The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-06-05
Supreme Court Decides the Mag
gle Read Case.
Had Lived Nearly All Her Life
in DeVenney Family.
RECEIVED ONLY $500,
Held That This Is Not Sufficient
Compensation.
NJ. Snattinger Must Pay City for
Loss in Bank Failure.

served as a companion, chore girl
nurse, seamstress, farm hand and did
a great deal of work in feeding hogs
and cattle, milking cows. cutting wood
planting and harvesting crops from the
times she was 6 years old until sne
reached the age of 29 years. home
and 5000 is not sufficient compensation
for her, according to the decision OF
the Kansas supreme court.
The case was the suit of Michael
Heery and Edward L. Mooney, execu-
tors of the estate of Patrick Devenney
against Maggie Read, appealed from
Shawnee county. Maggie Read was
taken into the Devenney family under
a contract made orally that she snoulo
receive her compensation from the es-
tate of Patrick Devenney. For twenty
two years she worked on the Devenney
farm doing everything in the way OF
labor that usually is found on Kan.
sas farm and including the nursing Oh
Mrs. Devenney for several weeks De-
fore the latter's death.
After Mrs. Devenney's death Maggie
Read was married to man Whom
Patrick Devenney did not hke anu
when he learned of the marriage ne
ordered her away from the place. AT
the time Devenney gave her 5000 and
she signed a receipt for the money.
When she sued for additional money 1t
was found that this receipt showed
that she had signed away all her rlgnts
to anv of the Devenney property.
But suit was brought for $4,000 and
the probate court awarded her $500.
The district court cut this TO $4,9Z4.4S
and the supreme court has affirmed
this decision, holding that the recelpt
which she signed was obtained by
fraud.
The Kansas supreme court, in a de-
cision rendered today, says that per
son injured is entitled to damages 1or
whatever pain and suffering may occur
from those injuries in the future.
Evelyn s. Paine was injured by raining
through a hole in a sidewalk at Arkan-
sas City. She sued for damages ana
recovered them for her injuries The
iury also found that she was likely to
surfer more or less pain in the future
and gave her additional damages on
that account. The supreme court says
1t can see no wrong in awarding dam
ages based on an estimate Oh 1uture
events or suffering.
The Shawnee district court was re-
versed by the supreme court TO-DAY IN
the appeal by the Santa Fe railroad
in the suit brought against tne com. ON.
pany by Ella D. Coltrane. She was
awarded $1,710 damages by the lower
court for injuries received on train
while coming home from California.
The railroad company appealed on
the ground that the plaintiff had
signed an ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Ol SdLlS-
faction in full for all damages for the
sum of $1O.50 paid her at that time
by the road. The court held that this
release in writing signed by the de-
fendant barred her right to recover
any further damages. Ella Coltrane
was injured while changing her seat
on the car when the car was bumped
by a switch engine and she was
thrown violently against the seats.
Another Shawnee case of interest
I1x-A ,,,-k
today was that of NJ. Snattinger VS.
the city of Topeka, an echo of the old
Devlin bank failure. The judgment
of the lower court is affirmed and
Snattinger, as a stockholder in the
defunct First National bank, is held
liable for the balance of the $26,741
of the citys funds in the bank at
the time of the failure that remain yet
unpaid. The court held that the fact
that the bank had been named as one
of the official city repositories and
had in that capacity received the
city's money in the form of deposits
under the present ordinance and law
that the changes made in that law af
forwards did not affect the status of
the bank as a city depository and that
effect and was still liable.
"A designation of bank as de-
pository is effectual so long as the
city shall continue to deposit its funds
in the bank and. the bond given is
deemed to be a continuing obligation
unless necessary steps have been TAX
en- to terminate the liability of the
bond" held the court in its decision
in this case.
StiIl another Shawnee county case
affirmed today by the supreme court
was that of c. A. O'Meara VS.. G. P.
NJ. Heer. In this case O'Meara sold
a farm to Heer through the Sheldon
real estate agency. The controversy
arose over which party was to pay
the real estate commission. The
court held that by the terms of the
written contract between O'Meara and
Heer the latter was absolved from
further obligation relating to the
sale of the land and that O'Meara
would have to look to Sheldon for
the s25 the latter retained from the
purchase money as his commission.
By a decision of the Kansas su-
prerne court today it will be possible
TO collect many thousands of dollars
for the state by the state board of
control for the care of insane per-
sons. The decision was rendered in
the suit of Peter Kaiser of Franklin
county. administrator of the estate
of August Freitag- Freitag was ad-
Judged insane in 1883 and lived in the
state hospital for many years He
owned a farm but this was not listed
in the inventory of the estate and
for years Kansas maintained him at
state expense. After MS death the
farm was discovered by the state Of
fcers and suit was brought for his
maintenance The administrator
contested the suit but a decision of
the lower court gave the state nearly
three thousand dollars and the su-
preme court affirmed the decision
The board of control has been col
lecting over twenty Thousand dollars
A wear from patients able to pay for
their maintenance and it now has
several suits involving many thou