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voidable marriage on the basis of fraud pursuant to section
4425(d) of the California Code.2 A Judgment of Nullity was
entered effective on April 21, 1994. Petitioner argues that the
effect of the Judgment of Nullity is to render her marriage void
from its inception and that her filing as "single" for 1989 was
not in error.
In general, an annulment decree has the effect of declaring
a marriage void ab initio under the law of California. It thus
"relates back" to erase the marriage from the outset. Sefton v.
Sefton, 291 P.2d 439, 440 (Cal. 1955); see Cal. Family Code sec.
2212(a) (West 1994). However, the doctrine of "relation back" is
not without its exceptions. The doctrine is a legal fiction that
was fashioned by the courts to do substantial justice as between
the parties to a voidable marriage. Sefton v. Sefton, supra at
441. "A judgment of nullity of marriage is conclusive only as to
the parties to the proceeding and those claiming under them."
Cal. Family Code sec. 2212(b) (West 1994). Thus, the Supreme
Court of California warns that "in cases involving the rights of
third parties, courts have been especially wary lest the logical
appeal of the fiction should obscure fundamental problems and
lead to unjust or ill-advised results respecting a third party's
rights." Sefton v. Sefton, supra at 441; see also Hendrix v.
United States Immigration & Naturalization Serv., 583 F.2d 1102,
2Sec. 4425(d) of the Cal. Civil Code was repealed effective
Jan. 1, 1994. That section was replaced with sec. 2210(d) of the
Cal. Family Code without substantive change.
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