Opinion
05-17-1925
KODYTEK v. KODYTEK.
Joseph E. Hunt, of Trenton, for petitioner. Frederic R. Brace, of Trenton, for defendant.
Petition for divorce by Blanche Kodytek against John Kodytek. Petition dismissed.
Joseph E. Hunt, of Trenton, for petitioner.
Frederic R. Brace, of Trenton, for defendant.
BUCHANAN, V. C. The wife petitions for absolute divorce for the cause of desertion; the husband denies. The marriage and residence are proven, admitted, and corroborated.
After living with the wife's parents for 20 months after marriage, the petitioner, by agreement, went to live with the husband's mother temporarily while the husband's father was on a trip abroad. After one week the wife left and returned to her parents, to wit, on March 4, 1922. Whether she was justified in so doing is immaterial, for she admits that the husband thereafter said to her that if it was satisfactory to her he would stay with his mother and she with her parents, and he would pay her $10 a week until his father returned, and that then they would get a home by themselves, and that she agreed to this.
It further appears from the wife's testimony that whatever change from this situation later occurred, no change occurred prior to 3 or 4 weeks from that date, at the earliest. Since the wife's petition was filed May 13, 1924, it is obvious that she has failed to prove a desertion of the statutory character for the requisite 2-year period.
It is apparent that the continued separation of the parties has been largely if not wholly due to his indulgence in drink and his conduct and attitude toward his wife as the result thereof.
The decree dismissing the petition will therefore be with costs to the wife, including an allowance of $25 counsel fee.