Promise to Divorce Unenforceable

The First Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a married man's promise to divorce his wife is not enforceable by means of a promissory estoppel claim. Norton v. McOsker, 407 F.3d 501 (1st Cir. 2005). The plaintiff claimed that a (now dead) married man had repeatedly promised her over 23 years that he would divorce his wife and marry the plaintiff. She claimed damages including the abandonment of a job and loss of the opportunity to marry and have children at a younger age. The court held that, based upon historical precedent, such a promise is "void against public policy."

The Norton court also held that Rhode Island does not recognize a cause of action for palimony. I am not aware of any Tennessee appellate decision on the issue, but a Tennessee Chancery Court has apparently rejected such a claim: Roach v. Buttons, 6 FLR (BNA) 2355 (Tenn. Ch. Ct. 1980) (cited in Michael L. Closen and Joan E. Maloney, The Health Care Surrogate Act in Illinois: Another Rejection of Domestic Partners' Rights, 19 S. Ill. U. L. J. 479, 501 n.135 (1995)).