Deihl v. Jones

• Decision Date: 16 May 1936
• Parties: DEIHL et al. v. JONES et al.
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

Page 47

94 S.W.2d 47

DEIHL et al. v. JONES et al.

Supreme Court of Tennessee.

May 16, 1936.

Appeal from Chancery Court, Davidson County; James B. Newman, Chancellor.

Bill by W. J. Deihl, as administrator of the estate of Alfred Daniel Jones, Sr., deceased, against Edith B. Jones, Alfred Daniel Jones, Jr., through his guardian ad litem, and Mrs. Lena Jones Bear and another. From the decree of the Court of Appeals affirming a decree of the chancellor, Mrs. Lena Jones Bear and the guardian ad litem of Alfred Daniel Jones, Jr., bring certiorari.

Both petitions for certiorari denied.

W. P. Cooper, of Nashville, for complainant.

Jeff McCarn, of Nashville, Knight & Brown, of Centerville, and G. S. Moore and Jos. Higgins, both of Nashville, for defendants.

W. O. Hake, of Dickson, for H. B. Tidwell.

A. G. Ewing, 3d, of Nashville, guardian ad litem.

DE HAVEN, Justice.

Alfred Daniel Jones, a World War veteran, died intestate in Davidson county, Tenn., in February, 1933. A judgment had been recovered by him against the United States for $10,000 on a war risk policy, in January, 1931, upon the ground that the policy had matured by reason of the fact that he had become totally and permanently insane. In May, 1931, on a writ of inquisition of lunacy, he was adjudged a person of unsound mind by the county court of Dickson county, Tenn., in which county he then resided, and a guardian was appointed for him. He was not incarcerated, but was allowed to go where he pleased. He went to Chattanooga, and while there he and Miss Edith Pybon, seventeen years of age, went to Rossville, Walker county, Ga., and were married. A child, the defendant Alfred Daniel Jones, Jr., was born to them on February 21, 1932.

In March, 1933, W. J. Deihl qualified as administrator of the estate of Alfred Daniel Jones, Sr., deceased. The guardianship in Dickson county had been removed to Davidson county. Conflicting claims and demands were made upon the administrator for the property of the estate. On July 26, 1933, the administrator filed his bill in this cause against the widow and child of the deceased, against his sister and brother, and his guardian, to transfer the administration of the estate to the chancery court for final settlement and disposition, and to have a determination of the question of who are the heirs of the deceased. The amount of the estate is $5,600.

The chancellor held that the marriage of Alfred Daniel Jones, Sr., to Edith Pybon was void because of his mental incapacity. On her appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the decree of the chancellor in this respect. She has not filed a petition in this court for certiorari.

The chancellor held that under section 8453 of the Code, the child Alfred Daniel Jones, Jr., is the legitimate child of Alfred Daniel Jones, Sr. On the appeal of the sister of deceased, Mrs. Lena Jones Bear, the Court of Appeals affirmed the decree of the chancellor in this respect.

Mrs. Bear has filed her petition for certiorari, as has also the guardian ad litem of the child. The assignments of error on both petitions make but one question, to wit, the legitimacy of Alfred Daniel Jones, Jr.

Section 8453 of the Code is as follows:

"Legitimacy of children. — The annulment or dissolution of the marriage shall not in any wise affect the legitimacy of the children of the same."

The words "annulment or" were added to the statute by the Code of 1932. The addition of these words had the effect of broadening the statute. As used in this enactment, "annulment" and "dissolution" are not synonymous in their meaning. "Annulment" is defined in the Century Dictionary as: "The act of annulling; the act of making void retrospectively as well as prospectively." 3 C.J. 222. In the case of annulment the marriage is...