Mid-Co Petroleum Co. v. Allen

1925 OK 196, 236 P. 426, 110 Okla. 101, 1925 Okla. LEXIS 778
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 10, 1925
Docket12141
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 1925 OK 196 (Mid-Co Petroleum Co. v. Allen) 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
Mid-Co Petroleum Co. v. Allen, 1925 OK 196, 236 P. 426, 110 Okla. 101, 1925 Okla. LEXIS 778 (Okla. 1925).

Opinion

Opinion by

MAXEY, C-

The first proposition argued by the plaintiff in error is stated thus: “Defendant’s motion to quash the summons and service thereof should have been sustained.” In our judgment the summons is regular' on its face under the rules of this court. The complaint is that the copy of ithe summons served did not fix the answer date, but the date was left blank. The fourth ground of the motion to quash was that ithe statute authorizing iho service was unconstitutional and void. We think this '«las asking for affirmative relief and constituted a general appearance. We 'think the mo ion to quash was properly over,Ruled. The proper method lor attacking the service was by motion t) set aside the service and not by motion to quash ike summons of service.

The second proposition is stated thus: “The trial court erred in allowing and permitting the brothers and sisters to be parties plaintiff and in permitting a recovery for them.”

The petition alleged and the proof showed that decedent left no wife, children, or father, but left a mother and brothers and sisters. All of the brothers and sisters joined with the mother as plaintiffs. Evidence touching the children and their station in life was objected to by the defendant and exceptions saved. The point emphasized by plaintiff in error on this proposition is that it was prejudicial error to permit any evidence to be introduced on behalf of any plaintiff except Ella Allen, the mother, or to permit a recovery on behalf of the other plaintiffs. The statutes under which this action is brought are sections 824 and 825, Comp. Stat. 1921, as follows:

Section 824: “Action for death by wrongful act. When the death of one is caused by the wrong.ul act or omission of another the personal representatives of the former may maintain an action therefor against the latter, if the former might have maintained an action had he lived, against the latter .or an injury for the same act or omission. The action must be commenced within two yiears. The damages must inure to the exclusive benefit of the widow and children, if any, or next of kin, to be distributed in the same manner as personal property of the deceased.”

Section 825: “Same — who may sue. In all cases where the residence of the party whose death has been caused as set forth in the preceding section is at the time of his death in any other state or territory, or when, being a resident of this state, no personal representative is or has been appointed, the action provided in the said section may be brought by the widow, or where there is no widow, by the next of kin of such deceased.”

Without these statutes, there would be no right of action for death, as there is none at common law. No administrator was appointed and therefore section 825 applies. Since there is no widow or children, the action could have been brought by the next of kin only, which in this case is the mother alone, there being no father. Under our law of succession, the personal property must descend as follows: “If decedent leave no issue, nor husband nor wife, the estate must go to the father or mother, or if he leave both father and mother, to them in equal shares.” Sec. 11301, subd. 2 Comp. St. 1921.

This court has already decided that the term “next of kin,” as used in the above sections of the statutes, is synonymous with legal heir under the laws of descent and distribution. The case of Shawnee Gas & Electric Co. v. Motesenbocker, 41 Okla. 454, 138 Pac. 790, lays down the following rule in the second and third paragraphs of the syllabus:

“Where no personal representative is appointed, and the deceased left no widow all the next of kin must join, in the action.
“By the term ‘next of kin' is meant all who would have been entitled to share in the distribution of the personal property of the deceased.”

It will be observed that at the time the above action was brought the mother would' *103 take one-half and the brothers and sisters one-half. If these statutes had been in force when Mr. Allen died, this action would have been correctly brought. However, they were afterwards repealed, and the present law as contained in section 11301, Comp. Stat. 1921, of the statute of descent and distribution was, and is now, in force and effect. In the case of Kali-Inla Coal Co. v. Ghinclli et al., 55 Okla. 289, 155 Pac. 606, the court said, quoting from the syllabus:

“Where a deceased child leaves no issue, nor husband, nor wife, but leaves both father and mother, they aré the only heirs, and ‘next of kin’ of the deceased, and the brothers and sisters of said deceased should not be joined with his father and mother in an action for damages for the killing of the deceased child.”

Shawnee Gas & Electric Co. et al. v. Motesenbocker, 41 Okla. 454, 138 Pac. 790, is to the same effect, and the case of Whitehead Coal Mining Co. v. Pinkston, 71 Okla. 124, 175 Pac. 364, holds the same.

There is no question but what the children were improperly joined as parties plaintiff with the mother in this case, but the difficulty we have in correcting that error is that counsel for defendant did not raise the question or present that identical question to the court until after the appeal in this case. If counsel had filed the proper pleading to raise the question of misjoinder, the trial court in all probabilities would have required plaintiffs to have struck out all names of the parties plaintiff except Ella Allen, the mother. There can be no doubt but what including the children as parties plaintiff was prejudicial to the defendant, and the testimony admitted showing the age and condition of the children was improper and prejudicial, especially as to the child, Bessie Allen, who, it appears, had measles when she was about three years old which left her paralyzed, and she is still a paralytic unable to walk or help herself in any way. There is no lack of testimony in the record that shows that the testimony with reference to the children was very prejudicial, but counsel not having raised the objection in any way to their being made parties to the case, we hardly feel justified in reversing the case on that ground.

Proposition three is stated thus: “The trial court erred in permitting mortality tables to be introduced showing the age of plaintiff, the mother of decedent.” This testimony was objected to at the trial and the mortality table was included in that part of it that showed the expectancy of the mother, a person 53 years old, to he 18 79/100 years. This identical question was before this court in the case of M., O. & G. Ry. Co. v. Lee, 73 Okla. 165, 175 Pac. 367, where the court, quoting from the syllabus, said:

“In the trial of an action1 wherein a surviving widow is seeking to recover damages for the wrongful death of her husband, it is error to admit in evidence mortality tables to prove the expectancy of the surviving widow.”

And in the opinion, the court said:

“At the trial of this cause tih'e plaintiff introduced in evidence mortality tables for the purpose of showing her expectancy. Objection was made to the introduction of this evidence for the reason that it was incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1925 OK 196, 236 P. 426, 110 Okla. 101, 1925 Okla. LEXIS 778, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mid-co-petroleum-co-v-allen-okla-1925.