STEPHEN W. ISON, APPELLANT,
v.
FLORIDA SANITARIUM AND BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION, D/B/A FLORIDA HOSPITAL, APPELLEE
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A parent is not liable for the debts of an emancipated child, even for necessities like medical treatment.
[1] A parent is not liable for the debts of an emancipated child, even for necessities such as medical treatment.
[2] Emancipation of a minor may be effected at common law notwithstanding non-compliance with statutory emancipation procedures.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA hospital provided services to a minor daughter who had permanently left home and become self-supporting prior to receiving treatment. The father dec…
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SCHWARTZ, ALAN R., Associate Judge.
This is an “appeal” from an order of the Orange County Circuit Court sitting in its appellate capacity, which itself affirmed a judgment of the Orange County Small Claims Court, entering judgment in favor of the Florida Sanitarium and Benevolent Association d/b/a Florida Hospital and against the present “appellant” Stephen W. Ison, in the amount of $352.60. The claim upheld by the courts below involved hospital services rendered to Mr. Ison’s daughter Debra, who was then 18 years of age — and thus a “minor” under the then applicable Florida law. The lower courts upheld the hospital’s contention that Mr. Ison was liable for the debt as a “necessity of life” provided to his daughter. Since we have no jurisdiction on appeal to review an appellate decision of the Circuit Court, Dresner v. Tallahassee, Fla. 1964, 164 So. 2d 208, we treat the appeal as a petition for writ of certiorari. See Robinson v. State, Fla.1961, 132 So. 2d 3; Ellison v. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.1966, 183 So. 2d 193. After so doing, and upon a consideration of the case on its merits, we have determined that the order of affirmance below constitutes a departure from the clear requirements of the law and, therefore, quash that decision, on the ground that the stipulated facts clearly and indisputably reveal that Debra was “emancipated” at the time that the services were rendered, and thus that Mr. Ison is not himself liable for her debt to the hospital.
In the absence of a transcript of testimony of the proceedings before the Small Claims Court, the parties stipulated, as permitted by Florida Appellate Rule 3.6(h), that one month prior to the rendering of the hospital’s services in February 1972, Debra had “left home permanently, . . . got a place to live of her own,” and that she had become and been completely self-supporting. Her father, Mr. Ison, had paid none of her bills and had provided nothing more than ordinary — in fact, minimal — monies in the payment of social amenities which one might render another who was his child, but who was nonetheless independent. Indeed, at the time that Debra went into the hospital on an emergency basis, Mr. Ison declined to sign a financial responsibility document which the hospital’s personnel attempted to secure from him; he did sign a consent to operate form only because the hospital said it was required in order for treatment to be provided. On these thus-undisputed facts — which demonstrate without question that Debra had secured and enforced her “right of the minor to collect and control [her] own wages and labor for [her] self,” see Dora v. Cochran, Fla.1962, 138 So. 2d 508 — -we must hold that she became “emancipated” and thus that her father was not liable even for her medical treatment.
The Florida law has rather consistently held that a common law emancipation may be effected between parties notwithstanding non-compliance with the statutory means of securing emancipation under F.S. § 62.011. E. g., Jackson v. Citizens’ Bank & Trust Co., 53 Fla. 265, 44 So. 516, 530; see Meehan v. Meehan, Fla. App.1961, 133 So. 2d 776; Owen v. Owen, Fla.App.1970, 234 So. 2d 165; 59 Am.Jur. 2d, Parent and Child, § 93, p. 191; Annot., Minor — Implied Emancipation, 165 A.L.R. 723. The facts and circumstances necessary to effect such an emancipation involve, as we have indicated, a breaking of the bonds of “subjection” of the child to the parent and the establishment of the concomitant right of the child herself to collect and retain her wages. See 24 Fla. Jur., Parent and Child, § 18, p. 160. While in most cases, the issue of whether this has in fact occurred is itself one of fact, see Owen v. Owen, supra, this record contains nothing which would create even an inference that it had not.1 Thus, the emancipation was established as a matter of law.
There is no question that once such an emancipation is established, the parent —who is no longer able to command the obedience or services of his child — is likewise no longer liable for his debts even those for “necessities” such as medical treatment. See cases collected, Annot., 165 A.L.R. 719. The case of Buxton v. Bishop, 185 Va. 1, 37 S.E. 2d 755, 165 A.L.R. 719, is virtually squarely on point with this one. It holds, as we do, that the parent of an emancipated child is not liable for his child’s hospital and medical services.
Certiorari is granted and the judgment is quashed with directions to reverse the judgment of the Orange County Small Claims Court.
CROSS and DOWNEY, JJ., concur. . Early Florida cases, e. g., Mills v. Joiner, 20 Fla. 479 (1884), Jackson v. Citizens’ Bank & Trust Co., supra, indicate that an issue of fact as to this question may arise even if the minor continues to live at home. Since it is undisputed that this did not occur in this case, it is all the more clear that the emancipation appears as a matter of law.
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The Fla. Bd. OF Regents OF the Dep't OF Educ. v. Harris, 338 So. 2d 215 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976)…sability removal are exclusive for other purposes, such as entitlement to wages, exclusion of property and wages from claims of creditors, obtaining licenses, paying taxes, etc., [See Ison v. Florida Sanitarium and Benevolent Asso., Fla. App. (4th), 302 So. 2d 200 (1974), and cases cited therein; Owen v. Owen, Fla.App. (1st), 234 So. 2d 165 (1970) ; Meehan v. Meehan, Fla.App. (2d), 133 So. 2d 776 (1961) ; Jackson v. Citizens’ Bank & Trust Co., 53 Fla. 265, 44 So. 516 (1907) ; Riley v. Holmer, 100 Fla. 938, 13…
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Doerrfeld v. Konz, 524 So. 2d 1115 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988)…cases addressing whether emancipation can result merely from a minor child giving birth and thus becoming a parent. Other states have held that fact alone is not sufficient to create emancipation.4 In Ison v. Florida Sanitarium & Benevolent Ass’n., 302 So. 2d 200 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974) the father of an eighteen-year old minor was sued for hospital services provided to the minor. The facts in Ison established that the minor daughter had left [*1117] her parents’ home permanently and was completely self-supportin…
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LAY v. Suggs, 559 So. 2d 740 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990)…if not a minor. It has been noted that when a parent is no longer able to command obedience or services of a child who has been emancipated, the parent likewise should no longer be liable for his debts. Ison v. Fla. Sanitarium and Benevolent Ass’n, 302 So. 2d 200, 201 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974). No action by a parent is required by Florida law to escape responsibility for a child once a child is emancipated by marriage, and we do not believe that section . 322.09 changes that concept. The last sentence of subsecti…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Dresner v. City OF Tallahassee, 164 So. 2d 208 (Fla. 1964)
- Bertram C. Ellison v. City OF Fort Lauderdale, 183 So. 2d 193 (Fla. 1966)
- Robinson v. State, 132 So. 2d 3 (Fla. 1961)
- Jackson v. The Citizens Bank & Tr. Co., 53 Fla. 265 (Fla. 1907)
- Geo. B. Mills et ux. v. Joiner, 20 Fla. 479 (Fla. 1884)
- Meehan v. Meehan, 133 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961)
- Maxwell Allen Dora v. Cochran, 138 So. 2d 508 (Fla. 1962)
- Owen v. Owen, 234 So. 2d 165 (Fla. 1st DCA 1970)