Moran v. Moran

Digges, J., by special assignment, delivered the opinion of the Court. The wife has appealed from a decree of the Circuit Court No. 2 of Baltimore City dismissing her complaint filed against her husband whereby she seeks permanent alimony based on allegations that the husband is guilty of adultery and desertion. ⁴⁰¹ Alimony may be granted in this State upon a showing of facts sufficient to support a decree of divorce either a vinculo (Art. 16, Sec. 24, 1957 Code) or a mensa (Art. 16, Sec. 25, 1957 Code). Article 16, Sec. 2, 1957 Code; Hull v. Hull, 201 Md. 225, 232 ; Slim v. Stirn, 183 Md. 59, 64 . The Chancellor found from the evidence that even though the husband “had lost love for his wife and was interested in some other woman, * * * at the time of the alleged desertion, and in spite of the conduct of the husband, it was mutually agreed * * * that they live separate and apart.” He thereupon dismissed the complaint.

We are not unmindful of Maryland Rule 886(a), providing that a decree of the Chancellor will not be disturbed on appeal by this Court unless clearly erroneous. However, on the record before us we think the evidence clearly shows that the husband abandoned and deserted his wife without just cause. A review of the testimony in this case discloses relatively little dispute between the parties as to the events leading up to and following their separation. We agree with the observation of Judge Cullen made at the trial, when he commented, “The testimony in this case isn’t too far at variance if you eliminate all the surplus, * * The testimony discloses that Leona Moran, appellant, and her husband, William J. Moran, appellee, were married in 1912; that they are now in their sixties; they have two children both adults of middle age; and they had a reasonably harmonious marital life until 1946.

Mrs. Moran testified that in 1946 her husband began staying away in the evenings, caused a lot of trouble at home and told her on several occasions that she “should go out and make [her] own friends * * * because he had dates and he didn’t want to be bothered with [her].” She states her husband began seeing a Mrs. Carver in 1946 but she tolerated this as best she could until March 31, 1948, when she told him she “couldn’t live that way any more; something had to be done. He would have to choose between [her] and Mrs. Carver. He said ‘All right then, I have chosen her.’ ” On that date he packed his clothes and went to live at his office, where he stayed until ⁴⁰² his wife left for a trip to California. This trip resulted, Mrs. Moran says, from her doctor’s orders because of her failing health.

She remained in California about one month before returning. In the meantime, Mr. Moran had moved back home. However, instead of returning to the first floor where the parties had for sometime lived, he moved to the second floor apartment which had formerly been converted to a separate living unit for their son and to which, prior to the separation, he had been constructing a separate outside entrance so that it could be rented. From 1948 until 1954, when both of the parties agreed to sell the house to Mrs. Moran’s sister, the appellee lived in the second floor apartment and the appellant lived in the first floor apartment.

After the sale Mr. Moran moved from the house, and Mrs. Moran continued to live there with her mother and sister. Mrs. Moran says that on one or two occasions between 1948 and 1954 she met her husband at the doorway and asked him to reconsider and return to live with her but that each time he refused. The testimony of Mrs. Moran is corroborated by that of the daughter. She testified that the attitude of her father towards her mother changed in 1946 when he began staying away from home as much as possible.

She relates the efforts of both her mother and herself to get her father to resume marital life with Mrs. Moran after the separation in 1948. She further states that just prior to March 31, 1948, at her father’s request, she went with him to Westminster, where her brother was living, for a conference between the children and the father relative to the marital difficulties of the parents. On that occasion her father informed her he was going to leave her mother and she quotes Mr. Moran as saying: “mother upset him. He couldn’t live with her any more; that Mrs. Carver could do him a lot of good, she knew the right people.

He was happier with Mrs. Carver and the only solution he could see was to leave my mother.” She says she pleaded with him not to take this step and to “think of Mother, think of Earl [brother] and myself,” but he refused. Mr. Moran does not refute much of the testimony of his wife and their daughter, including the fact that the arguments with his wife were over his association with Mrs. Carver. ⁴⁰³ He accuses his wife oí having a very jealous nature without reason, but states “I never was a Casanova. I never had as many women as I was accused of having.” He admits he became acquainted with Mrs. Carver in 1946; saw her once or twice a week during that year, “more frequently”