132 S.E. 201 | W. Va. | 1926
Under an agreed statement of facts, the circuit court of Raleigh County entered a judgment in favor of the plaintiff for $149.43. *153
It is not necessary in a decision of this case to detail the facts submitted, as the only question presented here is a legal one, i. e., is the wife's separate property found on premises leased by the husband, subject to distress for rent?
In support of the judgment of the lower court, the plaintiff cites 36 C. J. 1620, 16 R. C. L. 1015, some Pennsylvania cases, and one case from Ontario. Both Corpus Juris and Ruling Case Law hold that the property of the tenant's wife, found on the leased premises, is liable to distress for rent in arrears. Ruling Case Law bases this statement solely on the case ofBlanche v. Bradford,
The stipulation of facts states that the property in this case is the sole and separate property of the wife, and that the rent in arrears was the debt of the husband. The wife was not "the lessee, his assignee, nor his under-tenant."Church et al. v. Iron Co.,
If further support were needed for this conclusion, reference may be had to Section 3, Chapter 66, Code, wherein under express authority conferred on it by Section 49, Article VI. Constitution, the Legislature has declared that the separate property of a married woman shall not be liable for the debts of her husband. See Wallace v. Johnson,
For the foregoing reasons the judgment of the lower court will be reversed, and judgment entered here for defendants.
Reversed and judgment entered.