16 S.E.2d 102 | Ga. Ct. App. | 1941
The judge of the superior court, on appeal from the court of ordinary, trying the case on an agreed statement of facts without the intervention of a jury, did not err, under the facts, in finding against the discharge of the administrator.
The trial in the superior court was a de novo proceeding in which the jurisdiction of the court was the same as that of the court of ordinary. The judgment was that the court of ordinary had no jurisdiction to decide the issue as to whether the mortgage had been settled. Under the facts of the case there was no error in the judgment so finding, and refusing to discharge the administrator. Neither the ordinary nor the court of ordinary has jurisdiction to decide an issue as to whether or not one is or is not indebted to an estate, in a proceeding between the representative of the estate and an alleged creditor. Brooks v.Brooks,
The determination by the ordinary of such an issue will not be regarded as an arbitration. Dix v. Dix, supra, disapproving the contrary statement in Durham v. Durham, supra. The application for discharge here was made before the expiration of twelve months from the appointment of the administrator. What effect would result from the failure or refusal of a creditor to have his claim adjudicated after twelve months from such appointment, and its effect on the question of the discharge of the administrator, are questions which are not before us for determination. The court did not err in finding that a court of ordinary was without jurisdiction to determine the issue submitted, and in finding against the discharge of the administrator.
Judgment affirmed. Stephens, P. J., and Sutton, J., concur. *523