Pyeatte v. Pyeatte
Arizona Court of Appeals, Division 1
135 Ariz. 346 (1982)
During their marriage, Charles Pyeatte (defendant) and Margrethe Pyeatte (plaintiff) agreed Margrethe would support Charles through law school, after which Charles would support Margrethe's own graduate education; Margrethe contributed more to the couple's savings after losing her job, and after Charles graduated, the couple agreed to defer Margrethe's education until they were financially stable, at which point Margrethe took a part-time teaching job. Charles then ended the marriage, and the trial court found a valid, breached contract to support Margrethe's education, awarding her $23,000 in contract damages; Charles appealed.
Whether, in Arizona, restitution is available to a former spouse on a quasi-contract theory to prevent unjust enrichment where the facts demonstrate an agreement between the spouses and an effort by one spouse that inured solely to the other spouse's benefit by the time of dissolution.