Anonymous v. Anonymous
| Decision Date | 06 August 1971 |
| Citation | 67 Misc.2d 982,325 N.Y.S.2d 499 |
| Parties | ANONYMOUS, Plaintiff, v. ANONYMOUS, Defendant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court |
The plaintiff, a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, seeks a declaration as to him marital status with the defendant.
The basis of the action is that the defendant was a male at the time of the alleged marriage. The plaintiff testified that in November of 1968 he met the defendant, who appeared to be a female, on a street in Augusta, Georgia. He went with the defendant to a house of prostitution where they spent a short time together, but the plaintiff did not see the defendant unclothed or have any sexual relations. Thereafter, in early February 1969 the defendant followed the plaintiff to his new duty station at Fort Hood, Texas. On February 22nd the parties took part in a marriage ceremony in Belton, Texas. They returned to the plaintiff's apartment. Being intoxicated, the plaintiff went to sleep. He awoke at 2 o'clock in the morning, reached for the defendant and upon touching the defendant, discovered that the defendant had male sexual organs. He immediately left the bed, 'got drunk some more' and went to the bus station. Finding no buses running, he returned to his apartment and slept on the couch. The next day the defendant informed the plaintiff that he intended to undergo an operation to have the male organs removed.
The parties never lived together and never had any type of sexual relationship. The plaintiff was sent overseas in March 1969 and returned in April 1970. In the interim, the defendant sent numerous letters to the plaintiff and medical bills for hospital and surgical expenses. The Army also deducted an allotment for the defendant from the plaintiff's pay. After the plaintiff returned from overseas he saw the defendant once in court in San Francisco, where he arranged the defendant's release from jail on a prostitution charge and later travelled with the defendant to New York City for the purpose of arranging a legal divorce or separation. The defendant told him on this trip that surgery had been completed and that 'she' was now a woman.
The instant action was commenced when the parties were in New York. (Plaintiff is a life-long resident.) The defendant retained New York counsel who appeared for 'her' in this action. The defendant then left for the West Coast and apparently has lived at various addresses in San Francisco and in Tacoma, Washington. Defendant has not answered any correspondence from her attorney and has not made 'herself' available for medical or other examinations. Despite liberal adjournments by the court on ample notice, 'she' did not appear for the trial. The only communication the plaintiff has had has been bills for merchandise the defendant has been charging.
The court finds as a fact that the defendant was not a female at the time of the marriage ceremony. It may be that since that time the defendant's sex has been changed to female by operative procedures, although it would appear from the...
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