Hicks v. Stalnaker
Hicks v. Stalnaker
Opinion of the Court
M. G. Hicks was appointed administrator of the estate of Mercer C. Stalnaker, deceased, at the May term, 1936, of the court of ordinary of Eulton County, upon the selection and petition of Mrs. Edith Stalnaker who alleged that she was the wife and heir at law of the deceased. Shortly thereafter, W. C. Stalnaker, a brother of the deceased, applied for letters of administration upon the estate, and he was selected as the administrator by the majority of the heirs at law of the deceased. However, before he was appointed, it was discovered that Hicks had already been appointed administrator of the estate, and W. C. Stalnaker filed a petition to set aside the appointment. Upon the hearing
The evidence was material and admissible, and the court erred in rejecting it. The judgment offered as evidence was not subject to collateral attack and was conclusive until reversed in a proper proceeding for that purpose. Wiley v. Kelsey, 9 Ga, 117; Wade v. Hurst, 143 Ga. 26, 29, 30 (84 S. E. 65). This case is distinguished from McLeod v. McLeod, 144 Ga. 359 (87 S. E. 286). In that case the divorce granted was subsequently attacked collalerally, while in the instant ease the divorce granted was directly attacked in a petition to the same court which had granted the divorce, the petition praying that, for the reasons stated therein, the verdicts and decree granting the divorce “be cancelled and declared null and void.” - The refusal to grant a new trial was error.
Judgment reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.