Finn v. Finn
New York Supreme Court
September 23, 1848, the defendant contracted a legal marriage with Catharine Murphy, at London, England, which still subsists. In the spring of 1849, the defendant emigrated to the United States. October 16, 1850, at the city of Elmira, he and the plaintiff entered into a marriage contract, and after-wards cohabited as husband and wife at that city, until 1860, when the first wife appeared at Elmira.
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September 23, 1848, the defendant contracted a legal marriage with Catharine Murphy, at London, England, which still subsists. In the spring of 1849, the defendant emigrated to the United States. October 16, 1850, at the city of Elmira, he and the plaintiff entered into a marriage contract, and after-wards cohabited as husband and wife at that city, until 1860, when the first wife appeared at Elmira. The parties immediately separated, the plaintiff resumed And has ever since used her maiden name. -The defendant conveyed all of his property to the plaintiff and left the State. About 1863 the…
1Opinion of the CourtFollett, J.
— The celebration of a marriage contract between the parties to this action, their subsequent cohabitation as husband and wife, and subsequent sexual intercourse between the defendant and another woman, is established.
As a defense, and as a ground for a decree of nullity, the defendant established by undisputed evidence that at the time of the marriage he had a living wife. The statutes (2 Ii. S., 139, seo. 5) declare the contract between the parties to this action “ absolutely void.”
The rule was the same at common law, and under such a contract, the parties do not become husband and wife…
2Cases cited8 opinions
- Blossom v. . BarrettNew York Court of Appeals · 1868
- Wait v. . WaitNew York Court of Appeals · 1850
- Ponder v. GrahamSupreme Court of Florida · 1851
- Williamson v. ParisienNew York Court of Chancery · 1815
- Robbins v. PotterMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1868
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3Cited by5 opinions
- Pettit v. PettitAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1905
- In re the Accounting of HallAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1901
- Pettit v. PettitAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1905
- States v. StatesNew Jersey Court of Chancery · 1883
- Jones v. JonesNew York Supreme Court · 1893