Howard v. Worrill
Howard v. Worrill
Opinion of the Court
In this case, it appears, from the record, that a controversy arose, before the Court of Ordinary, between the parties hereto, as to who should be appointed administrator, de bonis non, on the estate of Catlett Campbell, deceased. Howard claimed as heir-at-law or distributee, and the others as principal creditors. The Ordinary appointed Howard, and he failed to give the security after time granted him for that purpose. The Court then appointed Freeman administrator, and Worrill, being dissatisfied, appealed, and the case came before the Superior Court upon the appeal. When the case was called in the Superior Court, the parties announced ready,
It is not disputed that Howard was an applicant for ad-administration, etc., before the Ordinary, and was appointed and failed to give security; that, on his failure, there were two contestants for the administration, both claiming the right of being principal creditors; that one succeeding, the judgment appointing him, was carried, by appeal, to the Superior Court by the other. What case was carried to the Superior Court by this appeal ? As a primary proposition, we may say, (section 3571, Revised Code,) βAn appeal to the Superior Court is a de novo investigation, and brings up the whole record from the Court below.β And all parties cited to appear in the Court of Ordinary are, by operation of law, parties to such appeal. 25th Georgia, 467, gives, however, the widest latitude to parties. How and in what manner do they stand before the Court on such appeal? Is every distributee, heir and creditor parties to separate, distinct and individual issues? I think not; there is but one case before the Court, and that appears from the record of appeal. The issue the Superior Court is to try is the appeal from the judgment of the Ordinary. This goes to the jury, and the various parties carried up by the appeal may unite with the appellant, or may submit their own claims with his as having precedence to the letters of administration, and they are not confined, on the appeal, to assert the rights of either contestants, but may, as against the appointment of the Ordinary, submit their own superior claim or claims. This
This would be allowing him to submit a question decided by a Court of competent jurisdiction in his favor, from which there had been no appeal by others, and of which he could not avail himself on account of his inability to give the required security. In such case, .we cannot hold that the appeal by Worrill from the judgment of the Court of Ordinary appointing Freeman, was such an opening of the case de novo as embraced the rights of Howard to the administration to be submitted to the jury. The record that went up did not carry with it a question adjudicated by the Court of Ordinary, so far as Howard was concerned; and as no other party was before the Court claiming rights, and his had been adjudicated by the Ordinary, without any appeal, we think the Court below was right in refusing to him the right to submit his claim to the jury, on the facts in this case.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.