Fuller v. Fuller
| Citation | 130 S.E. 270,100 W.Va. 309 |
| Decision Date | 03 November 1925 |
| Docket Number | 5411. |
| Parties | FULLER v. FULLER. |
| Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
Submitted October 27, 1925.
Syllabus by the Court.
A case in which a wife, because of her frail physical condition by reason of childbirth, requested household assistance which was refused by the husband, whereupon she found it necessary to go with her child to the nearby home of her sister to obtain necessary care and attention temporarily until she could recover her strength. The husband, to make good his threat that if she left home he would not permit her to return, immedi ately sought to deprive the wife of property given her before marriage and of maintenance for herself and child, and otherwise manifested his intention to abandon her. Held: Such conduct on the part of the husband constitutes "desertion" of the wife warranting a decree to her of divorce from bed and board and support of herself and child.
A communication between husband and wife in the known presence and hearing of a third person capable of comprehending what is being said, is not so confidential as to be a privileged communication, and either the husband, wife, or the third person may testify in regard thereto.
Appeal from Circuit Court, Wood County.
Suit by Marie Fuller against Jasper E. Fuller for divorce. Decree for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Affirmed.
Robert B. McDougle and Smith D. Turner, both of Parkersburg, for appellant.
F. P Moats, of Parkersburg, for appellee.
The defendant appeals from a decree of the circuit court awarding plaintiff a divorce from bed and board and $75 per month for the support and maintenance of herself and child.
The plaintiff and defendant, 29 and 39 years of age respectively, were intermarried January 18, 1923. During their courtship he had manifested his interest in a substantial way by making numerous gifts to her, including the sum, at one time, of $4,000, which she immediately invested in a residence property in the city of Parkersburg purchased at the price of $6,000. His infatuation continued after th e marriage until, as it is claimed she became enceinte, when his ardor cooled and he became extremely penurious. May 15, 1924, the plaintiff was taken from her home in Parkersburg to a city hospital, and there, a few hours later, delivered of a female child. May 25th, at her request, she was returned home before fully recovering from the usual effects of childbirth and lacerations attending the ordeal. By reason of her weakened physical condition the plaintiff was unable to attend to her household work and care for the child. In this situation, according to her testimony, she asked the defendant to employ a domestic temporarily until she could regain her physical strength sufficiently to perform these duties; that upon his refusal to comply with this reasonable request she announced it then would be necessary for her to stay at the home of her sister, a few blocks away, for a short while, in order to receive proper attention, whereupon, in the presence of her 13 year old daughter by a former marriage, he told the plaintiff that if she left he would not permit her to return. Saturday morning, May 31st, after he had left home without speaking to her, she took the child and went to the home of her sister. The defendant did not return home until night, when he found for the first time that the plaintiff had gone. To make good his threat, to the effect that he would not...
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