Paup v. Paup
| Citation | 208 Iowa 215,225 N.W. 251 |
| Decision Date | 07 May 1929 |
| Docket Number | No. 39600.,39600. |
| Parties | PAUP v. PAUP ET AL. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Iowa |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from District Court, Shelby County; J. S. Dewell, Judge.
Action for damages for alienation of affection of plaintiff's husband. Plaintiff is the wife of Harry Paup. The defendants are the parents of Harry Paup. The defendants' answer to the petition was a general denial. There was a verdict for the plaintiff for $5,000. Upon motion for a new trial, the court reduced the verdict to $2,000 and gave to the plaintiff the election to accept the same or submit to a new trial. The plaintiff elected to accept the reduction, and the motion for a new trial was overruled. Judgment was entered for the plaintiff, and the defendants have appealed. Reversed.White & White, of Harlan, for appellants.
Lower & Sheehan, of Omaha, Neb., and Bennett Cullison, of Harlan, for appellee.
Agnes and Harry Paup were married in April, 1914. Their final separation occurred in October, 1926. Their married life was a checkered one. As a husband, Harry was a poor specimen. As a wife, the plaintiff herself was not as helpful as she might have been. Harry engaged in various employments during the period of their marriage, but was not prosperous. For more than one year in that period he was in the army and was overseas in 1918 and 1919. For two years of the time, the plaintiff visited in Colorado. Their home was in Harlan. They occupied there a cottage owned by the defendant father-in-law, situated close to the parental home. They occupied this home rent-free for the full period of their married life. The parental home of the plaintiff was at another distant town, where she frequently visited for many days at a time. Harry was away from home much of the time by reason of his occupation, which consisted of various enterprises. For a time he was in the employ of the city; for another time he was engaged in running skating rinks in various towns; and another time he was engaged as an employee of the Chase-Lister Show Company. The result was that both spent much time away from home and that both were strangers to a truly home life. According to the plaintiff's evidence, their married life was full of controversies. The culminating event was the discovery by plaintiff of a letter addressed to Harry by a woman, who had no legitimate claims upon him. Upon this discovery, she wrote a letter to Harry to be later referred to, and brought an action for divorce. Shortly thereafter she instituted this action against the parents for damages. The record before us is a difficult one. The appellant's abstract has not been skillfully prepared. The petition alleged as follows:
“That prior to the separation of the plaintiff from her husband, Harry Paup, on or about the first day of October, 1926, and while said plaintiff and her said husband were living together happily as husband and wife, each contented and enjoying the love and respect of the other, the defendants conspired and confederated together for the purpose of destroying the home and happiness of this plaintiff as the wife of the defendants' son and pursuant to said scheme of the defendants to separate the plaintiff from her husband, the said Harry Paup, said defendants began to abuse the said Harry Paup because he had intermarried with this plaintiff and said defendants threatened to disinherit the said Harry Paup, their son and husband of this plaintiff, if he continued to live with the plaintiff as her husband; that said defendants told the said Harry Paup false and slanderous stories of and concerning this plaintiff for the purpose of alienating his affections from the plaintiff and inducing the said Harry Paup from longer living with the plaintiff as her husband; that said defendants, and each of them, in the presence and hearing of this plaintiff and on numerous occasions told the said Harry Paup false and slanderous stories of and concerning the plaintiff, accusing the plaintiff of being unchaste and that she had illicit sexual relations with another man other than her husband, and said defendants and each of them, continued to repeat such vile, filthy, vulgar and false stories of and concerning the plaintiff to the said Harry Paup, until they induced the said Harry Paup to believe the same, the defendants, and each of them, well knowing that said stories and statements were false and untrue.”
By an amendment to the petition the names of certain persons were set forth as being those with whom the defendants associated the name of the plaintiff, as charged. The evidence by which the plaintiff proved the allegations of her petition has some unique features. It consists of the testimony of the plaintiff herself, which was directed to the support of every allegation in the petition.
The burden of plaintiff's testimony is that her parents-in-law had persistently slandered her to her husband and had conspired together to bring about a separation by these protestations to her husband. Her proof of these allegations consists of alleged admissions by the parents-in-law to her to that effect. In one or two instances she testified to having overheard their conversation on that subject. The defendants are put in the attitude of conspirators, who proclaimed and confided to her the details of the conspiracy. These admissions thus recited in the plaintiff's evidence are so accurate in their response to the necessities of the case as to challenge the scrutiny of the experienced mind. It was a form of proof, which invited the vigilance of the court to keep the same within legitimate bounds. The plaintiff was a voluble witness, and under the momentum of her volubility much improper evidence was permitted.
The mental attitude of the plaintiff towards these defendants on the day of her separation from her husband is indicated by her following letter, written on that date:
“Dear Harry: You ordered me to get my things and get out. I am doing so and I hope you will be happy. I know you made a date with old Luella for last nite and I hope you enjoyed it as much as she enjoyed it with you last Wed. nite. Yes, I have her letter and it may come in handy some day soon. I am too much of a woman to show it to your folks. I pity your mother and daddy to the bottom of my heart and it is for their sake you have got by with me so long. They have been as white to me as you have allowed them to be with your lies.
I didn't file any information against you and it's not my fite you and your dear coach and instructor O. M. Sorenson are sure in a sweet mess with bad women go to it Harry do everything Sorenson tells you to and you'll soon wear diamonds. He made his brags how he has you under this thumb, so go to it. He has no use for me because I am decent.
He is going to get even with me is he? Well I owe him nothing. He blows how he supports his family and so can sport with women well you just do as he tells you but remember you have to furnish my support too from now on, or I am going to make you do it. You let me fite my sickness all alone and no help and then hand me a dirty deal. The doctor I am seeing will vouch for that. I am doing the suffering but remember you and old Luella is...
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