The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-07-10
IN SUPREME COURT
Last Decisions Before Summer
Vacation Down Today.
Cases Are of Interest in All
Parts of Kansas.


for service may be proved and allowed
as a claim against an estate of the
contra citing party. even tho the pay
ment of the claim may exhaust all the
assets of the estate, according to an
opinion handed down today by the
Kansas supreme court.
When Helen L. Webster of Pleas
anton was a small child she was taken
into the home of Mary ]. Camp and
lived at her home until Mrs Camp
Mrs. Camp married Mahlon Camp,
and he was her husband until her
death, but for four years prior to her
death they were separated and Camp
claimed that there was an understand
ing between Mrs. Camp and Helen
Webster that Miss webster should re-
ceive pay for her services in taking
health for many years. and a copy of
a contract to this effect was presented
to the court.
Eleven thousand dollars was placed
as a reasonable compensation in the
| contract The total value of the es-
/ tate left by Mrs. Camp was $4,000
| Mahlon Camp appealed from a deer
sion in favor of Miss Webster in the
| Linn county district court on the
grounds that the consideration OF the
!
claimed that it was void because its
| operation deprived him of one-half of
| his wife's property, which is set out
4 by law to be an equitable Lewiston.
| The court ruled that the usual law ap
| plying to husband and wife participant
1 ing in each others estates does not de-
prive owner of property from making
1 contracts and mourning obligations
after death. The supreme court af-
firmed the judgment of the Linn
I county district
When mutual insurance companies
consolidate they have a right to in
| crease the rates under the consolida
! ton and policy holders who continue
to pay the old rate must accept pay
ment on the schedule of the new rates,
! the supreme court held in the case of
/ Lillian ]. williams against the Ameri-
/ can Insurance Union and the Home
| Builders Union.
Altho a wife has paid taxes on land
and, according to her own testimony
carried the pocketbook," she is not
entitled to a clear title to the land
upon the death of her husband, ac-
/ cording to an opinion rendered in the
case of Kate P. Purl against Thomas
C. Purl and other heirs. In this de-
cision the supreme court upholds a
| decision of the Shawnee county dis
trict court. In 1891 Fillmore Purl ac-
quired a. life estate in a Kansas farm,
occupied by himself and family He
| died in 1913 and the day following
| his death his widow, Kate Purl,
| brought action for full title claiming
she paid the taxes for four years and
4 carried the family pocketbook. When
/ she came to Kansas in. the early days
she brought two mares with her which
were placed on the Purl farm after
her marriage to SPurk From these
mares colts and mules were raised
ixrrf. if~f zfra ed
period of several years she returned
for taxation as her property, horses,
mules, hogs and chickens, and during
those years her husband returned no
personal property for taxation. He
was away from home a great deal of
the time, leaving her in charge of the
farm, and during that time she paid
all the taxes, taking receipts for these
: taxes for four years in her own name
In 1893 she redeemed the farm when
it was sold for taxes and redeemed ii
in her own name. The supreme court
held that despite these facts the farm
was the joint property of herself and
husband and that the children were
entitled to their share of it.
When an insurance company in
sures an employer of labor agains
damages on account of injuries to hi:
employees and the company goes into
court to contest a payment and thru
. negligence the case is not properly
conducted and judgment is obtained
against the employer for an amount il
p excess of the company's liability, the
l insurance company is liable for thi
excess. This was thef ruling of the
/ supreme court in the case OF William
S S. Anderson and Charles Sweeney
against the Southern Security com
/; pany. The case was appealed from
the Labette county district court.
The legality of the organization of {
. high school district cannot be ques
e toned by an action. to enjoin election
of rural high school district officers
according to a ruling by the kansa!
. supreme court in affirming a deci
4 sion of the Gray county district court
= Taxpayers in an approved consolidate;
:. school district in Gray and Ford coun
: ties tried to enjoin the election %
4 school board members. 1t was alleged
. THAT the county superintendent o
: Ford county had approved the boun
a daries after the petitions were cir
culated and signed, instead of -prio
; to that time. The court ruled tina
< while this was irregular, it did no
4 invalidate the creation of the consolf
: dated district, and that the dis
!. gruntled taxpayers had no recours
f thru this kind of an action.
A Judgment allowed heirs of Lilli
!. Stokes against Morris, & Company
packers. by the Wyandotte county dis
| trict court was taken away from he
| today by the supreme court when
| reversed the decision of the distric
| court The judgment was rendere
: under the compensation act. Majo
Stokes was injured while an employ
> of the company, and later died LII
o Stokes brought action for compensa
u ton, stating she was his wife. oh
It obtained a judgment, and died. Tn
II administrator tried to revive the juds
# ment for her estate. It was show
# she was not married to Stokes at al
Il and that he had a real wife living
s from whom he had not been divorced
a altho they were separated.
: An appeal bond jumped by Dai
O. Van Wormer, accused OF the muroe
of Martin C. Moore. sheriff of Hamil
ton county, who attempted to ares