Dykes v. Thornton

302 S.W.2d 304, 1957 Mo. App. LEXIS 648
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 3, 1957
DocketNo. 7621
StatusPublished

This text of 302 S.W.2d 304 (Dykes v. Thornton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dykes v. Thornton, 302 S.W.2d 304, 1957 Mo. App. LEXIS 648 (Mo. Ct. App. 1957).

Opinion

McDOWELL, Presiding Judge.

This appeal is from a judgment rendered in Division II of the Circuit Court of Greene County, Missouri, on November 28, 1955, affirming the final award of the Industrial Commission of Missouri in the amount of $10,000 in favor of respondents for the death of Sammy Dykes.

Respondents are the parents of Sammy Dykes, who was unmarried and 19 years of age at the time of his death. The following facts were agreed to: Sammy Dykes was an employee of Tony Thornton, d/b/a Thornton Sales and Auction Company, the Missouri Workmen’s Compensation Law is applicable, Sammy’s death resulted from an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment, the employer had notice of the accident, respondents filed their claim for compensation within the time prescribed by law, and Sammy’s average weekly wage was $50.

This case was tried before Referee, Leonard E. Newton, of the Division of Workmen’s Compensation, who issued an award in favor of deceased’s father, respondent Charles Dykes, in the amount of total death benefits, $10,000 plus $30 medical expense. The Referee also held that Mary Ethel Dykes, mother of deceased, was a partial dependent but she, of course, received no pecuniary benefits from the award because of the finding of total dependency on the part of her husband.

[306]*306Appellants appealed to the Industrial Commission which affirmed the award of the Referee. They then appealed to the Circuit Court of Greene County, Division II, which affirmed the final award of the Industrial Commission. Appeal was taken from the judgment of the Circuit Court to the Supreme Court where the cause was reversed and remanded with instructions that the Circuit Court remand the cause to the Industrial Commission for the reason that the record did not support a finding of total dependency on the part of the father but did support a finding of partial dependency on the part of both respondents. Dykes v. Thornton, Mo.Sup., 282 S.W.2d 451.

Upon remand, the Industrial Commission rendered a second final award, finding that respondents were both partial dependents as directed by the Supreme Court, and further found:

“We further find that employee was 19 years of age, unmarried, and unemanci-pated, living with and under the control of his parents, Charles Dykes and Mary Ethel Dykes.

“We further find that on the date of accident, claimant, Charles Dykes had substantially no income, and that his principal support came from the common fund consisting of the contributions made by employee and his mother, Mary Ethel Dykes; that the claimant Mary Ethel Dykes, mother of employee, had net earnings of $60.00 per month, and that said amount was insufficient for her support; and that, therefore, the said Charles Dykes and Mary Ethel Dykes were partially dependent on employee for their support.

“We further find, as held by the Supreme Court, that employee’s mother, Mary Ethel Dykes, claimant herein, * * * handled all the finances of the family and that employee ‘turned over’ to his father and mother his entire earnings to a common fund, out of which household bills, mortgage payments and utilities were paid, using only so much of it as was necessary for amusements, gasoline for family car, and clothing. Faccone v. Busy Bee Candy Co., Mo.App., 216 S.W.2d 112. We also find, as held in the opinion of the Supreme Court, that employee’s mother ‘mingled the money she received from Sammy with her own earnings, and from this common fund she paid all the household bills, purchased groceries, paid for insurance and purchased clothing for Sammy’s father.’ And we therefore find and conclude that the claimants, the father and mother of employee, are, as partial dependents, entitled to the total death benefit provided by law. Faccone v. Busy Bee Candy Co., supra.”

From this final award of the Industrial Commission, appeal was taken to the Circuit Court of Greene County where it was heard in Division II and affirmed.

The cause was appealed again to the Supreme Court and by that court transferred to the Springfield Court of Appeals for want of jurisdiction.

The record shows deceased, at the time of his death, was living with respondents at 2440 Prospect, Springfield, Missouri.

Sammy’s father, age 55, had no steady employment but hauled “trash and things” and occasionally did some yard work in the summertime for which his earnings averaged about $5 per month. He testified that he was “disabled to work” because of “heart trouble and nervousness”.

Sammy’s mother, age 52, washed dishes in a restaurant for a time and earned $20 per week and her meals. That after being unemployed for approximately two months she obtained work as a maid at a hospital for a period of eight months, where she was working at the time of Sammy’s death. She received $100 per month but had to buy her meals, provide her uniforms and shoes, and pay for the laundry of her uniforms. The Industrial Commission found that her net income from this employment was $60 a month.

When Sammy became 16 years of age, he worked driving horses and a tractor, but the employment was not regular. . He [307]*307obtained employment driving a truck for a firm identified as “Sur-Way” but was discharged because he was under the required age for that type of work. He later obtained ^employment, presumably after reaching the required age, with a firm identified as “Truck Sales”. For several months previous to and at the time of his death, he worked for Tony Thornton, hauling livestock.

During all the employments above mentioned, Sammy lived at home with his parents. His mother handled all the finances of the family. When Sammy worked at odd jobs before he started driving a truck, he gave his mother all his earnings except what he used to go to the picture show. In answer to the question of how much money Sammy gave her when he worked for Sur-Way, his mother testified that “he gave me all he didn’t use for skating and shows, he had a car, for gasoline”. When Sammy bought the automobile, a 1941 Chevrolet, he and his mother signed the note. The automobile was used by his parents as a family car. When Sammy worked for Sur-Way he gave his mother $50 several times, and his mother stated that “we had to have it to live on”. When asked how much money on an average he gave to his mother when he worked at Sur-Way, his mother stated, “Well, he averaged, anyway, when he worked at Sur-Way, gave me $50.00 a week, and a time or two gave me $100 to pay bills.” His mother stated that when Sammy worked for Truck Sales, she did not know the exact amount he gave her, but “he was all the time giving me money at different times,” and that all the money he did not use for his own expense “he gave it to me to use”. She also testified that when Sammy worked for Tony Thornton, he “gave it (money) to me different times”, and that he gave her money every week. The amount Sammy paid to his mother was not always the same, and she did not keep a record of it. She mingled.the money received from Sammy with her own earnings, and from this common .fund she paid all the household bills, purchased groceries, paid for insurance and purchased clothing for Sammy’s father; that the money was given her on particular occasions to make payments on bills. She testified she didn’t buy groceries by the week. She said “I bought them every two weeks when Sammy got his check”.

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Bluebook (online)
302 S.W.2d 304, 1957 Mo. App. LEXIS 648, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dykes-v-thornton-moctapp-1957.