Town of St. Johnsbury v. Town of Lyndon
| Citation | 180 A. 892,107 Vt. 404 |
| Parties | TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY v. TOWN OF LYNDON |
| Decision Date | 01 October 1935 |
| Court | Vermont Supreme Court |
May Term, 1935.
Paupers---Receipt of Aid for Minor Children under P. L. 5421 as not Affecting Standing under Pauper Law---Pauper Residence---Insufficiency of Facts To Warrant Recovery by One Town against Another Town for Aid Supplied Pauper.
1. Widow accepting aid of two dollars per week for certain of her minor children under P. L. 5421, which is wholly and exclusively a child welfare enactment, held not thereby to have become a pauper or affected her standing under pauper law in any way.
2. In action by town for assistance supplied by it to widow, who had removed thereto upon death of her husband, against town from which she came and in which she had pauper residence at time of removing therefrom, it appearing that she had lived in plaintiff town more than three years before applying to it for aid, supporting herself and receiving no public aid other than two dollars per week for certain of her children from welfare department under P. L. 5421, held that she had acquired pauper residence in plaintiff town, and that no recovery could be had against town of her former residence.
ACTION OF CONTRACT under P. L. 3923 to recover expense of assistance furnished a poor person. Plea, general issue. Trial by court at the December Term, 1934, Caledonia County, Sturtevant, J presiding. Judgment for the plaintiff. The defendant excepted. The opinion states the case.
Judgment reversed, and judgment for the defendant to recover its costs.
N A. Norton and Porter, Witters & Longmoore for the defendant.
Searles & Graves for the plaintiff.
Present POWERS, C. J., SLACK, MOULTON, THOMPSON, and SHERBURNE, JJ.
Ray Barrington, with his family, lived in the town of Lyndon and had a residence there at the time of his death on February 1, 1929. He left a widow and several children who continued to live in Lyndon until July 1, 1929, when they removed to St. Johnsbury, where they have since resided. The few hundred dollars left by Barrington were soon exhausted by funeral and living expenses, and in May, 1933, Mrs Barrington applied to the town of St. Johnsbury for assistance. This was furnished, and the suit in hand is brought to recover the amount of money so expended by the plaintiff. In May, 1929, Mrs. Barrington began receiving aid under P. L. 5421, from the department of public welfare; and she continued to receive the sum of two dollars per week for certain of her children until May, 1933, and the town of Lyndon has from time to time repaid to the State one-half of it. Aside from this, neither Barrington nor his widow had received public aid prior to her application to the plaintiff as stated.
It thus appears that when her husband died,...
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