255 Mass. 175 | Mass. | 1926
The defendant Joseph W. Schaefer, an insane person placed under guardianship September, 1922, and brother of the plaintiff, became a patient at the Boston State Hospital July 3,1917, where he has since remained. During the period covered by the declaration, and prior to his
It is settled that under such circumstances the payment of the premiums was gratuitous. Seaver v. Phelps, 11 Pick. 304. Gibson v. Soper, 6 Gray, 279. Tupper v. Cadwell, 12 Met. 559. Reed v. Mattapan Deposit & Trust Co. 198 Mass. 306. Brewster v. Weston, 235 Mass. 14.
But the jury could have found that the payments to the hospital were necessary for his proper care and subsistence. It was said in Seaver v. Phelps, 11 Pick. 304, 307, that the question, whether an insane person could be held liable for necessaries, need not be decided as the contract in suit was not of that character. If the defendant were an infant not living at home and cared for by his parents, had fallen into distress and was in immediate need of food, or suitable clothing, or proper shelter, an implied contract for payment by him to the person supplying his needs would be created. Hoyt v. Casey, 114 Mass. 397. The defendant apparently was supported by his mother until her death, when, the plaintiff not merely from sisterly affection and a sense of duty but also under the impulse of a common humanity having relieved his necessities, her claim for compensation is founded on fundamental justice. Hallett v. Oakes, 1 Cush. 296, 299. Belucci v. Foss, 244 Mass. 401. Williams v. Wentworth, 5 Beav. 325. In re Rhodes, 44 Ch. D. 94.
So ordered.