No child, who is begotten, but born after, the solemnization of his parents' marriage,being legitimate by law centuries old, would like to have it said that he was legitimated by an arbitrary act, recently passed, by the Legislature; and to avoid this, the state and the public, being interested, I deem it to be my duty not to annul a marriage, when that result may be avoided, and thus place upon the innocent child the stigma of bastardy, save as it may be made legitimate by legislative fiat. In Berus v. Berus, 146 N. Y. S. 554, the court had before it a case somewhat similar to the present one, and held that where, in an action to annul a marriage becUause defendant concealed the fact that he was an exconvict, and falsely represented that he was a duly licensed attorney, the evidence showed that plaintiff's pregnancy, and not any misrepresentations, was the inducing cause for the marriage, the complaint will be dismissed. See, also, s. c, 83 Misc. Rep. 624.
No child, who is begotten before, but born after, the solemnization of his parents' marriage, being legitimate by law centuries old, would like to have it said that he was legitimated by an arbitrary act, recently passed by the legislature; and to avoid this, the state and the public, being interested, I deem it to be my duty not to annul a marriage, when that result may be avoided, and thus place upon the innocent child the stigma of bastardy, save as it may be made legitimate by legislative fiat. In Berus v. Berus, 146 N.Y. Supp. 554, the court had before it a case somewhat similar to the present one, and held that where, in an action to annul a marriage because defendant concealed the fact that he was an ex-convict, and falsely represented that he was a duly licensed attorney, the evidence showed that plaintiff's pregnancy, and not an misrepresentations, was the inducing cause for the marriage, the complaint will be dismissed. See, also, S.C., 83 N.Y. Mis. 624. And so here, the pregnancy of the petitioner, and not any false representations, was undoubtedly the inducing cause of the ceremony. In my opinion it should take the strongest kind of a case of fraud to require the court to annul a marriage in the face of antenuptial pregnancy and subsequent delivery by the wife of a child born alive, and still living, of which the defendant was the father.