Thomas Eugene Grady

This case involved an appeal from a divorce decree concerning the custody of two young children, child support payments, and the division of marital property. The Supreme Court of Washington affirmed the trial court's decision, awarding custody to the mother with visitation rights including summer custody to the father, setting support at $130 per month reduced upon remarriage, and dividing the property between the parties. The court reasoned that both parents were fit, and visitation was necessary to allow the children to maintain a relationship with their father and prevent alienation of affections. The support amount was deemed appropriate based on the children's needs, and the property division complied with statutory requirements for being just and equitable.

family lawproperty

The case concerned whether a company engaged in direct sales of freezers was required to pay contributions under the 1945 employment security act on commissions paid to its salesmen. The commissioner assessed the company after finding the salesmen performed personal services for remuneration while subject to the company's control and not engaged in independently established businesses of their own. The appeal tribunal and commissioner upheld the assessment, but the superior court reversed on the ground that the salesmen were not in employment; the Supreme Court reversed the superior court and reinstated the assessment. Applying the statutory definitions, the court concluded that the salesmen met the broad definition of employment because they were not free from the company's direction and failed to satisfy all three exceptions in RCW 50.04.140.

labor & employmentbusiness & regulatory

This case involved plaintiffs seeking damages for injuries from a car accident caused by Steele, an employee of defendant Inland Motor Freight who was driving a company car while working as a freight solicitor. The jury found Steele negligent and acting within the scope of his employment, leading to a verdict against the company. The court reversed the judgment, concluding that Steele's personal trip to test rifle sights for a future hunting outing with customers was too remote from his job duties to support a finding that he was acting in the course of employment at the time of the collision. The case was remanded for dismissal.

torts & liabilitylabor & employment

This case involved a dispute over Grays Harbor County's handling of real estate acquired through a 1939 tax sale, including a 1952 timber-sale contract and a 1953 deed conveying the property to the county itself, with instructions to direct income to the county's current expense fund rather than apportioning it under RCW 84.64.230. The Ocosta Consolidated School District sued to set aside the deed and enjoin the improper disbursement of funds. The trial court overruled a demurrer, and after the county declined to plead further, entered judgment for the plaintiff; the Washington Supreme Court affirmed. The court held that RCW 84.64.230 and 84.64.320 are mandatory special statutes that do not permit diversion of such funds or the self-deed transaction, which did not serve the statute's purpose of enabling sales to governmental agencies for public use, and that a direct superior court action was available because the commissioners were not acting under their general powers.

propertytaxesprocedure

This case involved a union member, John Mahoney, who was expelled from the Sailors' Union of the Pacific after making critical remarks at meetings about the union's alleged strike-breaking activities. Mahoney sued to overturn the expulsion, seeking reinstatement and damages for lost employment opportunities as a sailor. The Supreme Court of Washington affirmed the trial court's ruling in his favor, setting aside the expulsion order and awarding damages. The court reasoned that the expulsion deprived Mahoney of a property right in his livelihood without due process, that the union violated its own constitution by holding the trial in San Francisco rather than Seattle, and that his statements did not constitute a violation warranting expulsion under the union's rules.

labor & employmentcivil rightsprocedure

This case involved a husband's petition for divorce under Washington law after he and his wife had lived separate and apart for more than five consecutive years, with the wife counterclaiming for separate maintenance. The trial court denied the divorce, finding that the wife's residence in California with their son (due to the child's health needs) was with the husband's concurrence and did not constitute a separation. The Washington Supreme Court reversed, holding that after 1946 the son's condition no longer required the wife's presence in California, the separation became voluntary and without mutual agreement, and RCW 26.08.020(9) permits divorce based solely on five years of living apart regardless of fault or intent to dissolve the marriage. The court remanded for entry of a divorce decree while directing further proceedings on property division, alimony, and fees.

family law