Ridley v. Grandison

1.1 join in Justice Hunt’s dissent. Three of us concluded that the evidence demands a verdict for Ridley and entitles him to a judgment n.o.v. A majority of four has prevailed in holding that the jury’s verdict must be upheld because there is some evidence to support it. The very nature of this dispute illustrates the reasons that I maintain that it is time for a re-examination of common law marriage.

2. There can be no criticism of the reasons for the recognition, at the outset, of common law marriage. It is both a heritage from our frontier days, as well as a means of avoiding the…