Mercer v. Mercer's Adm'r
Court of Appeals of Kentucky
Case 6 — PETITION ORDINARY APPEAL PROM MARION CIRCUIT COURT. The moral obligation resting upon the putative father of a bastard child to support and provide for it constitutes a sufficient consideration to impart a legal obligation to a promise by the father to support or provide for the child.
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Case 6 — PETITION ORDINARY APPEAL PROM MARION CIRCUIT COURT. The moral obligation resting upon the putative father of a bastard child to support and provide for it constitutes a sufficient consideration to impart a legal obligation to a promise by the father to support or provide for the child. (Bergen v. Straughan, 7 J. J. M., 583; Commonwealth v. Turner, á Dana, 513.) 1. This is an action at law commenced in equity, and prepared and tried on that side of the docket because neither party moved to transfer it to law. The judgment of the court is, therefore, to be treated as the verdict of a…
1Opinion of the Court
JUDGE HOLT
delivered the opinion of the court.
The appellants, who are bastards, sue in assumpsit by their mother as their next friend to recover upon an alleged parol promise made to her for their benefit by their deceased putative father, Felix Mercer. The petition avers that he, in consideration of his relationship and the natural moral duty resting upon him to support and educate them, promised to give and secure to them therefor his entire estate, less ten thousand *32dollars, to be given to another illegitimate child. No other consideration is stated.
At common law the father was not bound to…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Clarke v. McFarland's ExecutorsCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1837
- Hagan v. PattersonCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1874
3Cited by16 opinions
- Brisbin v. HuntingtonSupreme Court of Iowa · 1905
- Doty's Adm'r v. Doty's GuardianCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1904
- Fiege v. BoehmCourt of Appeals of Maryland · 1956
- Baltzell v. AtesCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1918
- Clark's Administratrix v. CampbellCourt of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976) · 1926
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