Daubert Ex Rel. Daubert v. Mosley

487 P.2d 353, 56 A.L.R. 3d 1328
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJuly 13, 1971
Docket43268
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 487 P.2d 353 (Daubert Ex Rel. Daubert v. Mosley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Daubert Ex Rel. Daubert v. Mosley, 487 P.2d 353, 56 A.L.R. 3d 1328 (Okla. 1971).

Opinion

BERRY, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal from a trial court order and judgment sustaining defendant’s Motion For Summary Judgment and dismissing a personal injury action brought on behalf of an emancipated minor by his mother as next friend. The sole issue involves the trial court’s finding that a release executed by the minor was a valid, enforceable contract not subject to disaf-firmance.

Plaintiff, nineteen years old, married and an expectant father, accompanied by his wife, was involved in an automobile collision with defendant’s vehicle on December 2, 1966. An action for damages charged defendant with negligence, for which plaintiff claimed damages for personal injuries, together with causes of action for property damage, medical expenses, and loss of consortium and services of his wife.

Defendant answered setting up a settlement agreement executed by plaintiff and his 16 year old wife with defendant’s insurance carrier. This agreement released all claims for property damage for cash payment ($283.75), and the insurer’s further agreement to pay up to $1,000.00 for medical expenses incurred within 180 days as a result of the accident.

Plaintiff replied alleging facts of minority and admitting execution of the release in consideration for payment of property damages and agreement to pay future medical expenses if necessary. Further, plaintiff was not aware execution of this agreement, at the adjuster’s insistence, would release all claims of this minor, and his 16 year old wife, resulting from this accident. And, this release was executed only because the adjuster represented payment was for loss of the automobile and medical expenses. Plaintiff then pled disaffirmance and revocation of the release, and agreed payment should be off-set against any judgment which might be received.

The issue as to this minor’s attempted rescission of the release was separated as an issue for trial to the court. At conclusion of this trial the court found as fact, and concluded as a matter of law, the executed release was a valid, enforceable contract, and plaintiff’s prayer to rescind and *355 set aside the release should be denied. The motion for summary judgment was sustained and plaintiff’s action ordered dismissed upon condition of the parties’ full compliance with terms and conditions of the release.

In brief plaintiff’s argument for reversal of the judgment is that by statute, 15 O.S. 1961, § 13, a male under 21 years of age is a minor. Further, under 15 O.S. 1961 § 19, a contract executed by a minor over 18 years of age may be disaffirmed by restoring the consideration, or payment of the equivalent with interest. Since dis-affirmance is a privilege personal to a minor, commencement of suit constitutes unequivocal renunciation sufficient to avoid the contract executed during minority. See Ryan v. Morrison, 40 Okl. 49, 135 P. 1049; Grissom v. Beidleman, 35 Old. 343, 129 P. 853; 43 C.J.S. Infants § 76c et seq. Additionally plaintiff quotes from Kennedy v. Raby, 174 Okl. 332, 50 P.2d 716, and urges fraud should be implied upon part of the insurance adjuster who called upon the parties and secured the release two days after the collision. Examination of that decision discloses positive evidence of fraudulent representation and overreaching, at a time when plaintiff’s comprehension and understanding were affected and plaintiff was incapacitated for transaction of business. These matters were put in issue by the pleadings, and the issues (of fraudulent representations and lack of comprehension) were submitted to the jury by proper instructions that plaintiff was required to prove same by clear and cogent evidence in order to avoid the release.

No issue of fraud in inducement was tendered by pleadings herein. Fraud is never to be presumed, but must be pled and proved by clear and satisfactory evidence. Argument that fraud should be implied, from circumstances surrounding execution, as grounds for revocation of plaintiff’s release is unpersuasive.

Plaintiff’s premise for urging reversal simply is that, by statute and decisional law, a minor has a personal right to disaf-firm any contract. As a general statement of law this is correct. However, neither the premise nor argument on appeal presents the problem from the standpoint of validity or revocability of a contract executed by an emancipated minor.

Our statute, 10 O.S.1961 § 10, declares:

“The authority of a parent ceases:
“1. Upon the appointment by a court of a guardian of the person of the child;
“2. Upon the marriage of the child, or;
“3. Upon its attaining majority.”

In Ex parte Mosier, 114 Okl. 234, 245 P. 992, petitioner was a 19 year old, able-bodied man who married a girl 16 years of age. The parties married in Arkansas, moved to Oklahoma and separated, the wife then returning to Arkansas. Petitioner filed suit for divorce by his next friend, alleging residence in Oklahoma County. The wife answered contesting divorce, and the court entered temporary orders which petitioner refused to obey. Petitioner then was adjudged guilty of contempt and order of attachment issued. Upon appeal from this order petitioner contended the trial court lacked jurisdiction to enter judgment because the parties were minors. Pointing to the statute (30 O.S.1961 § 19) declaring when powers of a guardian are superseded, or to cessation of a parent’s authority under the quoted statute, we declared either personal guardianship of a parent, or that of a court appointed guardian, ceases upon a minor’s marriage.

In Roxana Petroleum Co. v. Cope, 132 Okl. 152, 269 P. 1084, 60 A.L.R. 837, a parent sued to recover damages for negligent injuries to a minor son, whose injury while engaged in hazardous occupation had been discharged by payment of compensation. Affirming judgment for the parent, we quoted the above statute, and declared emancipation of a minor could not occur for reasons other than those enumerated.

From the foregoing we necessarily conclude that upon marriage minors are *356 emancipated from parental control. Under this circumstance, the question then concerns whether emancipation extends to usual, ordinary, or normal business relationships, or is confined only to matters of parental custody and control over earnings. The great diversity of decisional law upon this subject is observable by reference to annotations in 69 A.L.R. 1368; 78 A.L.R. 387; 95 A.L.R. 1182. To be noted, however, is the fact relatively few cases dealing with rights of minors to disaffirm contracts dealt with situations involving emancipated minors.

What amounts to emancipation is a question of law. It is undisputed that emancipation had taken place under our statute, supra. Generally, however, emancipation does not make an infant sui juris for all purposes, and does not affect a minor’s incapacity to contract for things not considered as necessaries, although an important factor in determining whether a particular transaction is for necessaries. 42 Am.Jur. (2) Infants § 3; 39 Am.Jur., Parent & Child § 64; Ragan v. Williams, 220 Ala. 590, 127 So. 190, 68 A.L.R. 1182.

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Bluebook (online)
487 P.2d 353, 56 A.L.R. 3d 1328, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/daubert-ex-rel-daubert-v-mosley-okla-1971.