Elliott Aronson and Youdita Aronson married in 1981.  They had two children.  He owned a medical services business and she owned a travel agency.

However, in 1992, Youdita discovered that Elliott was having an affair with one of his employees, Ms. Stella Natarova.  Elliott admitted the adultery.  Youdita said she would forgive him if he agreed to fire Stella and never see her again.

Elliott agreed.  But in June 1993, Youdita found some checks to Ms. Natarova from Elliott’s business in his briefcase.  And in September 1993, she discovered that Elliott had bought a condo in Baltimore without telling her.  That was the final straw.  Elliott and Youdita entered into a Separation Agreement, Elliott left the home, and Youdita filed for divorce based on adultery.

Elliott raised the defense of condonation.  “Condonation is, of course, forgiveness with an implied condition that the marital offenses shall not be repeated and that the party offended shall be treated with conjugal kindness and on breach of this condition, the right to remedy for former injuries revives.” Cullotta, 193 Md. at 383.

The judge agreed with Elliott and denied the divorce on grounds of adultery, but granted it on the basis of one year mutual and voluntary separation with the intent of ending the marriage.  The Court of Appeals reversed and said the judge got it backwards.

First, the Separation Agreement indicated the parties did not separate with the intent of ending their marriage, but with the intent of repairing it, so the divorce could not be granted on separation grounds.

Second, F.L. § 7-103(d) provides: “Condonation is not an absolute bar to a decree of an absolute divorce on the ground of adultery, but is a factor to be considered by the court in determining whether the divorce should be decreed.”  Therefore, the Court of Appeals sent the case back to the trial judge to decide whether Youdita could get her divorce on grounds of adultery in spite of her condonation.

Aronson v. Aronson, 115 Md. App. 78, 691 A.2d 785 (1997).

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Related posts:

1. Sorting Out Grounds for Divorce
2. Does Rickets Apply to an Absolute Divorce?
3. Can I Date?
4. Ricketts Revisited
5. Recrimination

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