Leidig v. Coover's Executors

47 Pa. 534, 1864 Pa. LEXIS 140

• Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• Decided: May 24, 1864
• Status: Published

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered, by

Agnew, J.

If we pay any regard to our oft-repeated decisions, there is no ground for reversal in this case.

The declarations of a parent may admit the filial devotion and real worth of his child; and the profit he derives from her services. They may reach farther and disclose his own sense of obligation, and his settled purpose to compensate. But all this is insufficient to raise a promise. The services of a daughter, standing in the relation of Mrs. Leidig to her father, are the results of the relation, not the fruits of a contract. Without a contract expressly made for wages, proven by clear, distinct, and satisfactory evidence, there cannot be a recovery. This has been so often said, it is needless to fortify it by referring to authority.

The judgment is affirmed.