Tierce v. Ellis

Irene Elizabeth Batchelder and William Copeland Tierce were married in November 1942. In February 1944, William left the United States for military service in Italy. William returned to the United States in December 1945 and learned that Irene was approximately six months pregnant. On February 2, 1946, William filed for a divorce on the ground of adultery. On February 4, 1946, Irene and William were divorced.

At the time of the divorce, Irene was pregnant with the defendant Dennis Ray. However, that unborn child was not made a party to the divorce proceedings, he was not represented by a…