CHANDLER v. CENTRAL OIL CORP.5/28/1993
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Claimant, Mary Glin Chandler, appeals a judgment of the district court which affirmed the decisions of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and the Director of Workers Compensation which awarded benefits to another claimant, Eliza Davis Chandler, as the surviving widow of Fred R. Chandler, Sr., deceased. Mary Chandler appealed, claiming that the district court erred in failing to require the claimed common-law wife to overcome the presumption of validity of the subsequent ceremonial marriage between claimant Mary and the deceased. In an unpublished opinion filed August 28, 1992, the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for further proceedings. Eliza Chandler's petition for review was granted by this court.
Fred R. Chandler, Sr., was shot during a robbery in the course of his employment as a gas station attendant for Central Oil Corporation, Inc., respondent. Fred died on July 18, 1988, as a result of his injury.
Fred fathered three children with three different women. Fred had a son named Ruben Holmes who was born on March 6, 1955, to Dorothy R. Johnson. Fred and Dorothy were never married. Ruben was 33 years old when Fred was killed. Ruben never appeared in this action.
After his relationship with Dorothy, Fred married three women and fathered two other children. He first married Noletta J. Carter on June 20, 1964. Fred and Noletta were divorced on June 1, 1973. There were no children born of this marriage.
The second wife, Eliza, began living with Fred in 1969. Rosalin Chandler, the daughter of Fred and Eliza, was born August 27, 1971. She turned 18 on August 27, 1989, after Fred's death, while this case was pending. Eliza and Fred were married in Arkansas on July 7, 1972. Eliza did not know that Fred was still married to Noletta at the time. Eliza and Fred continued to live together after Fred's divorce from Noletta became final.
Mary, the third wife, and Fred began living together in April 1982. They were married on July 10, 1985, in Kansas City, Kansas. Fred R. Chandler, Jr., the son of Fred and Mary, was born July 14, 1983. Mary also had six children who were not Fred's natural children. Fred and Mary lived together until his death on July 18, 1988.
After Fred's death, both Eliza and Mary claimed to be the surviving spouse. In determining whether Eliza or Mary was entitled to Fred's workers compensation death benefits, the ALJ concluded that, because Eliza and Fred continued to live together and hold themselves out as husband and wife after Fred's divorce from Noletta became final, a common-law marriage existed between Eliza and Fred. Under these facts, Fred lacked capacity to enter into the subsequent marriage with Mary because his prior common-law marriage to Eliza had not been dissolved. The ALJ found that because Eliza was the common-law wife of Fred at the time of his death, Eliza and her children were entitled to receive benefits in various amounts and at various periods of time. The ALJ denied benefits to Mary and her children, except for Fred, Jr.'s, own benefits. Mary appealed to the Director of Workers Compensation. The Director upheld the ALJ. Mary appealed to the district court.
The district court observed the only issue on review was who was the surviving spouse of Fred R. Chandler, Sr. After reviewing the testimony, the exhibits, the submission letters of the parties, and oral arguments, the district court affirmed the ALJ and the Director's determination that Eliza Chandler was the surviving spouse and, as a result, entitled to the benefits.
The district court noted that well-settled law in Kansas recognizes a com
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