Nature of the Case
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Facts
H and W were divorced in Louisiana in 1996. Louisiana is a community property state. W was served with the pleadings but filed no answer, and judgment was entered on the default. In 2008, W filed this action seeking equitable relief in the form of a constructive trust as to certain real estate and H's military pension. H asserted a plea of laches and moved to dismiss the petition. The trial court took evidence. W testified that she and H discussed his pension as part of their divorce. She asserted that they reached a verbal agreement that she would receive $550 per month from his pension for life or until she remarried. W acknowledged that she received a copy of the divorce decree, and there was no mention of the pension agreement in the court decree. W expected the payments to start in February 2003, upon H's retirement. A witness from the Defense Finance Accounting Services testified that regular monthly payments of $400 were made to W 'for the period of January 2004 through March 2006.' These were discretionary payments from his retirement account at his direction. H testified that these payments were the result of his agreement to assist with their son's college education. He later discovered that the son was not attending college, and stopped the payments, and the son had to pay the money back. After the payments stopped H denied having discussed any pension amount with W. After the payments stopped in March 2006, W did not bring this action until February 2008. The trial court found that the action was brought in equity and that the law of Georgia rather than that of Louisiana applied. Whenever the grant or denial of equitable relief is ancillary to an underlying issue of law, the appeal is not within the Supreme Court's equitable jurisdiction. The court ruled for H on laches and W appealed. The appeals court transferred the case to the State Supreme Court.
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