The legal issues presented in this case will be displayed here.

This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

W and H discussed marriage but when W told H that she had been previously married and divorced. This upset H in that he was a Roman Catholic and was forbidden by religion to marry her. Later that year, W told H that her former husband was dead in a car accident. H was then free to marry W as she was considered a widow. W converted to Catholicism and stated under oath that her former husband was dead. W showed a purported copy of the death certificate to H before the marriage. A child was born a year later in 1966. In 1973, the couple separated, and W sued for divorce. H filed a counterclaim for annulment based on fraud in that W's former husband was not dead. At trial, the former husband took the stand, W admitted to her fraud, and when questioned about the death certificate, W took the Fifth Amendment. H testified that he would have never married W if W had not misrepresented the facts to him. The court first ruled for H and then decided to vacate that ruling, and the Appeals court reversed the trial court. This appeal resulted.

The court's holding and decision will be displayed here.

Legal analysis from Dean's Law Dictionary will be displayed here.