State ex rel. Mitchell v. Guinotte
State ex rel. Mitchell v. Guinotte
Opinion of the Court
This is a proceeding hy mandamus to compel the respondent, as judge of the probate court of Jackson county, to revoke,the appointment of Edwin R. Crutcher, as administrator of the estate, in Missouri, of Samuel A. Mutchmore, deceased, lately of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and to appoint one of the relators administrator thereof.
The petition, which was taken as the alternative writ, states that Samuel A. Mutchmore, was a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and died there, leaving a large estate, and owning about seventy-five thousand dollars worth of property in Jackson county, Missouri; that he left a will, whereby he appointed his wife the executrix of his estate, and by which he devised three thousand dollars to James W. Mitchell, one of the relators ; that he left no kin in Missouri except relators; that the will provided for certain legacies, but made no
The respondent entered his appearance and filed his return. He admitted the appointment of Crutcher and the filing by the relators of a motion to vacate the same, and alleged that he heard the motion and in the exercise of his judicial discretion he overruled the same, and that the testimony adduced upon the hearing of the motion amply justified his action. He then denied other allegations of the petition, and pleaded that the relators have an adequate remedy at law for the grievances complained of, and further averred that the petition fails to state a cause of action. The reply is a general denial. The circuit court heard the case and denied the peremptory writ, and the relators appealed to the Kansas City Court of Appeals. That court certified the case to this court upon the ground that more than forty-five hundred dollars is involved.
This court has no jurisdiction. The fact that the estate in Missouri is worth seventy-five thousand dollars, and the fact that one of the relators will get three thousand dollars as devisee under the will and the other relator will get ninety thousand dollars as heir to the residuum of the estate, is wholly immaterial, for they will get the same amount no matter who administers
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.