Joseph Nelson and Ola Mae Smith, Administratrix of the Estate of Robert Minor Smith, Deceased v. Victory Electric Works, Inc.

The plaintiffs, residents of the District of Columbia who were injured during the course of their employment in Maryland, brought this action against their employer upon a contract claim calling for supplemental payments to equate the workmen’s compensation payments of Maryland to the District of Columbia scale. The employer defended upon the ground that § 51 of the Maryland Workmen’s Compensation Law 1 prohibits such a contractual undertaking, and that the contract is also void because of impossibility of performance.

The District Court entered judgment for the plaintiffs, which we affirm for…