Halley v. Ball

Citations

• 66 Ill. 250

Syllabus

<p>1. Masked women—may be sued at lam on their contracts respecting their sepai'ate property. A married woman may be sued at law on contracts made by her affecting her separate properly.</p> <p>2. Pleading—replication to plea of coverture. In a suit against a married woman, to which pleas of coverture were interposed, the plaintiff replied that the several'promises and undertakings in the declaration mentioned, were made and entered into in the State of Iowa; that the services performed, material furnished, and money expended by the plaintiff for the defendant, as alleged in the declaration, were done, performed, furnished and expended, and were contracted to be so done in the State of Iowa, concerning the necessary care and for the benefit of the separate property of the defendant, then owned by her under the laws of Iowa; and that, by the laws of the State of Iowa then and now in force, the defendant could own separate property in her individual right, and could be sued alone on contracts in regal'd to her separate property, notwithstanding her coverture. The circuit court struck these replications from the files: Held, that the court erred, and that the replications, after striking out the latter clause, as surplusage, still presented a complete answer to the pleas of coverture.</p> <p>8. Lex loci et eobi. The remedy provided by the law of the place where a contract is sought to be enforced must be pursued, and not that of the place where the contract was made; and if the remedy in this State is in a court of equity, suit must be so brought, although the remedy was at law in the place where the contract was made.</p>