20 Pa. 308 | Pa. | 1853
The opinion of the Court was delivered, by
The decree in this case cannot be sustained
'But there are other grounds in the case, on which the implication of a trust in favor of the wife and children is irresistible. The endorsements on the envelope, enclosing the deed of 'Wimer, admitted to be in the handwriting of Frederick A.. Raybold, amount almost to a declaration of such a trust, whilst ’the parchment deed, prepared for execution in Mr. Raybold’s office and under his eye, is an admission of the trust alleged in the bill, as distinct as he could make, short of an actual execution of that or some equivalent instrument. To the same effect were his declarations to Mr. Norton, Mr. Ward, and -other witnesses who were before the examiner. Here is abundant ground for a decree in favor of Joshua M. Raybold, his wife and children. And the respondent has no equity, as against these parties, to claim indemnity for the liabilities assumed by her husband for the benefit'of Joshua M. Raybold.
If the trust were essentially for the benefit of Joshua M. Ray-bold, and he was alone asking for its specific execution, a chancellor might require him to indemnify his trustee on the general principle that he who asks equity shall do equity; but the wife is the party first and principally in interest, and she is under no equity to provide for her husband’s debts. She is not shown to have ever said a word or done an act to give her trustee an equitable lien for the .liabilities he chose to assume for her husband, and there
We are of opinion, on the whole, that there was no error in the decree of the Common Pleas.
But it is said they erred in allowing costs to the complainant. The general rule undoubtedly is, that trustees are allowed costs out of the estate; hut where a trustee has a private interest of his own, separate and independent from the trust, and obliges the cestui que trust to come into Court, merely to hear the point relating to his own private interest determined at the expense of the trust, this is such vexatious behavior on the part of the trustee that he will be directed to pay the costs : 3 Daniel’s Ch. Prac. pl. 1557.
Judgment affirmed.