Wechter v. Wechter

In this action for divorce by plaintiff husband, the defendant wife seeks an order pursuant to CPLR 3211 (subd [a], par [7]) dismissing the complaint for failure to state a cause of action. The key issue presented herein is whether an order of protection, issued by the Family Court, which was simultaneously coupled with an order of support, may, as a matter of law, be the basis of a no-fault divorce pursuant to subdivision (5) of section 170 of the Domestic Relations Law.

The factual background is not in dispute and is as follows:

The parties were married in the State of New York in 1952. There…