Texas Employers' Insurance Ass'n v. Elder

In the trial court respondent, Ethel Mae Elder, suing as the surviving common-law wife of a deceased employee, Grover Cleveland Elder, recovered judgment against petitioner for death benefits under the Workmen’s Compensation Law, Articles 8306 et seq. That judgment was affirmed by the Court of Civil Appeals. 274 S.W. 2d 144. Petitioner defended the action on the ground that the alleged common-law marriage between Ethel Mae and Elder was invalid because of her prior undissolved marriage to Allen Dade. In answer to special issues the jury found that Ethel Mae and Elder entered into an agreement…