Hull v. Hull

Collins, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. Maragret V. Hull, hereinafter referred to as the appellant, here appeals from a decree denying her permanent alimony. William W. Hull, her husband, hereinafter referred to as the appellee, cross appeals from the decree dismissing his cross bill for divorce; the ²²⁷ awarding of custody of the two infant children to his wife; ordering support for the children; and assessing him with other expenses. The appellant filed her bill of complaint for permanent alimony on October 27, 1949, charging the appellee with abandoning and deserting her on September 13, 1949.

On June 6, 1950, Mr. Hull filed a cross bill for divorce a vinculo charging his wife with adultery. The chancellor held that there was no corroboration of either of the charges. He dismissed the husband’s cross bill; denied the wife separate maintenance; awarded custody of the two infant children to Mrs. Hull; ordered Mr. Hull to pay the sum of $4,000.00 per year for the support of the children, all unusual medical and dental expenses of the children, all charges for repairs, replacements, maintenance, insurance premiums, real estate taxes and all public charges on the house jointly owned by the parties; awarded the wife counsel fee of $1,000.00; and ordered Mr. Hull to pay the costs of the proceedings. The pertinent testimony follows.

These parties were married in 1935 in Baltimore and at the time of this trial each was 40 years of age. Two children were born as a result of the marriage: Margaret or Peggy, 14 years of age, and James, 12 years of age at the time of trial. Mrs. Hull, as an infant, was taken into the home of a Mr. and Mrs. Davis and raised by them. Another infant, Helen, when 2 years of age and eleven years younger than Mrs. Hull, was also taken and raised by the Davis family.

Mrs. Hull and Helen were regarded as foster-sisters, although no adoption proceedings were ever instituted as to either child by Mr. and Mrs. Davis. Mr. Hull has been a Maryland State Pilot since 1927 and in 1950 his income was $15,116.67. Mrs. Hull is unemployed and has no income. About 1940 the parties to this case built a home in Baltimore next door to the Davis family.

In 1943, Mrs. Davis died and a dispute developed between Mrs. Hull and Mr. Davis on one side and Helen and Mr. Hull on ²²⁸ the other side as to some of Mrs. Davis’ possessions. On the night of Mrs. Davis’ death, Mr. Hull and Helen left the Davis house about 8 P. M. to go to the Hull home at Mrs. Hull’s request. When Mrs. Hull arrived there about 6 A. M. the next morning she found Mr. Hull and Helen “asleep together on the studio couch” in the living room. Mr. Hull said he lay on the couch at Helen’s request to comfort her for the loss of Mrs. Davis and went to sleep.

He said he slept in his trousers and a robe and on top of the covers. On another occasion Mrs. Hull testified that while she and Helen were attending a Lion’s Club dinner, Mr. Hull came in and in the presence of everyone, Helen ran over to him and *hrew her arms around him. Mr. Hull sat down beside Helen and some of the men said to him: “I suppose that is your wife”. Mr. Hull did not correct them.

Mrs. Hull also testified that in 1944 or 1945 she heard some gossip in the neighborhood about Helen and her husband and she had seen some things that didn’t look “very nice between my sister and him”. After dinner in the presence of her husband she told Helen of the gossip, that she had seen things in her home which she did not like and that people were blaming her for letting Helen stay in her home. She said she told Helen: “I just can’t understand what is going on but I don’t like it and I am not going to stand for it”. Helen started to cry and Mrs. Hull went upstairs.

When she came down Helen was crying on Mr. Hull’s shoulder. Mr. Hull then took Helen home. When he returned she was in bed. He took his pajamas out of the drawer, walked out of the bedroom, went downstairs and slept on the couch in the den and has never returned to sleep with her again.

Mr. Hull denied that any conversation had taken place at any time between him, Mrs. Hull, and Helen concerning the gossip in the neighborhood or that his withdrawal from the bedroom followed this non-existent occurrence. He claimed that he left the bedroom in the fall of 1943 about six or seven months after Mrs. ²²⁹ Davis’ death. He said that within a few weeks after Mrs. Davis died his wife began to accuse him of improper relations with Helen, which he denied. In November, 1943, while grain was being loaded on a ship, he was covered with grain dust which turned into a “gooey mess” from moisture and atmospheric conditions and this pasty condition occurred down the front of his blue uniform trousers.

When he returned home he put the trousers where it was his usual custom to place clothes for the cleaner. Mrs. Hull and the maid were housecleaning upstairs so he went downstairs to sleep in the den. Suddenly Mrs. Hull awakened him, confronted him with the trousers and accused him of “running around” with women. He said he denied the accusation and she jumped on him and beat him on the head with a pillow.

He said: “She told me she always loved me and she always respected me but after this incident she didn’t love me anymore but hated me and if I was going to continue to carry on the way I was carrying on, never come back to her bedroom again.” Mr. Hull said he told her that if she felt that way about it in spite of all his denials, he would stay downstairs. He said: “I made my bed down there from that time until I left there”. He said, however, that he never removed any of his belongings from the bedroom until he left the house. Mrs. Hull testified that the incident about the trousers occurred some time after he had left the bedroom.

She denied that she went into a tirade. She said her husband’s only reply to her accusation was that she was crazy and it was cheaper to have the cleaning done on Broadway. She denied that she ever ordered her husband out of the bedroom and insisted that he left voluntarily the night she accused Helen and him of improper conduct. It is plainly apparent that there is no corroboration on either side as to just why the husband left the marital bedroom.

There is no doubt that he removed from that room. After this removal there is conflicting testimony, without corroboration, about an alleged assault made by ²³⁰ Mr. Hull on Mrs. Hull. After the husband left the bedroom, Mrs. Hull testified that she requested him many times to come back to her room not only for her sake, but because the children were asking questions. He refused to return.

She said on one occasion she offered to put twin beds in any bedroom he desired if he would come upstairs. She said the present arrangement was embarrassing to her when the children had guests. On the other hand, Mr. Hull testified that after he moved to the den in 1943 he tried to become reconciled with her but she always refused him. She would accuse him of misconduct with women and would curse him.

He denied she ever asked him to return to her bedroom. It is therefore plain that there is no corroboration on either side as to the conduct of either party from the time he left the marital bedroom to the time he finally left the house. However, Mr. Hull admitted: “On numerous occasions Mrs. Hull would say to me it was very embarrassing, the children were asking questions about it, that she would make arrangements upstairs, either put both children in the same room or put twin beds in the children’s room. I told her I was perfectly satisfied sleeping where I was, I would rather stay down there.” At the trial of the case, Mrs. Hull said: “I still love him, Your Honor.

That is why I asked for this divorce. I need him, my children need him; we have a lovely home; we worked hard for it.” She also said she wanted him to return home regardless of what he might have done because she loved him and she and the children needed him. On cross-examination Mr. Hull testified as follows: “Q. Do you still love your wife? A. I do not.

Q. Would you consider returning and living with her? A. Never.” The chancellor concluded there was no love or affection on the part of either husband or wife, despite Mrs. Hull’s expression. When asked why he left the