Drunken Groom's Marriage Declared Invalid After 30 Years
Recent Cases
An Australian bridegroom was horrified to learn after he had walked down the aisle that he was already married — after a drunken holiday romance he could barely remember.
The husband has had to confess in the Family Court that he spent 28 days partying and drinking in Arizona in 1978 on leave from his job as a cook on the oil rigs.
He can remember the "nice" blonde American woman he met through a pen pal newspaper advertisement — but little more.
"He has no recollection of going through any form of ceremony of marriage with her, or of discussing marriage, or of anything referable to marriage," said Justice Sally Brown, who annulled the marriage last month.
Not only that, but the man, who describes himself as an old-fashioned romantic, was already married at the time — to his wife of 14 years.
Yesterday the 67-year-old, who cannot be identified, told The Daily Telegraph "the sky fell in" when he was shown the Arizona marriage license.
"I looked at the signature and thought it could have been mine or it could not have been," he said.
The man had since divorced his 1966 wife. It was when he married his Hawaiian girlfriend in 2006 and applied to live in Hawaii with her that U.S. immigration authorities broke the bad news.
He said his latest wife, who has become his girlfriend again because their marriage was declared invalid, was very understanding.
Related listings
-
"Naked Cowboy" Wins Court Shoot-Out with Candy Cowboy
Recent Cases 06/25/2008A ruling in a trademark infringement case filed by a New York street entertainer who performs as “The Naked Cowboy” is another indication that judges may be taking parodies too seriously when the parody conveys a commercial message.Robert Burck alleg...
-
Court to rule on pension credit for old maternity leaves
Recent Cases 06/22/2008The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether decades-old maternity leaves should count in determining pensions.The issue has split federal appeals courts and could become increasingly important as women who took maternity leaves in the 1960's and 7...
-
Social Security Mismatch Wasn't Grounds To Fire
Recent Cases 06/18/2008Thirty-three janitors at the Los Angeles Lakers' arena were wrongfully fired for not responding quickly enough to a request to provide a correct Social Security number, the 9th Circuit ruled. Aramark Facilities Services received a "no-match" letter f...
Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.