Marriage of Hufford
Court of Appeal of California
152 Cal. App. 3d 825 (1984)
Guy (plaintiff) and Dorothy (defendant) Hufford's 1978 marital settlement stipulation included spousal support terms, a paragraph six retaining court jurisdiction over subsequently raised matters, and a paragraph ten stating the agreement was "entire" and could not be altered, amended, or modified except by written agreement. In 1982, Guy sought to modify spousal support based on his remarriage and five new children to support; Dorothy opposed, arguing paragraph ten's language showed spousal support was not modifiable. The trial court denied Guy's modification request, and he appealed.
Whether, under state law, boilerplate contractual language precluding modification trumps a court's statutory authority to modify a contract.