Equality Tp. v. Star Tp.
| Citation | 274 N.W. 219,200 Minn. 316 |
| Decision Date | 18 June 1937 |
| Docket Number | 31287. |
| Parties | EQUALITY TP. v. STAR TP. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Appeal from District Court, Red Lake County; James E. Montague Judge.
Action by the Equality Township, Red Lake County, Minn., against Township of Star, Pennington County, Minn. From a judgment defendant appeals.
Affirmed.
The operation of statutes is often extended by construction to matters of subsequent creation and applied to conditions that accrue after their passage as well as to those that existed before.
Syllabus by the Court .
1. The legal settlement of a poor person having been established in a certain municipality, it there remains until a new one is acquired.
2. The State Emergency Relief Administration by temporarily taking over the burdens of poor relief did not thereby change the place of settlement of the poor theretofore having a recognized place of settlement in a municipality.
3. A construction of a statute which would result in absurdity injustice, or inconvenience is to be avoided if the language used will reasonably bear any other construction.
4. Extra Session, Laws 1935-1936, c. 68, was not intended to change existing law respecting settlement of poor persons, but rather to clarify it so as to remove all doubt and uncertainty. The operation of statutes is often extended, by construction, to matters of subsequent creation and applied to conditions that accrue after their passage as well as to those that existed before.
Paul A. Lundgren and Lincoln Arnold, both of Thief River Falls, for appellant.
Fred L. Farley and Carl Brink, both of Red Lake Falls, for respondent.
The appeal is from a judgment determining that the legal settlement for poor relief purposes of one Gunlekson was in defendant township. The suit was brought to establish such settlement pursuant to the provisions of Mason's Minn.St.1927, § 3161-2. The cause was heard by the court and findings made sustaining plaintiff's position. As there is neither settled case nor bill of exceptions, our only concern is whether the findings of fact sustain the conclusions of law and the resulting judgment. Defendant fully realizes this situation, but insists that measured by this test the legal conclusion reached by the court is not so sustained.
The facts found may be thus summarized: Plaintiff township lies within Red Lake county, defendant within Pennington county. The township system of caring for the poor existed in both except, that as to Pennington the county system existed between the first Monday in January, 1933, and the same day in January, 1935. The involved poor person has been unable to support himself over a period of years, in fact ever since 1930. At the time of the hearing he was seventy-two years of age. He regularly received aid from Star township as a poor person from 1930 until the county system in Pennington County was adopted. From that time and until April 1, 1934, he received aid from that county. The aid was in the form of monthly payments of definite amounts to the persons at whose homes he was living. His place of abode and legal settlement was in the town of Star until June 23, 1933, and has there remained unless changed latter by the further facts found by the court. At that time and with the consent of the person having charge of poor relief for the county, he was taken to the home of one Krosen in plaintiff township, but Pennington County continued paying for his support. It is well also to note that next prior to June 23, 1933, he had actually lived in Polk county over a period of twenty-one months, but during all of that time he received aid as a poor person from the defendant township. The court also made this significant finding:
‘ That when Gunlekson moved to the Krosen home in Red Lake county, there was no intention to change his residence from Pennington county; and the move was made in the belief that aid would continue to be given by Pennington county or the town of Star.’
On April 1, 1934, the State Emergency Relief Administration took over the poor relief of both counties. Krosen was paid for Gunlekson's support for April, 1934, through the Pennington County office. Through the Red Lake county office he was paid from May to December, 1934. Thereafter and until June, 1935, the Pennington County office made the payments, at which time the state administration in both counties was discontinued and the old system of caring for the poor was resumed. The present proceeding was begun in September, 1935. So the question presented is whether the aid received from the state administration, upon the facts hereinbefore stated, should be construed as the equivalent of changing Gunlekson's settlement for poor purposes from Star township to that of the plaintiff. The total number of months during which the state furnished the aid to this and other paupers in these counties was approximately fourteen months. During that time Gunlekson was physically present at the Krosen home in plaintiff township. Defendant's position is that as a matter of law, upon the facts stated, there was established a ‘ settlement’ of this poor person in plaintiff township and that the court was in error in holding otherwise.
1-2. Many cases have been before this court involving pauper settlement. Defendant cites several of them and seems to place its heaviest reliance upon Town of Smiley v. Village of St. Hilaire, 183 Minn. 533, 237 N.W. 416, 417, and State ex rel. Timo v. Juvenile Court, 188 Minn. 125, 246 N.W. 544, 545.
In the Smiley Case the pauper had lived in various townships prior to the time the proceeding there involved was brought. Also important to note is the fact that in that case the township of Smiley (in which he was living when the proceedings were begun) was not involved on the appeal, the controversy being limited to the township of Rocksbury and the village of St Hilaire. The facts there were that the pauper lived continuously for almost a year and a half in St. Hilaire, staying with one Johnson. This condition existed until October 14, 1929, at which time Johnson moved to the township of Smiley, the pauper going with him and there remained until ...
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