Davies v. Davies, 59-204
| Decision Date | 26 May 1959 |
| Docket Number | No. 59-204,59-204 |
| Citation | 113 So.2d 250 |
| Parties | Wallace G. DAVIES, Plaintiff, v. Dona Suess DAVIES, Defendant. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Kastenbaum, Mamber & Gopman, Miami Beach, for plaintiff.
Burton R. Levey, Miami, for defendant.
Incident to a divorce suit pending in the circuit court of Dade County, that court has certified to this court, under rule 4.6 of Florida Appellate Rules, 31 F.S.A., 1 the following question:
'Does a chancellor have power or authority under Florida law to award alimony and/or attorney's fees to a husband in a divorce suit where he finds that the equities of the cause are with the husband and that the wife has been guilty of extreme cruelty and has done physical violence to him which has resulted in his being wholly incapacitated to earn a livelihood?'
In Schwob Co. v. Florida Industrial Commission, 152 Fla. 203, 11 So.2d 782, and numerous later decisions, the Supreme Court has consistently given strict interpretation to the rule for certification of questions to an appellate court. In our view, the question certified is within the purview of the Schwob case. 2
The basis for alimony which is provided for by statute in this state is the common-law obligation of a husband to support his wife. Jacobs v. Jacobs, Fla.1951, 50 So.2d 169, 173; Bredin v. Bredin, Fla.1956, 89 So.2d 353, 355, 61 A.L.R.2d 942. It follows that there is no basis or authority to allow alimony to a husband, unless expressly provided for by statute, because of the absence of a corresponding underlying duty of a wife for the support of her husband. 17 Am.Jur., Divorce and Separation, § 574; 27 C.J.S. Divorce § 204; 2 Nelson, Divorce and Annulment, § 14.16 (2d ed. 1945); Annotation 24 A.L.R. 491.
The statutory provisions in this state relating to alimony provide for its payment to a wife, and do not make provision for payment of alimony to a husband. The main statutory provision dealing with the subject is § 65.08, Fla.Stat., F.S.A. This section provides for alimony, upon a decree of divorce, to be granted to the wife, but contains no provision for alimony for a husband. Section 65.08 reads as follows:
The statutory section dealing with alimony pendente lite (§ 65.07) makes provision for an award of alimony to a wife but contains no provision for such an allowance to a husband. Similarly and by way of analogy, the statutory provisions for 'Alimony unconnected with divorce' (§ 65.09), and 'Alimony unconnected with causes of divorce' (§ 65.10), make provision for payment of alimony to a wife only.
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Matthews v. United States, 105-64.
...he die intestate, and a right to separate maintenance and alimony. 21 Fla.Stat.Ann. §§ 731.23 and 731.34. 13 Davies v. Davies, 113 So.2d 250 (Fla. Dist.Ct.App., 3d Dist.) (1959); Gentry-Futch Co. v. Gentry, 90 Fla. 595, 106 So. 473 14 In re Tamburri's Will, 198 Misc. 809, 100 N.Y.S.2d 647 (......
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...Since the creation of the District Courts of Appeal, numerous questions have been certified to those courts for answer. Cf., Davies v. Davies, 113 So.2d 250; Clar v. Dade County, 116 So.2d 34; In re Aron's Estate, 118 So.2d 546; McGuckin et al. v. Dade County, 121 So.2d 63. In McGuckin the ......
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...in that it was not filed within nine months after the first publication of the notice to creditors. As pointed out in Davies v. Davies, Fla.App.1959, 113 So.2d 250, and the subsequent case of Clar v. Dade County, Fla.App.1959, 116 So.2d 34, we will adhere to a strict interpretation of the r......
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