J. W. P. v. R. E. P.
| Decision Date | 15 January 1973 |
| Citation | 301 A.2d 318 |
| Parties | J. W. P., Wife, Individually and as guardian ad litem for B. W. P., Son, Plaintiffs, v. R. E. P., Husband, Defendant. |
| Court | Court of Chancery of Delaware |
James T. McKinstry, of Richards, Layton & Finger, Wilmington, for plaintiffs.
Charles M. Allmond, III, of Allmond & Wood, Wilmington, for defendant.
MARVEL, Vice Chancellor:
Plaintiff 1 sues individually as well as on behalf of the parties' son who will not be twenty-one until November 12, 1973 at which time maintenance for him by the defendant father, except for the possible costs of his further education, will terminate under the terms of the parties' separation agreement which preceded their divorce. 2 Plaintiff seeks the entry of a decree of specific performance of certain financial undertakings made by defendant under the terms of such agreement. The agreement in question was entered into by the parties on August 5, 1959 after fourteen months of negotiations during which each party was represented by counsel. On September 22, 1960 plaintiff obtained a divorce on the ground of defendant's desertion. Their agreement provides for plaintiff's support until her death or remarriage. She has not remarried.
Plaintiff charges that since January 1970 the defendant has failed fully to comply with the support provisions of the agreement sued upon and that as of October 1972 he was in arrears under the terms of said agreement in the total amount of $5240. Defendant agrees to the mathematics of such computation of arrearages, which continue to accumulate, but contends that he is not liable under the terms of the agreement sued upon because it is unenforceable (1) because the parties were mistaken as to their respective legal rights during the negotiations which culminated in the execution of the agreement, (2) because the terms of the agreement are so basically unfair that to enforce performance of the agreement would be unconscionable, and (3) that the agreement should not be enforced because the parties' relative financial circumstances have substantially changed since the agreement was entered into.
Defendant's first contention is that at the time the agreement in issue was entered into neither party was aware that defendant allegedly had a right to seek a divorce on the ground of willful desertion. Such a decree, absent a separation agreement, would have terminated his duty to support plaintiff. In support of such contention defendant cites his own uncontradicted testimony that the refusal of plaintiff to engage in sexual intercourse in the period preceding their final separation destroyed the parties' marriage. He argues that inasmuch as there was a mistake on his part as to his legal rights to a divorce on such ground equivalent to a mistake of fact, equity will not enforce the agreement here in issue against him as the party injured by such a mistake. However, defendant overlooks the fact that the agreement sued upon is the product of a carefully negotiated compromise wherein all rights, doubtful or not, were sought to be put to rest. Such a compromise is favored by a court of equity, 3 Pomeroy's Equity Jurisprudence (5th Ed.) § 850.
In any event, I am of the opinion that defendant cannot be said to have had a clear right to a divorce at the...
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