Farmer v. Underwood

• Decision Date: 24 March 1914
• Citation: 164 Iowa 587,146 N.W. 18
• Parties: FARMER v. UNDERWOOD ET AL.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

164 Iowa 587

146 N.W. 18

FARMER

v.UNDERWOOD ET AL.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

March 24, 1914.

Appeal from District Court, Polk County; Hugh Brennan, Judge.

Action to recover for services rendered by the plaintiff to the defendant. Defense, that the plaintiff was, at the time the services were rendered, a member of defendant's family, residing therein with his wife and children, and receiving support from the defendant as a member of his family; and that there was no express promise to pay, and no circumstances shown which would negative the conclusion, from the relationship, that the services were gratuitous. Judgment for the defendant. Plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.S. B. Allen, of Des Moines, for appellant.

Parsons & Mills, of Des Moines, for appellees.

GAYNOR, J.

The plaintiff claims: That from the 1st day of October, 1899, up to and including the 18th day of November, 1905, at the instance and request of the defendant, he performed work, labor, and services for the defendant as a general farm hand. That he worked in all for the defendant, as such, for 44 months and 18 days; that the services so rendered were reasonably worth $1,117.34, on which the following credits should be allowed: July, 1903, $5; August 12, 1905, $10. That, after allowing such credits, there is due him from the defendant the sum of $1,102.34, and for this he seeks judgment. The defendant, for answer, denies all the allegations of the plaintiff, and further alleges, as a defense to plaintiff's claim, that the plaintiff was a member of defendant's family; that he was a son-in-law of defendant; that he, together with his wife and children, lived with defendant as a member of defendant's family, during all the time for which he claims compensation for services; and that it was understood that the labor performed, if any, was gratuitous. Defendant, further answering, says that all the matters of account and other matters, if any existed, between plaintiff and defendant, have been heretofore fully settled and adjusted; that, prior to the commencement of this action, the plaintiff brought a suit against the defendant in Polk district court, and there was an adjudication between the plaintiff and defendant of all matters then existing between them in which one had any claim against the other. Defendant further says that in the fall of 1906 he had a full settlement with plaintiff for all labor done by the plaintiff up to that time. The plaintiff, for reply, denies all the affirmative matter set up by the defendant in its answer; alleges that the settlement referred to was made with reference to distinct matters, and in no way involved the matters herein in controversy. Upon the issues thus tendered, the cause was tried to the court and jury, and at the conclusion of all the testimony, on the motion of the defendant, the court directed the jury to return a verdict for the defendant, which being done and judgment having been entered upon the verdict, the plaintiff appeals.

Appellant assigns six errors. The first five may be grouped under one head, to wit: (1) The court erred in sustaining the motion of the defendant to direct a verdict for the defendant, on the ground that the services were rendered by the planitiff to the defendant, as a member of defendant's family, and that there was no evidence of an expressed contract for payment, and no sufficient evidence showing an expectation on the part of the plaintiff to receive pay, and no expectation on the part of the plaintiff to receive pay, and no expectation on the part of the defendant to pay for such services. (2) The court erred in finding that there was a settlement between the parties of all matters involved in this suit for which plaintiff might, at the time of the settlement, have had a claim against the defendant.

The evidence tends to show that the plaintiff, at the time of the happening of the matters hereon sued for, was the son-in-law of the defendant; that, prior to his coming to live with the defendant, he lived at Prairie City; that he married plaintiff's daughter in 1897; that along about the 1st of October, 1899, he, with his wife and two children, came to live with the defendant; that at that time the defendant was occupying a farm of about 200 acres and was engaged in general farming; that plaintiff and his family came to live with the defendant, at the request of plaintiff's wife; that her mother was in very poor health; that she wanted to go and make her home with her father and mother; that, because of the wife's solicitude for her mother and desire to live in her home, plaintiff sold out his business at Prairie City and took his family to live with the defendant. Plaintiff claims that he worked for the defendant continuously from October, 1899, to March 1, 1900, about five months; that he quit then and went away, leaving his family with the defendant. He came back about the 1st of May and then worked for the defendant, milking cows and cutting wood and all kinds of farm work, until about November, 1900; that he then left and did not return until about the 1st of February, 1901; that he then stayed and worked for the defendant until about the 1st of March, 1903, at which time he came back to the farm; that, during his absence this time, he rented a house in town and stayed in town during the summer; that he came back to defendant's about July 1, 1903, and worked on the farm; that he continued to work until about the 18th of December, 1904, and then went to Oklahoma; that he came back about April, 1905, and stayed there until November 18th of that year and did work on and about the farm.

Plaintiff testifies: That during the month of August, in 1905, not having any money from Mr. Underwood, he thought he needed a little pocket money. Because of that, he contemplated going up into Minnesota to harvest. That, when defendant heard he was going away, “he said, ‘If you want to work, you can work right on here, and I will give you $25 a month.’ So I stayed and worked then, but he never paid me any money except $10 paid that day. Prior to this time, he had never fixed any price upon the services.” During all this time that plaintiff was with the defendant, the plaintiff says he never had any dealings with the...