145 Iowa 397 | Iowa | 1910
Plaintiff is a physician and surgeon, living and practicing his profession at the town of Olin, in Jones County. In the year 1906 a negro by the ñamé of Chas. Jones fell from a circus train which was passing through the state at or near the town of Olin, and as a result both his legs were crushed and mangled. The injured man was without means, and may properly be said to have-been a pauper. Plaintiff’s attention was called to the injured m'an, and he immediately notified the township cleric, and ashed him to call a meeting of the township trustees in order that the man might be taken care of. It is claimed that a meeting of the trustees was called, that two of the members met with the clerk, and that as a result thereof plaintiff was directed to take charge of the man and render him such services as he thought were necessary, and that they, the trustees, would certify his bill for such services to the board of supervisors of the county. -The trustees
The statutes material.to our inquiry read as follows: “A person coming from another state, and not having become a citizen of nor having a settlement in- the state, applying for relief, may be sent to the state whence he came, at the expense of the county, under an order of the district court or judge; otherwise he is to be temporarily relieved in the county where he applies.” Code, section 2225. “The township trustees of each township, subject to general rules that may be adopted by the board of supervisors, shall provide for the relief of such poor persons in their respective townships as should not, in' their judgment, be sent, to the county poorhouse. . . . The relief may be either in the form of food, rent or clothing, fuel and lights, medical attendance, or .in money, and shall not exceed two dollars per week for each person for whom relief is thus furnished, exclusive of medical attendance. . . . When medical services are rendered by order of. the trustees or overseers of the poor, no more shall be charged or paid
Defendant’s real contentions on this appeal are (1) that plaintiff was never employed by the township trustees; (2) that no proper certificate of his employment was ever filed with the board of supervisors, and that the bill filed by him was not certified to by the trustees; and (3) that as it had a contract with the medical society, of which plaintiff was a member, for the care and support of the poor, plaintiff cannot recover. These matters will be considered in the order stated.
II. -The certificate to plaintiff’s bill was made in the year 1907, and it was in the following form:
“State of Iowa, Jones County — ss.
“We, the undersigned, who were the trustees o'f Home Township in the county and state aforesaid, in the year ^19 06, do hereby certify that W. B. Brock was employed by us and that he rendered the services above described at our order and request, and we further certify that said services consisted of the amputation of both legs of one Charles Jones and also medical services rendered and that said services were and are of the value of $175.00. We further certify that services were rendered by the claimant by our official order and request.
“Trustees of Borne Township, Jones Co., Iowa.”
(The above was in typewriting in middle of paper.)
(Here was a blank space for several inches.)
“We, the Trustees of Borne Township, recommend, payment of the above bill.”
(The above was in print at bottom of page.)
a • • ......? “D. O. Easterly, “J. L. Streeter, “Trustees.”
Plaintiff was a member of the medical society when the arrangement with the county was made. Various members of the society rendered service under the arrangement, and the county paid the' society therefor. As the sums were received, they were prorated among all the members; plaintiff receiving his share thereof. When the arrangement was made with the board, the secretary of the association furnished the county authorities with a list of the' members of the society, showing their residence or place of business, and among these was that of plaintiff. To avoid this, plaintiff makes two contentions. The first is that the contract or arrangement with the board of supervisors was contrary to public policy, illegal, and void because the contract was not let to the lowest bidder, because no bond was given to secure the performance of the contract, because plaintiff and the other members of the society had undertaken to create a trust or monopoly, and, second, because the contract did not cover services performed for a nonresident pauper. The medical society was not an incorporated society, but purely a voluntary association. Plaintiff, however, was a member of it, and no claim is made that the secretary of the association was not an
Again, the plaintiff can not be heard to say that the bid or proposal did not meet the publication for ’ bids, or was not accepted at a proper time. It was accepted and . agreed to by both parties; and plaintiff, after having recognized it and profited therefrom, can not in such an action as this repudiate it. No one will be permitted to take advantage of his own wrong; and to permit .plaintiff to recover on such a showing as is here made would be obnoxious to every principle of law or morals with which we are familiar. See Peck v. Burr, 10 N. Y. 294; Sampson v. Shaw, 101 Mass. 145-151 (3 Am. Rep. 327); Arnot v. Pittsburg Co., 68 N. Y. 558 (23 Am. Rep. 190) ; Beech on Contracts, 1894, and cases cited; McNulta v. Bank, 164 Ill. 427 (45 N. E. 954, 56 Am. St. Rep. 203) ; Bowman v. Phillips, 41 Kan. 364 (21 Pac. 230, 3 L. R. A. 631, 13 Am. St. Rep. 292) ; Short v. Mining Co., 20 Utah, 20 (57 Pac. 720, 45 L. R. A. 603) ; Richardson v. County, 59 Neb. 400 (81 N. W. 309, 48 L. R. A. 294, 80 Am. St. Rep. 682).
In that case the pauper had no settlement within the
It necessarily follows from what we have said that the trial court was in error in its rulings on the admission and rejection of testimony and in directing a verdict for plaintiff.
The judgment must therefore be, and it is, reversed.