Journal article
UNMARRIED PARTNERS AND THE LEGACY OF MARVIN V. MARVIN: ORDINARY COHABITATION
University of Notre Dame, Vol.76, pp.1381-1491
10/01/2001
Abstract
Twenty-five years ago, when the Supreme Court of California decided the case of Marvin v. Marvin, 1 it caused a sensation in the popular press. Michelle Triola began living with the actor Lee Marvin in October 1964, while he was separated from his wife Betty. While living with Michelle, Lee Marvin reached the peak of his career, earning an Oscar for Cat Ballou in 1965 and making other films including The Dirty Dozen (1967), Hell in the Pacific (1968), and Paint Your Wagon (1969). Although Lee "compelled her to leave his household" in May 1970, he continued supporting Michelle until November 1971. 2 When he stopped paying, Michelle filed an action seeking an award of $ 1,800,000, or half his earnings during the six years they had spent together. 3 Her lawyer, a Los Angeles divorce attorney named Marvin Mitchelson, was interviewed by a Newsweek reporter, who coined the term "palimony" for her claims. 4 The Marvin decision followed a series of older cases in California that had considered claims between nonmarital partners at the end of cohabitation relationships. 5 These cases held that a contract between nonmarital partners was enforceable unless it rested explicitly "upon the immoral and illicit consideration of meretricious sexual services." 6 The court refused to apply the state's community property laws to unmarried couples, but held that, in the absence of an express contract, courts could grant relief on the basis of an implied contract, implied partnership or joint venture ...
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- UNMARRIED PARTNERS AND THE LEGACY OF MARVIN V. MARVIN: ORDINARY COHABITATION
- Creators
- Ann Laquer Estin
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- University of Notre Dame, Vol.76, pp.1381-1491
- ISSN
- 0745-3515
- Publisher
- Notre Dame Law Review University of Notre Dame
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/01/2001
- Academic Unit
- International Programs; Injury Prevention Research Center; Law Faculty
- Record Identifier
- 9984399021302771
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