Rickner v. Frederick,__Mich__ (1999), No. 111964 (March 19, 1999)
Domestic Relations Review
Plaintiff appeals denial of petition to reinstate alimony.
Parties were divorced in 1988, at which point defendant was ordered to pay a temporary alimony to plaintiff until a review took place two years later. In 1991 the judgment of divorce was modified so the alimony terminated if the plaintiff died, remarried, or resided with a member of the opposite sex. In 1992 plaintiff admitted to living with a member of the opposite sex, and alimony terminated. At this point the circuit court ordered the file closed.
In 1995 the plaintiff filed a petition to reinstate the alimony, citing a serious decline in health that left her unable to work. The circuit court denied the motion, interpreting MCL 552.17; MSA 25.97 as inapplicable, as the file had been closed after the plaintiff made the conscious choice to violate the order by living with a member of the opposite sex.
The Supreme Court interprets the statute differently. "We are persuaded that the proper reading of the statute is that the Legislature intends, in cases in which alimony is initially ordered, that the court retain the power to make necessary modifications in appropriate circumstances. Our ruling today is limited to a determination that MCL 552.28; MSA 25.106 authorizes the circuit court to entertain the plaintiff's petition to reinstate alimony in this case." Reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals, vacate the judgment of circuit court, and remand to circuit court.
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