Lacks v. Lacks
Court of Appeals of New York
359 N.E.2d 384 (N.Y. 1976)
Relevant factsFree
Mr. Lacks (plaintiff) won a divorce against Mrs. Lacks (defendant) in a New York court, and the appellate court affirmed while the Court of Appeals denied her leave to appeal further. Two years later, Mrs. Lacks moved to vacate the divorce judgment, arguing the trial court had lacked subject-matter jurisdiction because her husband hadn't actually resided in New York long enough to satisfy the state's statutory residency requirement for maintaining a divorce action.
IssueFree
Whether the rule that a lack of subject-matter jurisdiction renders a judgment absolutely void applies to a later challenge based on a substantive element of the claim rather than jurisdiction itself.
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