Cargill v. Brady

Prescott, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. After the chancellor sustained a demurrer to appellant’s bill of complaint, which prayed an injunction to restrain the appellee from conveying any interest in a house which he had constructed on appellee’s property and the appointment of a trustee to sell the property, he has appealed. The only question involved is whether this ruling was correct. The bill of complaint, in substance, alleges that in 1950, the appellant and appellee began living together in an apartment as husband and wife “without benefit of clergy.” After some eighteen months during which the appellant requested appellee many times to marry him, she promised to do so if he would erect a house on some land she owned in Baltimore County.

He was a carpenter. He obtained a building permit in 1951, personally worked upon the construction of the dwelling and paid for all materials and labor not furnished by himself. They, presumably, moved into the house and set up housekeeping in the latter part of 1951, or sometime in 1952. (The bill alleges they started living together in the apartment in 1950, and lived there for about eighteen months.) He frequently requested her to “marry him in pursuance of their agreement, but the defendant refused to do so.” Some of the fire insurance policies on the property were in his name; joint income tax returns were filed by them from 1950 to 1958; and from 1950 to 1954 the parties maintained a joint account in a savings institution.

The appellant urged the appellee to marry him, but she continued to refuse. She became abusive and threatened his life if he did not leave the premises, which he did sometime in 1959. Shortly ⁴⁵⁷ thereafter, they reconciled, but she soon became abusive and plaintiff, in fear of his life, again left the property, this time some two years and two months before