Johnson v. Holliday
Johnson v. Holliday
Opinion of the Court
This was an application for an Injunction by the heirs of Henry T. Johnson, deceased, to restrain the sale of his real estate by J. S. Holliday, his administrator. The grounds set out in the bill and upon which the injunction is sought are: That the deceasedieft only a small estate, of the value of some $2,000.00, and the heirs, being all sui juris, are anxious to avoid the expense of an administration by dividing the property in kind, and that the administrator, under an order of the court of ordinary, is proceeding to sell for the benefit of the heirs and creditors. That there is no necessity for any administration, as there are no debts of deceased .to pay except one of about $60.00,
The defendants filed a demurrer for want of equity, which the court sustained and refused the injunction.
To have sustained this injunction would have had the legal effect practically, first to revoke the letters of administration granted by the court of ordinary, and that, too, by a court of equity upon the ground that the heirs-at-law, being sui juris, did not want the expense of an administration upon so small an estate, but preferred to divide the same in kind.
In the second place, the legal effect would have been to set aside the judgment of the court of ordinary, rendered after due and legal notice to all persons interested to appear and show cause why this land should not be sold for the benefit of the heirs and creditors. And this to be done because it is alleged that Neal has notes against the estate which he is not legally entitled to collect.
Equity will never take the administration of an estate out of the hands of an administrator and the court of ordinary, only where it is absolutely necessary to preserve
For these reasons, as well as that there is neither insolvency charged against the administrator, nor fraud or collusion between himself and Neal, his co-defendant, we hold the ruling of the chancellor to be right, and it must, therefore, be affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Johnson v. Holliday, administrator
- Status
- Published