People v. Liberta – Domestic Violence – Marital Exemption
A statutory marital exception for rape violates equal protection. Under the statute a male is guilty of rape in the first degree when he engages in sexual intercourse with a female by forcible compulsion. [...]
Pacelli v. Pacelli
A mid-marriage agreement for divorce is valid if it is fair and equitable at the time of its enforcement. A prenuptial agreement is reached when the parties are not adversaries, when the relationship is at its closest, and when the parties are least likely to be cautious in dealing with each other. [...]
Borelli v. Brusseau – Marital Contracts
Spouses may not legally contract for support between one another. There is a public policy interest in the formation and dissolution of marriage. California Civil Code requires each of the following: [...]
Sharp Furniture, Inc. v. Buckstaff – Necessaries
Under the common law doctrine of necessaries and in the absence of any contractual obligation on his part, a husband may be held liable to pay for necessary items purchased on credit by his wife. In an action for recovery of the value of necessaries supplied on credit to a wife, it is essential for the plaintiff-creditor to prove either that the husband has failed, refused or neglected to provide the items which have been supplied by the plaintiff-creditor, or that the items supplied were reasonably needed by the wife or the family. [...]
McGuire v. McGuire – Support and Maintenance
A wife may not seek a bill in equity to compel a husband to pay support and maintenance while the couple is still living together without asking for a divorce. To maintain an action in equity the parties must be separated or living apart from each other. [...]
Boggs v. Boggs – Retirement Benefits – ERISA
The federal ERISA statute supersedes state laws relating to employee benefit plans. The ERISA act states very clearly that it shall supersede any and all state laws insofar as they relate to any employee benefit plan. [...]
Murdoch v. Murdoch – Divorce – Division of Marital Property
A beneficial interest in a matrimonial home, when the legal estate is solely vested in the other spouse, will only arise when the court is satisfied by the words of conduct of the parties that it was their common intention that the beneficial interest was not to belong solely to the spouse with title. For a party to have a claim to a beneficial interest in land, even a spouse, the party vested in the legal estate must hold it as a trustee on trust. [...]
Borough of Glassboro v. Vallorosi – Legal Definition of “Family”
The standard of what constitutes a single housekeeping unit must be functional and hence capable of being satisfied by either related or unrelated persons. The students ate together and shared household chores and paid expenses from a common fund. [...]
City of Ladue v. Horn – Legal Definition of "Family"
A man and a woman living together and sharing certain pleasures and responsibilities does not per se constitute a family. To have a family relationship there must be a commitment to a permanent relationship and a perceived reciprocal obligation to support and care for each other. [...]
Braschi v. Stahl Associates Co. – Gay Rights
The term “family” in the rent control provisions includes same sex life partners. A family includes two adult lifetime partners whose relationship is long term and characterized by an emotional and financial commitment and interdependence. [...]