Smith v. Smith

• Decision Date: 09 March 2009
• Docket Number: No. 2008-67-Appeal.,2008-67-Appeal.
• Citation: 966 A.2d 109
• Parties: Paulette Andrews SMITH v. Todd Martin SMITH.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

966 A.2d 109

Paulette Andrews SMITH v. Todd Martin SMITH.

No. 2008-67-Appeal.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

March 9, 2009.

Paulette Andrews Smith, pro se.

Kelly M. Fracassa, Esq., Westerly, Nathaniel J. Nazareth, Jr., Esq., Wakefield, for Defendant.

Present: WILLIAMS, C.J., GOLDBERG, FLAHERTY, SUTTELL, and ROBINSON, JJ.

OPINION

Justice FLAHERTY, for the Court.

Before this Court is an appeal by the plaintiff, Paulette Andrews Smith, from a Family Court judgment dismissing her complaint. The plaintiff filed a complaint for divorce against the defendant, Todd Martin Smith, in which she alleged that a common-law marriage had existed between them for more than ten years. At trial, after hearing testimony from several witnesses, the trial justice dismissed the plaintiffs complaint after she found that the plaintiff had failed to prove the existence of a common-law marriage by clear and convincing evidence. The plaintiff timely appealed.

This case came before the Supreme Court for oral argument on December 9, 2008, pursuant to an order directing the parties to appear and show cause why the issues raised in this appeal should not summarily be decided. After hearing the parties' arguments and considering the memoranda submitted by counsel, we are satisfied that cause has not been shown. Accordingly, we will decide the appeal at this time. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the Family Court.

Facts and Procedural History

This sad and unfortunate story of a broken relationship begins in September 1989, when Paulette and Todd met and fell in love. In 1990, Todd moved in with Paulette and her two children, who at that time were two and ten years of age.¹ Their relationship continued, but no marriage ceremony ever took place. The parties lived together for almost sixteen years; however, Todd's infidelity and alcoholism, Paulette's health problems, and Paulette's son's difficulty with addiction issues increasingly strained their relationship. In 1997, Todd's drinking problems apparently intensified, and the couple went though a period of separation. In 1998, Paulette confronted Todd about a relationship he was having with another woman. Nevertheless, the couple reconciled soon thereafter, and Todd moved back into Paulette's home. Later that year, at Christmas, Todd gave Paulette a ring. In 2004, the parties moved into a house that Todd had built on land that his parents had given to him. During this time, Paulette, unfortunately, had been suffering from a series of health problems, and Todd became unhappy with the increasing burdens of their relationship. After a confrontation between Todd and Paulette's son, Todd changed the locks to the house. In May 2006, Paulette filed a complaint for divorce in the Washington County Family Court.²

The Family Court held nine days of hearings on Paulette's complaint for divorce between November 2006 and February 2007. At the trial, the parties stipulated to the following facts. They met in September 1989 and began cohabitating in January 1990. In 1991, they agreed to contribute to household expenses by equally dividing the bills. Paulette also began managing Todd's finances. They did not maintain any joint accounts, so Paulette paid Todd's bills and child support payments by signing his name on his checks. She also prepared his income tax returns. However, each continued to file income tax returns separately as single persons. Todd listed Paulette as a driver on his automobile insurance policy, but the policy was in his name alone. During 1998 and 1999 Todd cosigned two loans for Paulette, which she later satisfied. In June 2002, Paulette filed a petition for bankruptcy, and she declared on that petition that she was single. At one point, Todd applied for a mortgage; he indicated on the application that he was single, and he did not designate Paulette as co-owner on any real estate deeds.

Paulette testified that Todd proposed marriage in 1989, and she accepted. She testified that she considered their common-law marriage to have begun in 1991, and in 1998, he gave her a ring. She explained that at some point she desired a formal ceremony, even though she did not believe they needed one to be married to each other. She recalled that Todd told people that a formal ceremony was just a "piece of paper." She said that she wanted Todd to be with her because he wished to be with her, "not because of a piece of paper" and she did not wish to place "that kind of pressure on him." She testified that she often introduced Todd as her husband to a variety of people, including her son's substance-abuse counselor, her business associates, and their house painter. In 2001, during her battle with breast cancer, she represented herself to her doctor as Todd's wife, and Todd never corrected her when he was present. She also testified that various family members sent her greeting cards referring to her as "daughter-in-law" and to her children as "grandson" and "granddaughter." She recounted that on the occasion of her daughter's wedding in Florida, Todd was introduced as her husband and that he took on the role of father of the bride. Additionally, Paulette testified that she talked about her "husband" and his support of her business efforts when she conversed with her business associates. She said that one of her friends/business associates who came to her house referred to Todd as her husband, yet Todd did not correct her. She also testified that in 2002 she began to use Todd's last name in her business relationships and contracts, but she did not change her name with the Internal Revenue Service, utility companies, or the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Paulette also testified that in 1997 or 1998 she asked her accountant if she should file her income tax returns designating herself as a married person, but he advised her not to do so. Paulette's accountant, however, testified that he did not remember Paulette telling him that she was married, and his only recollection of a discussion of common-law marriage was in 2006.

Todd's former wife also testified. She asserted that Todd's children referred to Paulette as their stepmother and that Paulette attended many of her children's parties and other celebrations where she was introduced as a stepmother or Todd's wife. She also said that Todd would refer to Paulette as "my old lady," an expression she described as one used by men to refer to their wives. She said that Todd was a better husband to Paulette than he had been to her, but she conceded that Todd never told her that he and Paulette were married.

Paulette's daughter testified that Todd was the only father figure that she had ever known, although she acknowledged that he had never formally adopted her. She testified that Todd represented himself as her father. She recalled that her fiancé asked Todd for her hand in marriage and that Todd paid for some of the wedding expenses. She recalled that at her wedding in Florida, Todd was introduced as her father and as Paulette's husband. A counselor who had treated Paulette's son because of his substance-abuse problems also testified. She testified that in the initial consultation, she was told that Paulette and Todd were married for fifteen and a half years.³

When he took the witness stand, Todd testified that he and Paulette lived together in a familial relationship for about fifteen years and that he had loved Paulette for a long time, but he also maintained that they had never married. He admitted that when they first started seeing each other, he asked Paulette to marry him and that she accepted his proposal. He conceded that he gave her a ring, but he also declared that he did not consider them to be engaged to each other. He avowed that people who knew them were aware that they were not married. A 2001 fuel delivery bill from a friend of Todd, who owned an oil company, was entered into evidence; that document referred to Paulette as "Smitty's girlfriend." Todd testified that he never corrected Paulette when she introduced him as her husband because he did not want to "open up a can of worms." He admitted that he may have introduced Paulette as his wife at her daughter's wedding, but that they did not know most of the people present. He further said that other than at the wedding, he never introduced Paulette as his wife. He also recounted how their relationship deteriorated as a result of Paulette's health problems, as well as problems with her son, and he admitted telling Paulette that he was tired of dealing with her financial woes and hospital treatments.

Todd's sister and mother also testified. The sister said that she had considered Paulette to be Todd's girlfriend, and that neither Todd nor Paulette ever told her that they were married. She characterized their relationship as "on again/off again." She admitted that she may have referred to Paulette as "sister-in-law" but that she had used the term as one of endearment. She testified that in 1999 she made a family tree and displayed it at a family party. The tree did not delineate Paulette or her children. She recalled that the family would ask Paulette and Todd why they would not marry, and they would respond that they did not want to "ruin a good thing." Todd's sister explained that she designed the wedding invitation for Paulette's daughter's wedding, but the invitation referred to the "parents" of the bride; it did not include their names nor did it designate them as husband and wife.⁴ Todd's mother testified that she may have sent Paulette greeting cards over the years addressed to "daughter-in-law" and that she may have introduced her as her daughter-in-law several times. Moreover, she said that she was aware that her son was involved in Paulette's children's lives and that Paulette took care of Todd's finances.

The final witness to testify was the attorney who assisted Paulette in the filing of her bankruptcy petition. He testified that when...