Britt v. Britt

The seeds of this litigation were sown when the petitioner, a resident of Ecuador, decided she wanted an American husband. To this end she placed an ad in an American publication, candidly stating her intention. The respondent answered the ad, and the mail-order nuptials took place in 1963. Residing in North Smithfield, the couple had three children in 8 years. But connubial bliss became just another memory in the Britt household when in 1973 the petitioner filed for divorce, alleging extreme cruelty on the part of her husband.

On January 31, 1975, at the conclusion of a somewhat extended…