128 Ga. 371 | Ga. | 1907
(After stating the facts.)
As appears from the foregoing statement of facts, the record in this case presents but' a single question for adjudication, and that is whether a minor child is entitled to recover from the widow of such child’s father a distributive share of the proceeds of a recovery Lad by the widow for the wrongful homicide of her husband. “A widow, or, if no widow, a child or children, may recover for the homicide of the husband or parent; and if suit, be brought by the widow or children, and the former or one of the latter dies pending the action, the same shall survive in the first case to the children, and in the latter to the surviving child or children.” Civil Code, §3828. “The plaintiff, whether widow, or child, or children, may recover the full value of the life of the deceased, as shown by the evidence. In the event of a recovery by the widow she shall hold the amount recovered subject to the law of descents, as if it had been personal property descending to the widow and children from the •deceased, and no recovery had under the provisions of this section £§3828] shall be subject to_ any debt or liability of any character
In Coleman v. Hyer, 113 Ga. 420, it was held: “Construing sections 3828 and 3829 of the Civil Code together and in the light of the decision of this court in Mott v. Railroad, 70 Ga. 680, and the legislation since that decision, the children mentioned therein are the minor children of the deceased father. Consequently, when a widow recovers a judgment against a railroad company for the negligent homicide of her husband, his children who were adults at the time of his death are not entitled to share in the proceeds of the judgment.” The only legislation on the subject since the decision in the Mott case is the act of 1887 (Acts 1887, p. 45), providing that in estimating the full value of the life of the deceased no deduction shall be made for his necessary or other personal expenses, had he lived. In the opinion in Coleman’s case, Chief Justice Simmons said: “It was argued here, in the admirable brief filed in behalf of the plaintiffs in error, that the Mott ease decided merely that an adult child could not institute the action, and that anything said in that case as to the question of distribution of the amount recovered was obiter. It was also argued that when the statute provided for the distribution of the amount recovered according to the law of descents/ it excluded all idea of minority and dependence ■and embraced as distributees all who would ordinarily inherit from the deceased. After a careful consideration of this question we must ■decide to the, contrary. The two sections of the code above quoted [§§3828, 3829] must be considered in pari materia, and, when the ■conclusion is reached that an adult child can not institute an action under section 3828, it must follow that such adult child has no interest in the proceeds of such a suit instituted by another. Of ■course the legislature might have provided that some who could not
While the question whether a minor child has a right to a distributive share of the proceeds of a recovery by a widow for the negligent homicide of her husband, who was the father of the child, was-not involved in either of the cases to which we have referred, it will be readily seen, from the language which we have quoted therefrom,, that a very strong inference arises that the court was of the opinion,, both in the Mott case and in the Coleman case, that a minor child has the right to a distributive share of such proceeds. It will also be seen that if, in the Coleman case, the court had been of opinion that no child of the deceased, adult or minor, was entitled to share in the proceeds of a suit by the widow for his negligent homicide,, there would have-been no necessity for drawing the distinction between the status of a minor and that of an adult child with reference to such proceeds, but the decision could, and doubtless would,, have been placed upon the broad ground that no child, minor or adult, was entitled to a distributive share therein. As we have seen, the language of section 3829 is: “In the event of a recovery by the widow she shall hold the amount recovered subject to the law of descents, as if it had been personal property descending to the widow and children from the deceased, and no recovery had under the provisions of this section shall be subject to any debt or liability of any character of the deceased husband or parent.55 To our mind it is quite clear that the meaning of this language is that a widow holds such recovery subject to be distributed among the minor children of the deceased and herself according to the law of descents, just as
Judgment affirmed.