Henn v. Henn
Supreme Court of California
605 P.2d 10 (1980)
Henry Henn (plaintiff) and Helen Henn (defendant) divorced in 1971 after 26 years of marriage. Henry's federal military pension, partly earned during the marriage, was never listed in the divorce pleadings or considered by the trial court in dividing community property, even though Helen knew about the pension at the time. Years later, Helen filed a new complaint seeking a determination of the community-property share of Henry's pension, an accounting of payments received since the divorce, and her share of that community portion. The trial court dismissed her claim as barred by equitable estoppel and res judicata, and Helen appealed.
Whether a spouse is barred by equitable estoppel or res judicata from bringing a later action to divide a community-property asset that was never listed in the original divorce pleadings or allocated in the original property distribution.