Tischer v. District Court of San Juan
Tischer v. District Court of San Juan
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
Proceedings were taken in the District Court of San Jnan by Otto, Herbert, Walter, Carl Julius, and Hertha Tischer Voight to have Emilia Voight, widow of Tischer and mother of the petitioners, declared incapacitated and a guardian appointed to manage her property. After a hearing, the court made an order granting the petition and appointing Otto Tischer as her guardian for the purpose of managing her property. The guardian was sworn and in due time he furnished the bond required by the court and took up his duties.
Olga Tischer de Thyboe, a legitimate daughter of said Emilia Voight, filed a motion in court and alleged that the said Emilia Voight had been declared incapacitated without receiving any notice of the petition filed for that purpose and without being notified of the appointment of a guardian; that the guardian so appointed had not been sworn; that said Emilia Voight is of sound mind, and that she can attend to the management of her property. She prayed the court to rehabilitate the party declared incapacitated. A special district attorney appeared at the same time before the court and in a written motion stated that he had investigated the case of Emilia Voight de Tischer and all the proceedings had therein, in which he found that the titular district attorney had not appeared at the hearing of the case but without stating any date had merely entered on the papers the notation “no objection.” He moved the court to reconsider
The court entered an order directing the opening of its order of August 28, 1930, for the purpose of a rehearing thereon, since the district attorney had asserted that he had made an investigation assisted by medical experts, who reported that the lady whom the court had declared to be incapacitated was not so, and set March 26 for the taking of proofs by the district attorney and the opposing party. Thereupon a petition for certiorari to review that order was filed. The petition of Olga Tischer de Thyboe regarding rehabilitation was denied.
The grounds for the petition in certiorari herein are: (a) That the order made by the court is void, as being contrary to the procedure established by section 255 of the Civil Code; and (b) that if the case is prosecuted in the manner directed by the judge in said order, the petitioners are deprived of their right of appeal.
It is true that according to section 255 of the Civil Code of Puerto Rico, “ against the decree terminating the pro-
To apply strictly section 255 of the Civil Code in a peculiar case such as the present one, would be to prevent Emilia Yoight from having any defense. It would lead to a situation where the person declared to be incapacitated, in order to attack the declaration of incapacity, must litigate precisely through a guardian who, as is the case here, may be one of the persons who have sought such declaration.
Perhaps in a different case we might have some doubt. But in the instant case, where we find that the party really interested, Emilia Yoight, was not summoned or served with notice of the proceedings, nor had an opportunity to defend herself; where it appears that such an important element as that is lacking, we can not hold as erroneous an order which opened the proceedings and which might have been more radical.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.