Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1876

McCarty v. De Best

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Decided March 11, 1876 · Gray

120 Mass. 89; 1876 Mass. LEXIS 116

Cases that cite this one

3 later published cases cite this decision.

Gudziewski v. Stemplesky (Mass. 1928)
Hanscom v. Malden & Melrose Gas Light Co. (Mass. 1914)
Nolin v. Pearson (Mass. 1906)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion of the Court

Gray, C. J.

The St. of 1871, c. 312,* was manifestly intended to make the wife alone liable to action, judgment and execution for torts committed by her in the future. This was clearly intimated in Hill v. Duncan, 110 Mass. 238, and was directly adjudged in Austin v. Cox, 118 Mass. 58. The present action having been brought against both husband and wife, for a tort committed by her since the passage of this statute, the exceptions must be

Overruled as to her, and sustained as to him.

“ Any married woman may sue and be sued in actions of tort in the same manner as if she were sole, and her husband shall not be liable to pay the judgment against her for damages or costs in any such suit, but the same may be collected out of her property, real or personal; and all sums, recovered by her in any such suit, shall be her sole and separate property.”

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.