99 Pa. 552 | Pa. | 1882
delivered the opinion of the court, February 27th 1882.
There is no merit in this case ; yet if the law is with the plaintiff's below, the judgment must stand. It was a suit brought against the estate of the wife’s father, to recover compensation for the services of the wife for a period of about one year and three months. Annie Houck, one of the plaintiffs, resided with her father as a member of his family, and assisted in the work of the house. She had two children prior to her present marriage, who were also a part of the family, and, as the evidence shows, supported mainly by her father. She was married to Jacob Houck, plaintiff, in October 1878. At the time of said marriage, and for some time prior thereto, the said J acob Houck lived with her father as a farm hand at the wages of $10 per month. This arrangement continued for about one year and three months after the marriage, and until the death of old Mr. Houck’s wife, when the plaintiffs moved away. During this period the plaintiff, Jacob Houck, received his
Aside from this, if we disregard the relation of parent and child, and substitute that of master and servant, the recent case
This, as was stated in tbe case cited, is a presumption of fact, and liable to be rebutted. There was not a particle of evidence in this case, to rebut this presumption. Old Mr. Houck was in circumstances that enabled liim to pay ; the fact was conceded tliat the husband had been regularly paid bis wages as a farm hand up to tlie time they left. Yet, as before stated, no demand appears to have been made for the services of the wife, either during the period of such service,' at the time they went away, or afterwards and during the lifetime of Mr. Ilonck, the elder. So far from the presumption referred to having been rebutted, the evidence leaves the strong impression that the claim was an afterthought, and an attempt, after the death of the defendants’ testator, to gain a larger share of his estate, justifies the remark of Lowihk, J., in Lynn v. Lynn, 5 Casey 369 : “ Here is another claim that ought to be charged to the account of family relationship . . . Causes of this character are among the most odious that courts have to deal with.”
The claim in this case is particularly odious, in view of the peculiar circumstances under which tlie wife and her two children were cared for and sheltered in her father’s house.
All of the defendant’s points should have been affirmed.
Judgment reversed.