Devaney v. L'Esperance

Over a 20-year relationship in which he remained married to another woman, L'Esperance (defendant) promised to divorce his wife and father a child with Devaney (plaintiff), paid some of her bills, gave her a monthly stipend, funded her college education, and bought her a condominium, but the couple never cohabitated; after he ended the relationship and had her ejected from the condominium, her subsequent palimony claim was denied by the trial court, which treated the relationship as merely a dating relationship and considered the lack of cohabitation as a factor, a ruling the appellate division affirmed on the ground that cohabitation was a necessary element.