Humbeutel v. Humbeutel
Humbeutel v. Humbeutel
Opinion of the Court
This action was commenced by Anna Humbeutel against her son Harry Humbeutel to recover money and other property which she had entrusted to him. At the trial, he expressed his willingness to account for the things
His mother died before she had signed a custodial agreement which counsel for the Bronx County Trust Company had prepared for her. Her son, Charles Humbeutel, was then appointed executor of her estate. In that capacity, he commanded the defendant Harry Humbeutel to deliver to him cash and securities that are here in question. A part thereof was turned over by the defendant but he refused to surrender a number of United States Savings Bonds that had been issued in the name of the mother as co-owner with one or another of her children. He also insisted on his asserted right to retain deposits that had been made in joint savings accounts bearing the names of himself and his mother.
In due course, Special Term ruled that Charles Humbeutel, as executor of his mother’s estate, should be the plaintiff herein and also granted to him an order amending the final judgment nunc pro tune by adding thereto a provision which directed that any property of the mother remaining under the defendant’s control be turned over by him to the present plaintiff Charles Humbeutel as her executor. But the Special Term order so amending the final judgment was reversed by the Appellate Division on the law and the facts and the motion for that order was denied "without prejudice to proper proceedings to establish the right of the plaintiff Charles Humbeutel to possession of the property in question (277 App. Div. 981). From that determination of the Appellate Division, the plaintiff Charles Humbeutel has appealed to us, as was his right (S. J. E. Bldg. Corp. v. Matt O. M. Constr. Co., 265 N. Y. 282; Hansen v. City of New York, 299 N. Y. 136).
Moreover, the Special Term was compelled by the circumstances of the case to grant the motion for an amendment of the final judgment nunc pro tune. The provision therein for a custodial agreement became inoperative when the mother died. Her personal representative had come into court — as he was bound to do — and had demanded possession of property which the final judgment had declared to be hers. The nunc pro tune amendment of that judgment was necessary to effectuate the substantive provisions thereof and thus was quite in order (see Civ. Prac. Act, § 105; cf. Herpe v. Herpe, 225 N. Y. 323, 327).
The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed and that of Special Term affirmed, with costs in this court and in the Appellate Division.
Lewis, Conway, Desmond, Dye, Fund and Fboessel, JJ., concur.
Ordered accordingly.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Charles Humbeutel, as of Anna Humbeutel v. Harry Humbeutel
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published