Tarr v. Friend
Tarr v. Friend
Opinion of the Court
This case involves the proper construction of section 2 of chapter 62, being paragraph 3753, of the General Statutes of 1889, in relation to married women. The only question in the case is: Does the old rule that, where the feme covert specially pledges property by way of mortgage for the joint debt of herself and her husband, executing the contract for the repayment jointly, the special setting apart of the mortgaged property raises a presumption that all other of her separate property was excluded and not pledged for such indebtedness, apply under our statute?
Our Supreme Court, in the case of Deering v. Boyle (8 Kan. 530), appears to recognize this rule, and says:
‘ ‘Another class of cases is where a married woman at the time she makes the contract appropriates a certain piece of property (either 'hers or her husband’s) for the payment of her obligation, by way of mortgage or pledge or the like. In such cases it has been held that no other property was intended to be appropriated or charged, upon the maxim that the express mention of one thing is the exclusion of an*50 other. Such was the case of Johnson Co. v. Rugg (18 Iowa, 137).”
But in the case of Deering v. Boyle the court says that that case does not come within the rule.
Again, in Wicks v. Mitchell (9 Kan. 88), where the defendant plead her coverture as a defense to an action upon a contract made jointly with her husband, and where she further averred that she refused at the time of the execution of the notes to charge her separate property, the court says : “ She admits the execution of the notes. Now whether thereby she charged her separate property is a question of law ; for there is no claim in the petitions that she ever executed any mortgage or other instrument specifically appropriating certain property to the payment of these notes.” The allegation that the defendant refused, at the time of the execution of the notes, to charge her separate property may be considered, says the court, as simply an allegation that she refused, by mortgage or otherwise, to make any specific appropriation of any of her separate property to the payment of these notes ; in other words, she did nothing further towards charging her separate property than executing these notes. In the case cited there was a demurrer to the defendant’s answer, which was sustained. Counsel contended that this was error because she specifically alleged that she refused to charge her separate property for the payment of this debt. The court goes on to say: “In this view the question raised by the learned counsel for the plaintiff in error is not in the cases, and they fall within the letter as well as the spirit and reasoning of the rule laid down in Deering v. Boyle,” supra.
So the exact question has never been presented to the Supreme Court as to whether, in an action against
In the case of Lisle v. Cheney (36 Kan. 578), the facts are almost exactly the same as in this case ; however, the precise question was not specifically raised, and the court held, upon the opinion of Commissioner Simpson, that a lien was created for the entire judgment, at the date of its rendition, upon all the property owned by the defendant, a married woman, and upon property thereafter acquired by her. In that case there had been a specific pledge of property by way of mortgage, as in the case under consideration.
Section 399 of the Code provides: “In actions to
The judgment is reversed, with direction to the court below to proceed in accordance with this opinion.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.