proceeding and elected to take her dower share under Florida law instead of taking under the will, which made no provision for her. The executor contested the dower claim and argued that because the couple was divorced when the husband died, the wife had no dower interest under Florida law. The wife argued that the Florida divorce decree—as it pertained to her dower rights—should be set aside because she did not appear in that action, so the court lacked personal jurisdiction over her to make any ruling about her marital rights beyond her marital status. The Florida trial and appellate courts rejected her argument, and the Florida Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal. The wife then appealed to the United States Supreme Court and argued that the lower court decisions unconstitutionally denied her dower claim.

Rule of Law

The rule of law is the black letter law upon which the court rested its decision. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Issue

The issue section includes the dispositive legal issue in the case phrased as a question. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Holding and Reasoning (Brennan, J.)

The holding and reasoning section includes:

A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
A summary of the majority or plurality opinion, using the CREAC method; and
The procedural disposition (e.g., reversed and remanded, affirmed, etc.).

To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

What to do next…

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 631,000 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 brief Read our student testimonials
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 approach Read more about Quimbee

Here's why 631,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 37,500 briefs, keyed to 984 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 631,000 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
37,500 briefs - keyed to 984 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