Polis v. Tice
Polis v. Tice
Opinion of the Court
In February, 1867, the respondent became insane. In February, 1868, the appellant was duly appointed his guardian. He accepted the appointment, and gave bond and entered upon his duties accordingly. In Hovember, 1870, the respondent was found to have been restored to Ms reason and to be of sound mind, and the appellant was ordered to pay or deliver over to Mm his property. The appellant did not, however, file Ms account until July, 1873. Exceptions were filed to it and it was referred to .a master, who reported in January, 1875, surcharging the account in various particulars, and refusing to alloAV the amount of a promissory note for $1,000, given to the respondent, before his insanity, by Philander Horner, Thomas McDowell, Henry Van Brunt and Joel Horner (the last named being surety for the others), and on which the appellant had, after he became- guardian,
To the report of the master exceptions were filed, and, on the hearing of the matter, the court, by their decree, confirmed the report. Tim guardian appealed from the decree, and he now seeks to reverse it in all the respects in which the report was adverse to him. Eairness requires that in such a case as this, the appellant be confined on the hearing of the appeal, to the objections made below. The exceptions made to the master’s report were only to the refusal to allow the note of $1,000 and the commissions. There appears, however, to be no ground for the other objections. The conduct of the appellant in managing the estate, has not been such as to entitle him to the favorable consideration of the court. It is abundantly evident that he has been remiss in his duty. He appears to have permitted great waste of his ward’s “ truck farm,” thereby causing damage to the amount, as the respondent swears, of about $1,200, or, as another witness testifies, of from $600 to $700. He appears also to have been negligent in his management of the estate in other respects. He did not file his accounts until two years and a half after the order requiring him to restore to the respondent his property, had been filed in the orphans’ court. He seems to have been disposed to give the respondent as much trouble as he could in obtaining his property. One of the witnesses says he told him, when speaking on this subject, that he had given the respondent a good deal of trouble and would give him more. He is not entitled to commissions.
The note for $1,000 was, as before stated, taken by the respondent himself, before he became insane. After he was restored to reason, he went to his counsel (who was then negotiating with the counsel of the appellant for a settlement of the account between the parties) to get the note,.
The only evidence on the subject of the insolvency of the parties who were liable on the note, is the remark of the appellant to Henry C. Foreman, that “ Joel Horner would
There is no ground on which the action of the court below in chai’ging the note to the appellant can be sustained. The decree will therefore be reversed on this point, but affirmed in all other respects. Eo costs will be awarded to either party.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.