Davenport v. Davenport

Hall, Justice.

The executor of Richard Davenport’s estate brings a constitutional challenge to the statutory provision that a wife’s unresolved alimony claims survive her husband’s death as a lien on his estate.

Richard Davenport filed for divorce from his wife Rosalind Davenport in November 1977 on the ground that the marriage was irretrievably broken. In Mrs. Davenport’s answer, she sought a divorce on the ground of cruel treatment and counterclaimed for temporary and permanent alimony, a property settlement and attorney fees.

In January 1978, the trial court granted a divorce and reserved for…