Clemans v. Western

Citations

• 39 Wash. 290
• 81 P. 824
• 1905 Wash. LEXIS 859

Syllabus

<p>Divorce—Abandonment—Evidence—Sufficiency. A clear case of abandonment is shown, where, after the dismissal of an action for divorce brought by the wife on the ground of abandonment, the husband returned to the state of Washington, but not to his home, and refused for four years to live with or make any provision for his family, although requested to do so.</p> <p>Divorce—Division of Property—All Awarded to Wife. Upon granting a divorce to a wife on the ground of abandonment, and awarding to her the custody of three minor children, it is just to award her all the property, where it appears that it had been conveyed to her, heavily incumbered eight years before, the equity not exceeding $2,500, and that the wife, unassisted, after eight years of hardship, had saved it from foreclosure and paid off more than $3,000 of the indebtedness against it.</p> <p>New Trial—Accident and Surprise—Absence of Witness—Failure to Request Continuance. Accident and surprise cannot be urged as ground for a new trial in an action for a divorce, in that the appellant’s son, alleged to he a material witness, suddenly disappeared during the trial and could not be produced, when the appellant failed to subpoena him as a witness, or to request a continuance, hut submitted the case on other evidence without suggesting the fact that he relied upon his son’s evidence.</p>