71 Pa. Super. 434 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1919
Opinion by
The decedent had been engaged in the hotel business .in Philadelphia. All of his personal estate had been levied on by the sheriff on an execution in favor of the H. L. Witte Brewing Company. The property seized consisted of furniture, fixtures and other chattels on the premises, Nos. Ill and 113 South Tenth street. The administrator and the execution creditor considering it to be for the interest of the estate to sell the property at public auction entered into an agreement that all the property of the decedent levied on by the sheriff prior to the death of the defendant, together with the other assets of his estate, should be sold by Freeman & Co., auctioneers, and that there.should be paid out of the proceeds of the sale forty per cent, thereof to the brewing company subject to the approval by the Orphans’ Court of the account of the administrator. While it is not so expressed in the agreement, the record shows that the understanding was it applied to the good will and privilege of applying to the Court of Quarter Sessions for a new license, together with the privilege of applying for a transfer of the license for the unexpired period for which a license had been granted to Tschopp. The account of the administrator is not printed by the appellant, nor is the distribution as awarded by the Orphans’ Court. We gather from the opinion, however, that the sum of $1,144.50 which the auditing judge took into consideration was the amount realized at the public sale for the privilege of applying for a transfer of the license which had about forty days to run, and for the privilege of renewal and good will. This fund was distributed in accordance with the agreement entered into with the execution creditor. The appellant’s claim is for rent of
It was doubtless because of the effect on the value of the personal property in the hotel that the arrangement was entered into to dispose of the privilege of renewal of the license. The price would probably be thereby increased to the advantage of the estate, but it does not at all follow that because the personal property would be enhanced in value that the privilege of a transfer or of a new license is an asset of the estate and therefore a subject out of which the landlord could claim rent. It was held in Bucks’ Est., supra, and Mueller’s Est., 190 Pa. 601, that an executor or administrator cannot acquire personal benefit from a transfer of a license made by the Court of Quarter Sessions, but nothing of the kind was done in the case before us. The administrator was acting in the interest of the creditors and obtained no individual advantage under the plan adopted for the sale of the personal estate. We are of the opinion that the appellant has not shown that the accountant had assets of the estate in her hands from the source referred to to which the landlord was entitled. The decree of the Orphans’ Court is affirmed at the cost of the appellant.