ARNOLD v. Arnold
ARNOLD v. Arnold
Opinion of the Court
During the oral argument a question of the jurisdiction of the court below to determine the controversy was raised from the bench. Both counsel conceded the jurisdiction. But, as jurisdiction cannot be conferred by stipulation, and, as there is new legislation affecting the subject not heretofore considered by this court, it is necessary that we express our views.
Prior to 1919 probate jurisdiction in Multnomah County, as elsewhere throughout the state, was in the first instance vested in the county court. Art. YU, § 12, Original Constitution. While county courts, sitting in probate, were courts of general jurisdiction, the particular powers exercised were only such as pertained to probate courts at the time of the adoption of the Con
After the probate jurisdiction was transferred from the county court to the Circuit Court for Multnomah County by Ch. 59, Oregon Laws, 1919, it was held that the effect of the legislation was to enlarge the jurisdiction of the latter court when sitting in probate. It was empowered to determine the question of the validity of a will on the grounds that it was against public policy and contravened the statute of the state (In re Will of
The reasoning in support of these adjudications is found in the opinion of Mr. Justice Burnett in the Pittock Will ease (102 Or. 172), where, in referring to the 1919 enactment, he said:
“The jurisdiction of the Circuit Court was not in any respect lessened or restricted by the enactment mentioned. Its powers were increased by the addition of probate jurisdiction. The conclusion, therefore, is that so far as jurisdiction is concerned, and whether we consider this proceeding as merely a contest of a will to determine its authenticity or whether we treat it as a suit to construe the will, the tribunal before which the proceeding was had was possessed of full jurisdiction to hear and determine the questions involved. It is true that the original judicial scheme was to continue under the new Constitution until otherwise provided by law, but the act of February 17,1919, has effected the necessary provision for change. Having before us, then, for review, a decision of a court having all the necessary original jurisdiction to consider any question which might be litigated, we proceed briefly to scan the pleadings upon which the proceeding is based.”
“* * * When this litigation was presented to the Circuit Court, that tribunal was acting not only with respect to the probate jurisdiction but also to the general jurisdiction originally vested in such courts.”
In re Stroman’s Estate, supra, decided in 1946, seems to be not in entire accord with these decisions or with the reasoning upon which they proceed. That case presented the question of whether or not the Circuit Court for Multnomah County, sitting in probate, had jurisdiction to adjudicate a claim against a minor which had been presented to his guardian and payment of which had been refused. The claimant filed a petition in the probate proceedings 'seeking to have his claim allowed by the court. We held that there was no such jurisdiction because there was no statute providing for it, as there is in the case of executors and administrators, and because, historically, “the jurisdiction pertaining to probate courts” did not include the power to adjudicate claims against a ward. In the course of the opinion it was said:
“The only remaining theory on which jurisdiction could be based is that the claim was one within the jurisdiction pertaining to probate courts as such and that the procedure in the probate court was adequate to establish jurisdiction therein. This is the issue presented by the brief of petitioner; and in its determination the fact that the proceeding was in Multnomah County, where probate matters are tried by a circuit court, becomes immaterial. The issue would be the same if it had arisen concerning the jurisdiction of a county or probate court prior to 1919.” (178 Or. 107.)
Van Vlack v. Van Vlack, 181 Or. 646, 182 P. 2d 969, 185 P. 2d 575, though it did not arise in Multnomah
“Moreover, a probate court, whether sitting in its ancient home or in the courtroom of our circuit court, is one of limited jurisdiction.” (181 Or. 666.)
We have called attention to these decisions because they form, as it were, the background for the legislation now to be considered, and will aid in its proper construction.
Chapter 530, Oregon Laws 1949, is a comprehensive act relating to judicial districts comprising one county and having a population of more than 300,000. It is applicable only to Multnomah County. Generally, it is a rewriting of Ch. 59, Oregon Laws, 1919, the original statute conferring probate jurisdiction on the Circuit Court for Multnomah County, and of Ch. 183, Oregon Laws, 1929, which likewise transferred the jurisdiction of the court of domestic relations to the Circuit Court of that county. The provisions of the 1949 Act now pertinent are the following:
“Section 7. All laws now existing pertaining to circuit courts of this state shall be applicable to such departments of probate and domestic relations, unless otherwise expressly provided herein.
# # # # #
‘ ‘ Section 10. In the circuit court in such judicial district the procedure and practice pertaining to causes, matters and proceedings in domestic relations and probate shall be governed by the laws applicable to such causes, matters and proceedings without any change, and appeals maybe taken direct to the supreme court from the judgments, decrees*501 and other appealable determinative orders of the circuit court therein, as in other cases.
‘ ‘ Section 11. In any cause, matter or proceeding over which by existing laws the circuit court of such judicial district has jurisdiction, the procedure and practice shall be governed by existing laws applicable to such cause, matter or proceeding without change, and there also hereby is conferred upon, and vested in, such circuit court full, complete, general and exclusive jurisdiction, authority and power in equity, in the first instance, in all matters whatever pertaining to a court of probate, including the construing of, and declaration of rights under, wills and codicils, and therein the determining of question of title to real, personal or mixed properties; and in a probate proceeding in which a claim is rejected by the executor or administrator, the claimant may present such claims to the circuit court, or a judge thereof, for allowance, as provided by section 19-704, O.C.L.A., as amended, or he may, and if such executor or administrator demand it in writing he shall, in the first instance bring a separate plenary action or suit against such executor or administrator on such claims.
‘ ‘ Section 12. The duties, authorities, powers and jurisdiction of such circuit judges sitting in the departments of domestic relations and probate shall be, unless otherwise provided by this act, such as are prescribed by law for circuit judges generally.”
In our opinion, the provisions of §11 were intended not only to enumerate, but also to define, the powers of the Circuit Court for Multnomah County when sitting in probate. Neither §7 nor §10 deals specifically with the matter of jurisdiction, and the general language of §12 cannot be invoked to enlarge the specific grant in §11.
Turning then to §11, it should first be noted that the phrase “full, complete, general and exclusive
There is a familiar principle of statutory construction thus stated in Endlich, Interpretation of Statutes, 399, § 295:
“Where the language of a statute, in its ordinary meaning and grammatical construction, leads to a manifest contradiction of the apparent purpose of the enactment, or to some inconvenience or absurdity, hardship or injustice, presumably not intended, a construction may be put upon it, which modifies the meaning of the words, and even the structure of the sentence.”
Numerous illustrations from the cases of the application of this rule are cited by the author. In the present instance, however, we find no warrant for invoking this principle and rewriting the statute. Accepting the statute as it reads, it cannot be said that there is anything inconvenient, absurd or unjust in expanding the power of the probate court by giving it jurisdiction to construe wills, and, as incidental to the exercise of that jurisdiction, to adjudicate titles not only to per
It is certain that the 1949 Act has not set the Probate Court of Multnomah County at large, free to exercise a sort of supervisory power over persons coming anywhere within the range of the probate proceedings, and without regard to established rules of pleading, practice and procedure. The petition, as counsel for the petitioners says, states a cause of action in ejectment, which is a proceeding at law. But it is mixed up with a cause of action in replevin and what purports to be a suit for an accounting and a demand for a list of tenants of the hotel and “all other information concerning the operation and management of the Hazel Hotel” — all this not withstanding the provisions of §7 of the Act, making applicable to the Circuit Court for Multnomah County “All laws now existing pertaining to circuit courts of this state,” and of §10 that “the procedure and practice pertaining to causes, matters, and proceedings in * * * probate shall be governed by the laws applicable to such causes, matters and proceedings without any change.” Hnder no possible construction of the statute could it be held that the Probate Court of Multnomah County has jurisdiction to try a cause of action in ejectment. The only jurisdiction at law conferred by the statute is that which probate courts have traditionally exercised, namely, to determine claims against the estate, and which is continued by express provision. While counsel might, by stipulation or failure to object, have waived these strictly procedural irregularities, they could not, in that manner, confer jurisdiction where the legisla
It results that the decree of the Circuit Court must be reversed and the proceeding dismissed, without prejudice, however, to the rights of any of the parties. No costs will be allowed.
090onmotiontostrike
On Motion of Appellant to Modify Decree
The defendant, Vern N. Arnold (appellant here) has filed a motion to modify our decree of dismissal by directing that restitution be made to her of all property and rights lost under the decree of the Circuit Court. In support of the motion defendant submits an affidavit showing that after the Circuit Court entered its decree in favor of the plaintiffs she complied with it by delivering to the plaintiffs possession of the Hazel Hotel and the personal property therein, the payment of certain moneys, the delivery of certain records, receipts and account books, and by rendering an accounting of the operation and management of the hotel and
Our statute provides that this court, when it reverses or modifies a judgment or decree, “may direct complete restitution of all property and rights lost thereby.” § 10-812, O.C.L.A. It was held in McFadden v. Swinerton, 36 Or. 336, 355, 59 P. 816, 62 P. 12, that “When the right depends entirely upon matters dehors the record, the better practice, as we understand the authorities, is for the appellate court to direct that restitution be made to the appellant of all property and rights lost under the judgment, and to remand the cause to the court below for the enforcement of such order in a proper proceeding, upon notice to the parties: Flemings v. Riddick’s Ex’r, 5 Grat. 272; Keck v. Allender, 42 W. Va. 420 (26 S.E. 437).” The court said further that the statute “probably contemplates a final judgment of restitution only in cases where the facts appear of record, and not where it is necessary to make proof aliunde by ex parte affidavits.”
In this case the facts do not appear of record.
Contrary to the view of counsel for plaintiffs (with which counsel for defendant appears to agree), that the remedy is discretionary with the court, restitution of moneys paid out, or property delivered under a decree which is subsequently reversed, is a matter of right. Lytle v. Payette-Oregon Irr. Dist., 175 Or. 276, 286, 152 P. 2d 934, 156 A.L.R. 894; Coker & Bellamy v. Richey, 108 Or. 479, 483, 217 P. 638; Duniway v. Cellars-Murton, 92 Or. 113, 116, 170 P. 298, 179 P. 561; McFadden v. Swinerton, supra, 36 Or. 354; Metschan v. Grant County, 36 Or. 117, 119, 58 P. 80. And the rule is no different where the judgment was wholly void, as in this case, for want of jurisdiction. Coker & Bellamy v. Richey, supra, 108 Or. 487; 3 Am.
It is true that this court has a discretion to determine whether it should order restitution or should commit the performance of that duty to the Circuit Court. In view of the state of, the record in this case, we think that the same order should be made as in McFadden v. Swinerton, namely, that the defendant be restored to whatever she has lost by the decree of the court below and that the cause be remanded to that court for such further proceedings as may be proper.
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