Sherman Minton

“ Armstrong's right to alimony. We cannot agree. In the husband's Florida complaint he alleged that his wife's property was 'ample to support the defendant and that she has no further need of alimony or property settlement.' The Florida court expressly held that it had jurisdiction over both parties and over the subject matter of the complaint. It then proceeded to find that the wife was at fault in leaving her husband and the 'matrimonial domicile.' The court even suggested that Mrs. Armstrong was guilty of a criminal act in taking some of her husband's money and securities to Ohio. ”

“ He accordingly found that 'the defendant is not entitled to receive alimony * * * under the facts and circumstances presented in this case' and recommended 'that no award of alimony be made.' The master's recommendation meant no more than that the question of alimony should not be decided because the wife had in her possession property adequate to meet her immediate needs, and the unresolved litigation made it impossible to determine her future needs. ”

“ It has been the constitutional rule in this country at least since Pennoyer v. Neff, 95 U.S. 714, 24 L.Ed. 565, decided in 1878, that nonresidents cannot be subjected to personal judgments without such service or appearance. ”

“ We held in Estin v. Estin, 334 U.S. 541, 68 S.Ct. 1213, 92 L.Ed. 1561, that an alimony judgment was this kind of 'personal judgment.' See also Kreiger v. Kreiger, 334 U.S. 555, 68 S.Ct. 1221, 92 L.Ed. 1572; Barber v. Barber, 21 How. 582, 588, 16 L.Ed. 226; Barrett v. Failing, 111 U.S. 523, 525, 4 S.Ct. 598, 599, 28 L.Ed. 505. The Estin case was much like this one. There, after the wife had obtained a separation and permanent alimony decree in New York, the husband went to Nevada and obtained a divorce. ”

“ Neff was decided, this Court upheld the validity of a legislative divorce which was granted without notice, service of process or a hearing of any kind, judicial or otherwise. Maynard v. Hill, 125 U.S. 190, 8 S.Ct. 723, 31 L.Ed. 654. [8] But legislative divorces attempting to create or destroy financial obligations incident to marriage have not been sustained by the courts. [9] Thus the different treatment Estin v. Estin accorded to alimony and divorce is well grounded in the judicial and legislative history of our country.
It is argued that this case is controlled by Thompson v. ”