Lovell v. Parrish

HAINES, J., pro tem. The following statement of the facts involved in this proceeding is conceded by the respective parties to be correct: Rolfe Lovell, a fireman of the San Diego Fire Department married the petitioner and respondent herein in the year 1903. In 1919 said Rolfe Lovell was [324]retired on a pension from the fire department. On February 18, 1929, petitioner and respondent was granted a final and absolute decree of divorce from the said Rolfe Lovell at Reno, Nevada; and on the same day that her final decree of divorce was granted, she was married to a man by the name of McAndrews and lived with him as his wife until the time of his death on April 21, 1937. After the death of McAndrews, petitioner and respondent herein, on July 19, 1937, again married Rolfe Lovell and lived with him as his wife until the time of his death on March 12, 1938. All of these facts were stipulated to be true by the petitioner and defendants herein.

Section 184, article XI of the City Charter of San Diego relating to the administration of a trust fund in the city treasury “for the benefit of the members of the San Diego Fire Department and to be known as the ‘Firemen’s Relief and Pension Fund’,” in so far as it need be here considered, has at all of the times with which we are here concerned, provided as follows:

“(a) Whenever any person who shall have been duly appointed, selected or sworn, and shall have served for twenty years or more in the aggregate as a member in any rank or capacity of the regularly constituted force, or any department of said force provided for by this Article, the Board of Trustees shall upon the written request of any person, or his guardian, or without such request if it deem it for the good of the service, retire such person from further service in the Fire Department; and from the date of making such order, the service of such person shall cease, and the person so retired shall thereafter during his lifetime be paid from the regular funds of the Firemen’s Relief and Pension Fund a yearly pension equal to one-half the amount attached to the rank held by him for one year or more previous to the time of his retirement.

“(b) Upon the death of said pensioner, one-third of the amount of his annual salary shall be paid to his widow until she remarries . . . ; provided, however, if such pensioner was pensioned under subdivision (a) of this section . . . the widow shall not be entitled to any pension unless she was married to said pensioner three years previous to the time of such retirement.”