William Diemer v. Gilberte Diemer

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals held that a wife's repudiation of the marriage and refusal to engage in sexual relations, even for religious reasons, constitutes abandonment that entitles the husband to a decree of separation, and that the court may grant such relief despite the plaintiff not having pleaded abandonment; Chief Judge Desmond dissented, arguing that the new ground was not properly before the lower courts.