80 N.J. Eq. 395 | New York Court of Chancery | 1912
(at close of proofs, and after argument of -counsel).
This is a. final hearing upon a bill, answer, replication and proofs in open court. The bill in this case is filed by Josephine M. Lake, and in the course of the bill she recites that she is the ■administratrix of her father’s estate, but she nowhere indicates that the bill is filed by her solely as administratrix, and therefore it seems to me that it. must clearly be held that the bill is one brought by her' individually and also as administratrix of her father’s estate.
The bill sets out that Theodore Weaver died in 1893, intestate, ■and that on the 14-th of November, 1910, Josephine M. Lake be■came his administratrix; and-further, that Samuel Weaver, who was the father of Theodore S. Weaver, died in 1871, and that, •Josephine T. Weáver, the defendant, became his executrix. It then sets out the filing of a final account by Josephine T. Weaver, the executrix of Samuel Weaver, and also that Samuel Weaver •died seized of certain lands in Atlantic county and that by the terms of the will, and the facts, those lands became vested in
After careful consideration of those pleas this court filed an ■opinion as the result of which it was determined that the benefit of those pleas should be saved to the defendant at the hearing, and the defendant was likewise permitted to file an answer, and
This case then came on for hearing upon the issue joined upon this bill and answer. The complainant has introduced no proof whatever. The defendant has introduced some proof.
Before disposing of the matter upon the ground upon which I think it right to dispose of it, I propose to allude to certain other features of the case.
. It will he observed by reading the bill that the complainant nowhere avers that there were any moneys belonging to the estate of Theodore S. Weaver which could be used to pay off any debt which might be found to be due by said estate to the defendant; and'surely, if this is merely an academic question, namely, if she as the administratrix is merely calling upon this court to find out for her intellectual interest what amount her father owed, this court would give the matter no consideration whatever.
Yext, it will be observed that she nowhere alleges that the heirs-at-law ever called upon his administratrix to take any steps to exonerate the land descending to them1 from the burden of' any lien or alleged lien thereof. Eurthermore, it will be observed that the only ground upon which this complainant can come into .this court is that land of the decedent, of whom she is the ad>ministratrix, has descended to heirs, which land is burdened by a debt, which debt’she as administratrix may be called upon to pay, and has the right to pay and the duty to pay, so that the laird may be exonerated in favor of the heir; because, for reasons to be hereafter pointed out, she can have no individual right whatever in this ease; her right must entirely rest upon such as may he found to exist in her as administratrix of Theodore S. Weaver. That’ being so, it is curious to see that she nowhere in this bill ever admits that anything is due and which she, as administratrix, could be called upon to pay, but strongly contends in every averment that nothing whatever is due, which creates a most remarkable and anomalous proceeding. It is too much elemental and primitive law to require citation that an administratrix has nothing whatever to do with the real estate of her de
Since, in the case in hand, the previous suit was brought by Josephine M. Lake and her brother George Weaver, who were the-sole heirs-at-law and the sole next of kin of Theodore S. Weaver, and since in that suit, as against them, this conveyance was held to be a mortgage upon which a certain sum was due, it is a very strong argument which contends that in this suit in which Josephine M. Lake, the same person as administratrix, seeks to exonerate the laud for her benefit and the benefit of her brother, is really an attempt to- relitigate exactly the same question which was litigated in their behalf by them in the previous suit, although in the previous suit she did not appear technically as administratrix of her father’s estate.
So far as appears in this case, the only persons to be benefited by this litigation are J osephine M. Lake and her brother George Weaver. They are the heirs-at-law to whom this land descended, if it did descend, and the burden is on their inheritance, and the real purpose of this suit, of course, is to take advantage of the-Evidence act which will close the mouth of the other persons as to the amount of the debt, and render it probably impossible for them to establish—if the burden is cast upon them to establish— what the amount of that debt is, so that the heirs will be able to
I propose to advise that this bill shall be dismissed, and the paramount reasons are these:
Josephine M. Lake and George Weaver, as previously stated, brought a suit in 1905 against Josephine T. Weaver and others. That suit was brought to prevent Mrs. Weaver from further proceeding under the statute before a court of law to establish a deed from Theodore S. Weaver to herself, which she claimed had existed and had been lost or destroyed. Such proceedings were had in that suit that the final decree which was first entered therein enjoined Mrs.. Weaver from establishing her deed at law. Upon that decree being taken to the court of errors and appeals it was reversed, and that court found that, under the testimony and the law, this court must enter a decree dismissing the bill to- the end that Mrs. Weaver might proceed at law to establish her deed. This the court of chancery-then did; but upon that decree being taken to the court of errors and appeals that cqurt found that this court should not have dismissed the cross-bills, particularly that one filed by Mrs. Weaver, in which she asked to have the court of equity establish her deed, and therefore that decree was reversed and the parties came again before this court, and the sole issue then to be tried was whether or not, under Josephine T. Weaver’s cross-bill against Josephine M. Lake and George Weaver; the heirs-at-law of Theodore S. Weaver, the deed alleged to have been given by Theodore S. Weaver to Josephine T. Weaver in 1889 should be established. Whether or not this court was justified in going further than deciding that exact issue or not, I do not propose to determine because it would be improper to be determined in this suit. It certainly does not, it seems to me, lie in the mouth of this complainant to object to the fact that it went further, because what the court did was to go as far as it could in favor of the then complainants of whom the present complainant in this suit was one—in other words, what the court there did was-to say to Mrs. Weaver, "Yes, we will find that there
In the suit at bar, Josephine M. Lake, individually, of course, is bound by that previous decree, and that eliminates all talk about her having any individual rights. Now, in so far as she claims as administratrix, she sets out that this deed was made, and that it was a mortgage—that is, that it was given to secure whatever sum of money her decedent owed to Josephine T. Weaver. But she does not prove it. There is not a scintilla of proof here upon the part of the complainant that this paper was anything else than what she charges it to be, namely, a deed. Therefore, if we stand upon the complainant’s case alone, that is to say, upon the proofs to sustain her bill, we find that she has wholly and absolutely failed to make out any case for equitable relief of anjr kind, as I see it.
What would have happened in this court if this complainant had proven that what was actually a deed in form was in this court in this suit to be treated as a mortgage, is quite beside the question. With that difficulty I am not confronted. There was not the slightest evidence in this case to prove that the paper-writing of 1889 was any other than it purported to be, or that any other effect should be given to it than what it is set out in the bill to be, namely, a quitclaim deed of all interest of Theodore S. Weaver in the lands described in it.
The only way in which the complainant seeks to show that the
.Fow, it seems to me perfectly clear that this complainant is on one or the other horn of the dilemma. If she says, “I allege that this deed was a mortgage,” she must prove it. Upon the most casual inspection of the pleadings and proofs it appears that she has not proven any such thing. She did not prove anything. If she says, “I do not have to prove it because it has already been determined,” she then appeals to a suit which either binds her and determines it for the purposes of this suit—in which case nothing further can be said on her behalf, because the amount is therein fixed, and no further inquiry will be allowed—or else it does not bind her and does not bind the other people, and is not relevant in her behalf at all. In other words, either there is an entire lack of proof on behalf of the complainant of any right of action whatever, and she must fail for that reason; or else, by appealing to the judgment and proceedings in the other cause she concedes that they are relevant to this suit, because they are res adjudicata, and if they are res adjudicata, of course the entire matter comprised in that judgment is settled as between the parties thereto and hereto.
If chat other suit is relevant to this suit in behalf of the complainant, it must be upon the theory that it is settled in that suit, as between her, this complainant, and Josephine T. Weaver, that that paper is not a deed but a mortgage.- The only way that it became settled was in the other suit. Therefore, we must find out what the judgment was in that other suit, and consider all of its elements as res adjudicata in this suit, and one of those elements
Eor these reasons ( which I shall not amplify because I have stated them as clearly as I can), and which are either clearly dis-positive of the case or are not so because of some reason that I cannot comprehend, my conclusion is that this bill must be dismissed, and I shall so advise.
Mr. Crandall—And the plea sustained?
The Vice-Chancellor—You have heard what I said. I shall say no more than I have said. I shall dismiss the bill.