Coats v. Coats

Ida and Lee Coats (plaintiff and defendant) married in 1887; Ida worked on the family farm and maintained the household while Lee built up business interests, eventually accumulating roughly $70,000 in assets by 1906, when Lee obtained an annulment based on Ida's alleged physical incapacity to marry, of which she was unaware at the time of marriage. The trial court, dividing the couple's property after the annulment, awarded Ida $10,000, and Lee appealed, arguing the annulment eliminated any marital property claim Ida might have had.