Teawalt v. Ramey's Ex'x
| Decision Date | 22 September 1904 |
| Citation | 48 S.E. 505,103 Va. 42 |
| Parties | TEAWALT v. RAMEY'S EX'X et al. |
| Court | Virginia Supreme Court |
DECEDENT'S ESTATES — CLAIM FOR NURSING — VALIDITY—ACCOUNTING—FINDING.
1. Where, in a proceeding to establish a claim against a decedent's estate, it appeared that accounts between claimant and decedent extended through a period of many years, and comprised numerous items and transactions; that no regular books were kept; that the making of a satisfactory statement was exceedingly difficult; and that the evidence in relation thereto was contradictory—such facts, of themselves, do not warrant a finding that no decree can be rendered in favor of either party.
2. Where claimant, who long had been intimately associated with decedent, at one time being in his employment as a laborer, and then as renter of his land for many years, in the last sickness of deceased went to his house unasked and unsolicited, even though gratefully received, as his friendship with deceased warranted, and entered the sick chamber to nurse deceased as a friend, while deceased was surrounded by his family and other friends who were anxious to serve him, and no stipulation was made that the service of claimant should be paid for, no promise will be implied.
Appeal from Circuit Court, Shenandoah County.
Claim by J. N. Teawalt against the estate of J. M. Ramey, deceased, and others. From a decree for the estate, claimant appeals. Modified.
Walton & Walton and A. C. Braxton, for appellant.
R. T. Barton and F. S. Tavenner, for appellees.
KEITH, P. This suit was Instituted by C. A. Ramey, widow of J. M. Ramey, to secure the payment of his debts and a settlement of his estate. Among the creditors was J. N. Teawalt. The commissioner in chancery, who was directed to state the account between J. N. Teawalt and Ramey's estate, has filed four statements. In the first, which he terms his "initial account, " he finds a balance due to J. N. Teawalt of $597.02. By the first alternate statement, the balance due Teawalt is ascertained to be $1,582.66, by the second alternate statement, this sum is reduced to $255.08, and by the fourth and last statement the estate of Ramey appears as a creditor in the sum of $5.84.
The accounts between Teawalt and Ramey extend through a period of 26 years, and comprise numerous transactions and almost innumerable items.
Teawalt was at one time in the employment of Ramey as a laborer, and then for many years a renter of land from Ramey. No regular books were kept,...
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Coleman v. Wallace, 10937
...S.E. 991; Hurst's Adm'r v. Hite, 20 W.Va. 183; Cox v. Davis, 85 W.Va. 604, 102 S.E. 236; Hauser v. King, 76 Va. 731; and Teawalt v. Ramey's Ex'x, 103 Va. 42, 48 S.E. 505. We are of the opinion that the circumstances of this case, involving as it does the appellant, Patty Finney, coming to d......
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Humphreys Railways, Inc. v. F/V NILS S
...not be implied by law to pay a lifelong friend and neighbor for unsolicited services as a nurse during a last illness. Teawalt v. Ramey, 103 Va. 42, 48 S.E. 505 (1904). Further, even though one may have benefitted from another's services, the latter cannot recover unless he can show suffici......