Oken v. Oken

• Citation: 117 A. 357
• Decision Date: 14 June 1922
• Docket Number: No. 5612.,5612.
• Parties: OKEN v. OKEN.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Rhode Island

117 A. 357

OKEN

v. OKEN.

No. 5612.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

June 14, 1922.

Exceptions from Superior Court, Providence and Bristol Counties; Willard B. Tanner, Presiding Justice^

Action by Evelyn Oken against Isidore J. Oken. Plaintiff's demurrer to defendant's plea in bar overruled and plaintiff excepts. Exceptions overruled, and case remitted for further proceedings.

Cooney & Cooney, of Providence, for plaintiff.

Edward G. Fletcher and Greenough, Easton & Cross, all of Providence, for defendant.

SWEENEY, J. This is an action of trespass on the case for negligence, wherein the plaintiff seeks to recover damages for personal injuries. The plaintiff alleges that the defendant so negligently operated his automobile that it ran into her and caused her severe permanent injuries. The defendant filed a plea in bar, alleging that plaintiff is his wife, and that he was living with her at the time of the accident and at the time of the filing of the plea. The plaintiff demurred to this plea and the demurrer was overruled by the superior court. The plaintiff thereupon claimed an exception to this action of the superior court and has duly brought the case to this court upon her bill of exceptions.

The sole question raised by the exception is: Can a wife maintain an action of trespass on the case for negligence against her husband, to recover damages from him on account of injuries sustained by her by reason of his negligence, when she was living with him at the time she was injured and at the time of the commencement of the action? It is admitted by the plaintiff that under the common law the wife could not maintain such an action against her husband. Has such a right of action been given to her by the statute law of this state?

The property rights and liabilities of married women have been enlarged from time to time by the General Assembly of this state, until, at the present time, the property of any woman, whether acquired before or after marriage, or which may be acquired by her own industry, shall be and remain her sole and separate property, free from any control of her husband. Section 1, chapter 246, General Laws 1909. Formerly it was required that in all actions relating to the property of any married woman the husband and wife must jointly sue and be sued. Section 16, chapter 166, Public Statutes, 1882. This section was amended in the revision of the General Laws of 1896 (chapter 194, section 16), so as to read as at present, namely:

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