Shuman's Estate
Shuman's Estate
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The two reports of the auditor, confirmed by the court below, sustained legal claims against the estate of Charles Shuman to the amount of $31,186.48. The balance of the estate for distribution was $10,353.91. With some corrections and allowances the dividend allowed the creditors by the final distribution was 33.2 per cent. The appellant is a son and heir of the deceased.
The first question prominently brought to our attention by counsel for appellee is the right of the appellant to maintain this appeal. The Act of assembly of March 29, 1832 P. L., 190, 213, under which the appeal is taken, provides: “Any person aggrieved by a definitive sentence or decree of the orphans’ court, may appeal from the same to the Supreme Court,” etc. It is difficult for us to see how the appellant is legally aggrieved. If he honestly believes that the appellee’s claim is unjust he may be aggrieved in his feelings but that is not within the meaning of the act of assembly. The estate of the decedent being all converted into money and distributed and only paying 33.2 per cent of the creditor’s claims, what harm did it do appellant when the auditor and the court below found that the appellee had a legal claim against the estate of $338.59, and allowed him a dividend thereon of $112.41. If we should sustain this appeal and send the case back to have the distribution corrected, the only possible result would be a small increase in the dividend of the other creditors. It is beyond all question of doubt that the appellant could not receive one cent out of the estate of his father, as an heir.
No creditor filed any exceptions to the allowance of appellee’s claim, nor, so far as the record shows, is any creditor now complaining of the allowance of said claim. We are of the opinion, on the undisputed facts, that the appellant was not legally aggrieved by the distribution of his father’s estate and therefore he ought not to be permitted to maintain this appeal.
However, we have examined the record with care and we are of the opinion that the auditor and the court below did not err in sustaining the appellee’s claim to the amount stated in the distribution. At the first hearing before the auditor the appellee presented his claim, among other items which were allowed, for services as superintendent for Charles Shuman about his lumbering operations. The learned auditor found from the testimony that the appellee did render such services to the decedent in his lifetime and that the services were worth $2.00 per day, but for the reason that appellee failed to prove by competent evidence the number of days he was employed his claim in that respect was not then allowed to share in the fund for distribution. In passing upon that question the learned court below said: “It may be that on a second hearing, the claimant will be able to prove, by competent testimony, the number of days he was at work,” and in the
The fund for distribution at the second audit was a different fund from the one distributed by the auditor at the first hearing, and it seems obvious that the failure to prove the number of days claimant worked for the deceased was no bar to the claimant to present his additional proof and have his claims allowed out of the second fund.
In Cowan v. Gonder, 5 Phila., 15, Judge Hare said: “The better opinion would seem to be, that an adjudication by an auditor appointed to examine and report upon the accounts of an executor or administrator is a judgment simply in rem, which, like other judgments of the same nature, is limited to the fund with reference to which the adjudication is made, and does not bind or conclude the parties in any subsequent controversy which may arise between them with reference to any fund or thing which although of the same nature is not the same.” While the above authority is not binding upon us we consider it a correct statement of the law upon the question. But be that as it may the present appellee’s claim was not rejected at the first audit and his right to present the same at the second audit was expressly saved to him by the learned court below. Therefore we conclude that the appellee had the right to present his claim for $2.00 per day as superintendent at the second audit and the learned auditor specifically found a certain number of days’ labor at $2.00 per day in his favor and after deducting sums which had been paid to the appellee by the decedent, allowed him the balance. Upon this question there was an abundance of testimony to sustain the auditor’s finding and that finding having been approved by the court below in a careful opinion and decree we will not disturb it. Moreover, there was no exception to the auditor’s report on the second distribution raising the question of the conclusiveness of the adjudication by the first distribution. It is alleged that counsel for the estate and for the heir, appellant, never
Counsel for appellant contend with much earnestness that appellee admitted to himself and Mr. Charles Shuman that his whole claim against the decedent’s estate would not exceed $140.00. Mr. Paff, appellant’s counsel, made himself a witness and testified to that effect and put himself in conflict with appellee’s version of the fact. It is very clear from appellee’s testimony that he denied making any such admission and claimed that what he did say was in substance that he could not give the amount of his account at that time and that he was to make up his statement and send it to him. This matter being in dispute it was for the auditor who saw and heard the witnesses to determine their credibility and the weight of their testimony and to find the facts, and it does not appear at all clear that appellee intended to convey the idea that the estate did not owe him to exceed $140.00. In such a case it is very easy to misunderstand admissions alleged to have been made by a party. It has been often held that testimony as to admissions should be received with great caution and scrutiny. In McCarty v. Scanlon, 187 Pa. 495, Archbald, J., whose opinion was affirmed by the Supreme Court, said: “The defense which is interposed in this case is based largely upon admissions alleged to have been made by the plaintiff to Margaret Scanlon, the defendant, and the rule of law is that such evidence should be received with great caution and scrutiny. There is no doubt about that.”
But suppose the appellee did tell the appellant and Mr. Paff that he thought his account would not amount to more than $140.00, and that he subsequently found that it was much more, such admission would not estop him
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.