## Facts

- Cynthia J. Kuder and Thomas E. Schroeder married in 1978 and had one child in 1984.
- Kuder alleged the spouses made an oral agreement that she would give up pursuing a veterinary career, work as a community-college teacher, and provide the family’s sole financial support while Schroeder completed college.
- Kuder alleged the agreement was later extended so Schroeder could obtain a master’s degree and then a law degree while Kuder continued supporting the family.
- After law school, Schroeder later obtained employment that allegedly provided enough income to support the family.
- Approximately three months after that employment began, Schroeder told Kuder the marriage had no future, and the parties separated.
- Kuder sought damages, alleging the oral agreement was a binding contract that Schroeder breached by separating rather than providing full support so she could leave employment and focus on the home.

## Issues

1. Whether an alleged oral intra-marital arrangement allocating work, education, and future family support states an enforceable contract claim for damages when the marriage ends.
2. Whether the supporting spouse may recover in quasi-contract (including unjust enrichment/quantum meruit) for support and sacrifices made during the marriage based on that arrangement.

## Decision

- The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6).
- Accepting the allegations as true, the complaint failed to state any cognizable claim in contract or quasi-contract under North Carolina law.
- The court treated the alleged promises as incidents of an ongoing marital relationship and declined to recognize a separate civil damages remedy outside domestic-relations statutes.

## Legal Principles

- A Rule 12(b)(6) motion tests the legal sufficiency of the complaint; dismissal is proper when the alleged facts do not establish the elements of a recognized cause of action.
- North Carolina law does not recognize an independent contract action for damages based on an intra-marital “support a spouse through education now in exchange for later support” understanding upon marital breakdown.
- Quasi-contract doctrines (including unjust enrichment/quantum meruit) cannot be used to recharacterize ordinary marital contributions and expectations as restitution claims outside the domestic-relations remedial framework.

## Conclusion

The court held that a spouse’s claimed reliance on an oral marital arrangement to fund the other spouse’s education does not support a stand-alone contract or restitution claim for damages when the marriage ends; the complaint was properly dismissed for failure to state a cognizable claim.


Kuder v. Schroeder, 110 N.C. App. 355, 430 S.E.2d 271 (N.C. Ct. App. 1993)