Gathright v. Smith

• Decision Date: 19 June 1978
• Docket Number: No. 61289,61289
• Citation: 368 So.2d 679
• Parties: Louie A. GATHRIGHT v. Talmadge A. SMITH and Margie S. Lawrence.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Page 679

368 So.2d 679

Louie A. GATHRIGHT v. Talmadge A. SMITH and Margie S. Lawrence.

No. 61289.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

June 19, 1978.

On Rehearing March 5, 1979.

George M. Strickler, Jr., Paul H. Kidd, Monroe, for defendants-applicants.

Orlando N. Hamilton, Jr., Hamilton, Carroll & Miller, Oak Grove, for plaintiff-respondent.

DIXON, Justice.

Writs were granted in this case to review a decision of the court of appeal affirming a trial court judgment declaring the marriage of relators' mother null and void and rejecting relators' claims to property acquired during the relationship because of their mother's bad faith in contracting the marriage. 352 So.2d 282 (2d Cir. 1977).

The facts of this case, as stated by the court of appeal, are as follows:

"Plaintiff, Louie Gathright, brought suit for a declaratory judgment against Margie Smith Lawrence and Talmadge A. Smith who are the only children and heirs of Clara Pearl Breland Smith (also known as Clara Gathright). He alleged that at the time of his marriage to Clara Smith she was not divorced from either of her two former husbands and was not capable of contracting a valid marriage with him. Plaintiff alleged he was unaware of this incapacity until after her death on January 14, 1973. He further alleged the decedent was in bad faith in contracting the marriage with him, and under La.C.C. Art. 118 she was not entitled to the civil effects of the marriage. Accordingly plaintiff contended the defendants had no rights of ownership in any of the property acquired during the existence of the null relationship.

Defendants denied the nullity of the marriage and sought to show that in any event their mother was a good faith putative wife entitled to the civil effects of the marriage.

The facts show that prior to decedent's marriage to plaintiff in 1942, she had contracted two former marriages. The first to Alexander F. Smith in St. Tammany Parish on April 20, 1920. Defendants were born of this marriage. Shortly after the birth of the second child, decedent and Smith separated. Smith did not obtain a divorce from decedent until March 13, 1963, in Orleans Parish.

On November 4, 1930, decedent purported to marry John Turner in Arkansas and lived with him until 1933 or 1934 when they separated and decedent established her residence in Bastrop, Louisiana. The evidence clearly establishes that on August 12, 1942, when decedent married plaintiff both Alexander Smith and John Turner were living and neither was divorced from decedent.

In a comprehensive opinion, the trial judge held that decedent was in bad faith under La.C.C. Arts. 117 and 118, and declared plaintiff to be entitled to the sole ownership of all property acquired during the null marriage to her." 352 So.2d at 284.

Before this court relators assign five errors by the trial and appellate courts: (1) in the trial court requiring them to satisfy the burden of proving good faith; (2) in the finding by both courts that Louie Gathright was in good faith; (3) in the appellate court holding that a constitutional issue could not be raised for the first time on appeal; (4) in the appellate court failure to find that the burden of proof was unconstitutional; (5) in both courts holding that the burden of proof was not satisfied.

I. Burden of Proving Good Faith

Relators contend that the trial court erred in requiring them to satisfy a burden of proof that their mother was in good faith in contracting a marriage with Louie Gathright.

Inquiry into whether Clara was in good faith ¹ is relevant to a determination of whether the civil effects of marriage would run in favor of her and her heirs. C.C. 117. The trial court, relying on Succession of Davis, 142 So.2d 481 (2d Cir. 1962); King v. McCoy Bros. Lumber Co., 147 So.2d 77 (2d Cir. 1962) and Succession of Theriot, 185 So.2d 361 (4th Cir. 1966), held that once Louie put forth proof of the nullity of his marriage to Clara because of Clara's prior undissolved marriages, the burden then shifted to relators, claiming on Clara's behalf, to prove her good faith. This burden, he held, they failed to satisfy.

Relators argue that the burden should not have been on them to prove their mother's good faith but rather that respondent, Louie Gathright had the burden of proving Clara's bad faith. They contend that the cases above cited are inconsistent with Lands v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of U. S., 239 La. 782, 120 So.2d 74 (1960), the case upon which they purportedly rest. Relators interpret Lands to hold that the burden of proving bad faith is always on the party attacking the second marriage; only when bad faith has been established, they allege, does the burden of proving the first marriage was no longer in existence shift to the defender of the second marriage. Their interpretation is erroneous.

In Lands, Pauline Blackwell Lands claimed proceeds from an insurance policy payable to the "widow" of the decedent, Thomas Lands. It was shown at trial that Pauline had been previously married and left her husband, Willie Blackwell, in Mississippi. Eleven years later she married the decedent. She testified that she did not know whether her former husband was living or dead, that she had obtained no divorce from him and was unaware if he ever got a divorce from her, and that she had never seen or heard from him since leaving Mississippi. The district court rejected Pauline's claim and awarded the proceeds of the policy to the brother and half brothers of Thomas Lands, the next beneficiaries in the policy. After quoting extensively from Am.Jur., this court stated:

"We are in full accord with the majority view that a presumption exists as to the validity of a second marriage and that the burden of proof to show that it is a nullity is on the party attacking it. We do not think, however, that this presumption should be available to one who has deserted or abandoned a spouse of a prior marriage in another state and subsequently in this state remarries in bad faith and without reason to believe that the first marriage has been dissolved by death, divorce, or annulment. Whether a party in such a case is innocent and in good faith must depend upon the circumstances and facts of each case, and Where innocence or good faith is once established, the burden of proof to show that the first marriage is still in existence is on the party attacking the second marriage. However, in such a case if bad faith is shown, the burden of proof to show that the first marriage was dissolved by death, divorce, or annulment prior to the second marriage is on the party whose marriage is under attack.

We are mindful that as a general rule of law when a man and a woman marry and live together as husband and wife, they are presumed to have contracted the marriage in good faith. As we view the matter, however, For a party to a second marriage to be able to avail himself of the presumption of validity of such a marriage where it is shown that he has deserted his first spouse in another state, he must show that he entered into the second marriage in good faith.

In the condition of the record as made up in the instant case, we are unable to determine with any degree of certainty whether Pauline Blackwell Lands was in good faith at the time she contracted her marriage with Lands, and we have concluded to remand the case in the interest of justice. She left Blackwell in Jackson, Mississippi, but we do not think that we should declare her in bad faith just because she admitted that she did not know as a matter of fact whether Blackwell was living or dead and that she had not obtained a divorce from him. It must be remembered that about 11 years had elapsed between her leaving Blackwell and her marriage to Lands, and during this time she never saw or heard from Blackwell. If she was in good faith and had reasonable grounds to believe that her first marriage had been dissolved, the presumption of the validity of her marriage to Lands would be available and she could rely on it, and the burden of proof would then be on appellees, the brothers, to show that her marriage to Blackwell was still in existence. In the event they should fail to do so, the validity of her marriage to Lands could be presumed and she would be entitled to the proceeds of the policy of insurance as his widow. On the other hand, If she should be unable to show that she contracted her marriage with Lands in good faith, the burden would then be on her to show to the satisfaction of the court that her marriage to Blackwell had been dissolved by death, divorce, or annulment." 239 La. at 790-92, 120 So.2d at 76-77. (Emphasis added).

Hence, the holding of Lands is the following: (1) there is a presumption of the validity of a second marriage and the burden of proving invalidity is upon the party attacking it, (2) the presumption of validity does not run in favor of a spouse who has been shown to have a prior undissolved marriage, unless that spouse can show that he or she contracted the subsequent marriage in good faith. ² Therefore, the trial judge correctly applied the law by imposing the burden of proving Clara's good faith on her heirs once Louie proved that Clara was previously married and neither widowed nor divorced.

II. Louie's Good Faith

Relators contend that the trial court erred in holding that Louie Gathright was in good faith throughout his marriage to Clara. They refer us to a general rule which has often been expressed by the courts of this State: where a married person knows that his spouse has been previously married, he is not justified in entering the marriage solely on the spouse's word that she is divorced, but he is under a duty to investigate to determine whether the previous marriage was actually dissolved. See Succession of Chavis, 211 La. 313, 29 So. 860 (1947); Prieto v. Succession of Prieto, 165 La. 710, 115 So. 911 (1928); Succession of Thomas, 144 La. 25, 80 So. 186 (1918); Succession of Taylor, 39 La.Ann. 823,...