Mallinger v. Mallinger

Dissenting Opinion by

Flood, J.:

The “well-nigh absolute” duty of a father to support his five-year old child is enforceable at the instance of the mother, and the mother cannot bargain away her child’s right or encumber it with conditions. But this is a very different thing from saying that the mother can enforce a contract for the child’s support (in an amount which might be greater, or for that matter less, than a court would order) when she herself has first breached other provisions of that contract.

The case of Foley v. Foley, 63 Pa. Superior Ct. 69 (1916) relied upon by the majority,…