Quinn v. Quinn

• Decision Date: 26 April 1894
• Citation: 5 S.D. 328,58 N.W. 808
• Parties: CHARLIE FULLER QUINN, Plaintiff and respondent, v. QUINN, Defendant and appellant.
• Court: South Dakota Supreme Court

5 S.D. 328, 58 N.W. 808 (1894)

CHARLIE FULLER QUINN,

Plaintiff and respondent,

v.QUINN,

Defendant and appellant.

South Dakota Supreme Court

Appeal from Circuit Court, Minnehaha County, S.D.

Hon. Frank R. Aikens, Judge

Affirmed

Davis, Lyon & Gates, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Attorneys for appellant.

Opinion filed April 26, 1894

CORSON, P. J.

The complaint in this action is very lengthy, and we shall only attempt to give the substance, except as to two paragraphs, which we deem specially important. In October. 1868, the plaintiff, being a little over nine years of age, was adopted by Hollis S. Quinn, the husband of the defendant, by virtue of statutory proceedings, in the state of Illinois; the plaintiff’s mother, then a widow, consenting thereto. It is alleged in the complaint: That Quinn was desirous of adopting the plaintiff as a child of his own, and making him one of his heirs at law, and bestowing upon him all the rights, privileges, and emoluments that he could enjoy and could be entitled to had he been born to the said Quinn as his own child; and

“that, in pursuance of said intention so formed by said Hollis S. Quinn, at his special instance and request, complainant’s mother did, about the 26th day of October, 1868, enter into a contract with said Hollis S. Quinn, by virtue of which she did give her consent to the adoption of your complainant by said Hollis S. Quinn, on the express terms and conditions that your complainant was to live with the said Hollis S. Quinn until he was twenty-one years of age, and was to work for and serve said Hollis faithfully, be kind and obedient to said Hollis, and in consideration thereof the said Hollis Quinn was to board, clothe, and send your petitioner to school at least three months out of each and every year, and when your complainant arrived at the age of twenty one years was to give him a good span of horses, harness, and wagon, and was to give him enough farming machinery to enable complainant to start farming for himself; and also to make complainant one of his heirs at law, and be entitled to inherit with his other heirs a just and full portion of said Hollis S. Quinn’s property at the time of his death. That in pursuance of said verbal agreement entered into between your complainant’s mother on complainant’s behalf and said Hollis S. Quinn, the said parties on or about the 26th day of October, 1868, went before the county court of Bureau county, Illinois, which was at that time a court of general jurisdiction, and clothed with power and authority to do all things that was required and necessary to be done under the laws of the state of Illinois to lawfully cause your complainant to become the lawfully adopted son and heir at law of said Hollis S. Quinn.”

That such proceedings were had that an order was made, the material parts of which are as follows:

“It also appears to the court that the mother has given her consent to the adoption of said male child; and it appears to the court from all the testimony in the case that it would be to the best interest of the said child to make an order declaring said child to be the adopted child of the petitioner, Hollis S. Quinn, making said child capable of inheriting said Hollis’ estate. It further appears that it is the desire of said petitioner and the mother of said male child that it be ordered by the court that the name of said child be changed, and that his name hereafter be Charlie Fuller Quinn. It is therefore ordered, adjudged, and decreed by the court that the prayer of said petitioner be granted; and it is further ordered by the court that the said male child, Charlie Fuller, be declared to be the adopted child of Hollis S. Quinn, the petitioner; and it is further ordered and declared that said male child, Charlie Fuller, shall be capable of inheriting the estate of said Hollis S. Quinn; and it is further ordered by the court that the name of said male child shall be Charlie Fuller Quinn; and it is further ordered and declared that thenceforward the relation between said Hollis S. Quinn and said adopted child, Charlie Fuller Quinn, shall be, as to their legal rights and liabilities, the same as if the relation of parent and child existed between them, except that said Hollis S. Quinn shall never inherit from said Charlie Fuller Quinn.”

That thereafter the plaintiff remained in the family of said Quinn until about July 15, 1880, when he attained his majority. That while he so remained with said Quinn he was required to and did perform much hard manual labor, and largely aided said Quinn in acquiring a property which amounted to about $15,000. That said Quinn died in Sioux Falls, in this state, in 1891, leaving the defendant, who is the widow of said Quinn, two daughters, and this plaintiff his sole heirs at law. The complaint then alleges that said Quinn, prior to his death, entered into an unlawful and corrupt agreement with the defendant to place his property in a condition so that this plaintiff could not reach the same, and have said property in such condition that the plaintiff could not inherit the same; and that in pursuance of such corrupt and unlawful agreement the said Quinn did convey and transfer to the defendant large portions of his property without consideration, and just prior to his death made a will, by which he gave, bequeathed and devised to said defendant the residue of his estate, real and personal, for the express purpose of defeating this plaintiff. The plaintiff prays judgment that the said conveyances and transfers from said Quinn to the defendant, so far as they effect his interests, be set aside, and that plaintiff’s right to one-third of two-thirds of said property be decreed to him, etc. To this complaint the defendant interposed a demurrer, on the ground that the complaint does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. This demurrer was overruled, and the defendant appeals, assigning as error the overruling of said demurrer.

The principal ground relied on by appellant for a reversal of the order of the court below is that by the complaint it affirmatively appears that the agreement alleged to have been made by said Quinn with the mother of the plaintiff at the time of his adoption was not in writing, and was therefore invalid.

The respondent contends that the fact that the plaintiff is heir of Quinn is conclusively established by the order. We fully agree with counsel in this contention. The order is that said plaintiff “shall be capable of inheriting the estate of said Hollis S. Quinn,” and “that henceforward the relation between the said Hollis S. Quinn and said adopted child … shall be, as to their legal rights and liabilities, the same as if the relation of parent and child existed between them.” It is true that neither in the recitals in the order nor in the order itself is there any allusion to any contract other than that the...