Williamson v. Osenton

Background

A woman separated from her husband in West Virginia because she accused him of adultery. She moved to Virginia and told the court she intended to make her home there "for an indefinite time" so she could bring a federal lawsuit for damages against the man she accused. Before and during this case she also began and later obtained a divorce in West Virginia. The defendant argued the federal court could not hear the case because her husband still lived in West Virginia.

Reasoning

The Court considered whether the woman's move made Virginia her legal home, which would let her be treated as a Virginia citizen for cases that require the parties to live in different states. The justices focused on intent: a true change of legal home needs an intention to live in the new place permanently or indefinitely. The case record contained an agreement that she moved with that intent. The Court rejected the idea that her motive for moving defeated the change. It held that a wife who has justifiably left her husband can choose a separate legal home for lawsuits, including this damage claim. The trial verdict for $35,000 therefore stood under that view.

Real world impact

The decision means that a separated spouse who moves and shows an intent to live elsewhere can be treated as living in the new state for purposes of bringing cases in federal court where parties are from different states. Motive for moving is generally not fatal if the move was intended to be indefinite. Because the wife later obtained a divorce, the opinion also explains that the old fiction that a wife's legal home always follows her husband should not block her independent choices about where she lives for legal purposes.