Reiniche v. Board of Commissioners of Allen Co.

20 Ind. 243
Indiana Supreme Court·Decided May 15, 1863·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

Perkins, J.

The appellant, on the 15th day of December, 1854, entered into an agreement as superintendent of the eounty asylum of Allen county, with the appellees, which agreement is in these words:

“ This agreement, made this 13th day of December, A. D, 1854, at the county of Allen, and State of Indiana, between John JB. Deiniche, of said eounty, superintendent of the eounty asylum of said county of Allen, party of the first part, and the board of commissioners of the eounty of Allen, party of the second part. Witnesseth: that said party of the first part, hath agreed and doth hereby agree to and with said party of the Second part, to receive, take charge of, and keep the paupers of said county of Allen for the term of three years, from the 1st day of March next, at the county asylum, or poor house, of said county, and to superintend said asylum and said paupers, and provide for their support, maintenance, employment and education, and discharge all other duties required by law, of him as such superintendent as aforesaid, for the term of time aforesaid, upon the conditions following, viz:

“ 1st. No person is to be sent to said asylum, orthere received as a pauper or otherwise, who has at the time any contagious disease.
“2d. The paupers named as aforesaid, include only such persons as may by law be received and maintained in such asylum, and are only to be received by said party of the first part on the proper certificate of the proper overseer or overseers of the poor, that they are such, and on the production of the certificate of the physician of the eounty asylum that they are free from any contagious disease as above stipulated.
“3d. Said party of the first part is to provide and furnish every thing necessary for the comfortable support of such paupers, including clothing, bedding and washing, at the said [245] asylum as aforesaid, for the term aforesaid, except medicine and medical attendance, without charge to said county or to said party of the second part, in any manner, or amount whatever, except as hereinafter stipulated.
“ 4th. Said party of the first part is to have possession of the poor house farm, on which such asylum is situate, and the use thereof for the term aforesaid, free of rent. -
“5th. Said party of the first part is to have and receive for his services and expenditures, as aforesaid, in addition to the possession of said farm, as aforesaid, the sum of 2,547 dollars, and no more, which said sum shall be paid him in quarterly payments at the end of each quarter, in county orders.
“ And said party of the second part, for and in consideration of the promises and undertakings of said party of the first part, as aforesaid, and of the full and faithful performance of said promises, and each of them, hereby agrees to and with said party of the first part, that he, the said party of the first part, shall have the use and occupancy of said poor house farm, to-wit: The farm purchased for a poor house from Messrs. Sinelear and Fleming.
“Eor and during the term aforesaid, free of rent, and that said party of the second part will also pay, or cause to he paid, to the said party of the first part, the said sum of 2,547 dollars, in the manner and at the time as above stipulated.
“ In testimony whereof, the said party of the first part has hereunto set his hand and seal, and the said party of the •second part, now sitting in its corporate capacity, has hereunto subscribed its corporate name, and affixed its corporate seal, the day and year first above mentioned.
“ J. B. Eeiniche, [seal.]
“William Robinson, [seal.]
“ Henry Dickinson, [seal,]
The Board of Co. Com. of Allen Co.”
Attest: jB. Starkweather, County Auditor.

[246] And afterwards, on the 16th day of June, 1858, the appellant filed in said Commissioner’s Court, his claim for 1,884 dollars and 47 cents, with an exhibit of the names, ages and sexes of persons sent to said asylum "by different overseers of the poor, which he claims were not entitled to be placed in said poor house, nor covered by his contract, and deriianding said' sum for keeping them.

In the complaint setting forth his claim, he says : “ That he did not, in said contract, agree, for the consideration therein expressed, to keep and support in said asylum, all those sick and indigent strangers,- all those out of money and out of friends, and likely to suffer, and not inhabitants of the county, whose protection is provided for in. the 24th section of the law, and to be attended to by the overseers.”

Tie further says : “ That the overseers of the poor, either in ignorance of the law, or to defraud him, did in all cases of complaints being made to them by strangers for relief under said section, issue their official mandate to him, to give the applicants admission to the asylum as paupers, and he always felt bound to receive them so sent, because he was in the first two years ignorant of the law, and after that he believed the county would remunerate him.”

The section of the statute referred to (1 R. S. p. 405) reads thus:

" Sec. 24. It shall be the duty of the overseers of the poor, on complaint made to them that any person not an inhabitant of their township is lying sick therein, or in distress, without friends or money, so that he or she is likely to suffer, to examine into the case of such person, and grant such temporary relief as the nature of the same may require; and if any person shall die within any township, who shall not leave money or other means necessary to defray his or her funeral expenses, it shall be the duty of the overseers of the poor of such township to employ some person to provide for and su[247] perintend the burial of such deceased person, and the necessary and reasonable expenses whereof shall be paid by and upon the order of such overseers; and the Board of County Commissioners of the proper county, at any meeting of such Board, shall examine all claims arising under the provisions of this section, and, if found reasonable, shall direct the same to be audited and paid out of the county treasury.”

The Commissioners refused to allow the claim, and the plaintiff appealed to the Circuit Court, where the cause was submitted upon an agreed statement of facts, as follows:

“It is hereby agreed on the part of the plaintiff and the defendant to the above-entitled action, that a jury is waived, and the trial thereof is submitted to the Court, upon the following agreed facts of the case; and that if the Court decides that the plaintiff should recover — that judgment be rendered against the defendant for-dollars; but should the Court find from the said facts that the law is against the plaintiff, then the Court is to dismiss the action at the cost of the plaintiff.
“ 1st. Facts admitted.
“ Plaintiff's contract as Superintendent, dated 30th day of December, 1854.

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Reiniche v. Board of Commissioners of Allen Co., 20 Ind. 243 (Ind. 1863).

20 Ind. 243 (Reiniche v. Board of Commissioners of Allen Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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