Lodge v. Fraim

Citations

• 21 Del. 352
• 5 Penne. 352
• 63 A. 233
• 1905 Del. LEXIS 22

Syllabus

<p>Assumpsit—Nursing, Care, Attention, etc.—Married Women; Action by—Services rendered by one near Relation to Another —Presumption of Law—Express Promise to Pay— Implied Promise, When.</p> <p>1. Under Section i Chapter ¿37, Volume 16, Laws of Delaware, a plaintiff in an action against an executor of a deceased person for services rendered said person in his lifetime will not be permitted to testify as to the nature of his claim, nor whether he did any work for the deceased for which the action was brought.</p> <p>2. Under our law a married woman may maintain an action for her personal labor performed for other persons than her own family.</p> <p>3. Ordinarily when one person performs personal labor and services for another in the absence of any specific bargain or agreement for the payment of the same, the law raises an implied promise on the part of the person receiving such services to pay therefor. But there is no such implied promise to pay for services rendered gratuitously, or by one near to another. As between near relations such as brothers and sisters (living together) the law presumes that whatever services may be rendered under such circumstances are, and were intended to be, gratuitous favors prompted by the relationship and friendly interest between the parties, and before there can be any recovery the plaintiff must prove an express promise, agreement or understanding with the person receiving the services that the latter was to pay for them.</p> <p>4. If there was an express promise that the services were to be paid for, but no definite price was agreed upon, then the plaintiff would be entitled to recover a fair and reasonable compensation for the services rendered, not, however, in excess of the sum demanded.</p>