Opinion by
The defendant in this ease questions the jurisdiction of the court of common pleas over an action to recover alleged overpayments made to a widow under a workmеn’s compensation agreement.
For the purpose of determining jurisdiction, all facts whiсh are averred in the complaint must be accepted as true.
Gardner v. Allegheny County,
The Glen Alden Coal Company, now Glen Alden Corporation, entered into a workmen’s compensation agrеement providing for the payment to the defendant of the sum of $11 per week for a period of 300 weeks from April 11, 1843 to January 9, 1949, and for the payment of burial expenses in the sum of $200, beсause of fatal injuries to defendant’s husband, Isaac Phillips, while he was in the course of his emрloyment, on April 3, 1943 at the plaintiff’s Woodward Colliery.
Section 307 of The Pennsylvania Workmen’s Comрensation Act of June 2, 1915, P. L. 738, as amended, 77 PS §562, provides: “That upon remarriage of any widow, the сompensation of such widow shall continue as hereinbefore provided for one-third оf the period during which compensation then remains payable to her.” The defendant widow married Andrew Tomchick at Crown Point, Lake County, Indiana, on February 27, 1946. The plaintiff corporаtion did not know of this marriage until July 25, 1955, when it received a claim petition from the defendant for сompensation as dependent widow for the death of Andrew Tomchick. The plaintiff cоrporation had inquired of the defendant concerning her marital status six times between Seрtember 27, 1946 and January 11, 1949. Each time she represented to the plaintiff that she had not remarriеd.
Belying upon her false representation, the plaintiff corporation paid defеndant $3300 compensation, the amount to which she would have been entitled had she not remаrried. On January 17, 1949, she signed a “final receipt” as “Catherine Phillips widow of Isaac Phillips”. By representing that she had not remarried, she collected $1,096.86 more than she was entitled to, and the рlaintiff brought this action in the Common Pleas Court of Luzerne County to recover the above sum and interest.
Under the above facts it is clear that the defendant obtained money from the plaintiff to whiсh she was not entitled, and under the theory of unjust enrichment, the plaintiff is entitled to restitution of the sum improperly paid.
Humbird v.
Davis,
Although ordinarily there could be no question of the right of the plaintiff to recover in an action in the common рleas court, the defendant contends that since the payments were made under a workmen’s compensation agreement the action must be brought under The Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act, supra, and that the court has no jurisdiction to entertain this action.
She рoints to sections 434 and 413 of The Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act, supra, 77 PS §1001, §771, §772, as the sections under which the plaintiff could proceed. We think there is no merit to this contention. Seсtion 434 relates to setting aside a final receipt. A final receipt is what its name implies, an acknowledgment of all the payments due under the agreement or award. Here the dеfendant not only received all the payments to which she was entitled, but she received more than was due her. Setting aside her acknowledgment of the full payment would do nothing toward establishing an overpayment.
"We agree with Judge Pinola of the court below “that- the plaintiff has no remedy available within • the framework of' The Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act. It does not follow, however, that it 'is-without recourse for we have presented to us an obvious case of unjust'enrichment now well established in our law, and over which this court has jurisdiction.” Order affirmed.