147 Iowa 320 | Iowa | 1910
The defendants are the father and mother of the plaintiff’s wife. Since 1905 the plaintiff had been the hired' man of the defendants. lie was forty-seven years of age. In December, 1907, he secretly married the young daughter of the defendants; the ceremony being, performed in another county and without the knowledge of the parents. Some weeks after the marriage, the plaintiff left the home of the defendants and left his wife there, and, while absent therefrom, wrote a letter to the defendants, advising them of the fact, of his marriage to their daughter. A few days later he returned to the nearby town and hired a livery man to take him to the defendants’ home, where he arrived in the evening. His story is that, “when we got to the house, we drove in the driveway by the house and I hollered, ‘Hello.’ ” This call brought Mrs. Dunham to the .door, and she greeted the plaintiff in terms which were the converse of affectionate, -and ordered him to leave the place, which he did. His claim now is that he has lost the affection of his wife through the machinations and the malice of her parents, and he asks $10,000 as damages therefor. At the close of the testimony in his behalf, the trial court directed a verdict against him. His claim is that he had sufficient evidence to go to the jury, and that is the controlling question for our consideration.
The plaintiff called his wife as a witness in his behalf. Her undisputed testimony is sufficient to sustain the action of the court. It is the contention of plaintiff that his testimony showed harsh conduct and ill will towards him on the part of the defendants, and that such conduct was sufficient show of malice, and that the jury would have been warranted in finding from the circum
For authorities on the question of presumption and tender regard of the law for parental affection, see White
We have read the evidence in this ease with care, and find it clearly insufficient to have warranted a verdict for the plaintiff. The trial court properly- directed a verdict for the defendant-s, and its order is affirmed.