Garrity v. State Board Of Administration

99 Kan. 695, 162 P. 1167 (1917)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Garrity (P) sued to enforce an implied promise. P stated in his complaint that in July 1911 a curator of mammals from the University of Kansas entered his farm and removed a large and valuable fossil, and wrongfully converted it. He also stated that the curator was an agent of the Board of Regents., and that the Board of Regents was a corporate body created by the legislature to manage and control the state university. In 1913, the Board of Regents was replaced with the State Board of Administration of Educational Institutions (D). D was not a corporate body. P filed his action in 1914 and alleged that the fossil was worth $2,500 and that he received no compensation for it. P claimed that D, as successor to the Board of Regents, was subrogated to the rights, duties, and responsibilities of the Board of Regents, was subject to its obligations, and was liable for its debts and contracts. P pled a breach of an implied contract to pay. D moved for a demurrer; the complaint does not state a cause of action, and if it did it would be in tort, and that a tort action was barred by the statute of limitations (two years for tort actions). P opposed the motion by waiving the tort action and claiming recovery for an implied promise to pay on a breach of contract action. The demurrer was sustained.