New York Court of Appeals
Patricia C. Schine v. C. Richard Schine
July 7, 197231 N.Y.2d 113
Summary
The New York Court of Appeals held that the wife abandoned her husband, satisfying the statutory ground for divorce under Domestic Relations Law § 170(2), and therefore reinstated the trial court’s divorce judgment. The Court reviewed the factual record de novo, found the wife’s refusal to share the marital home and change of the lock constituted abandonment, and reversed the Appellate Division’s dismissal of the husband’s counterclaim. The Court affirmed the judgment without costs. Justice Bergan dissented, arguing that the lock‑changing incident was trivial and that the marriage should remain intact.