Brown v. Brown

Plaintiff, here, seeks a divorce from defendant by default under subdivision (2) of section 170 of the Domestic Relations Law. The theory under which plaintiff seeks recovery presents a novel twist. The parties were married in 1954. In 1955 plaintiff was convicted of a crime and was in a State prison from either 1955 (according to his complaint) or 1959 (according to his testimony) until 1969. *216While he was in prison he learned that defendant had left New York State. When he was released, he contacted her in California and attempted to get her to return to New York and resume their marital…