Harman v. Davis
Harman v. Davis
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
A bill was filed at the June rules of the county court of Tazewell county by Mrs. Nancy Harman, widow of Edwin H. Harman, deceased, and her infant sons, Charles "W. Harman and Davis E. Harman, heii’s and distributees of the said decedent, against John Mosby Davis, the administrator of the said E. W. Harman, deceased, and Henry B. Harman and Beuben C. Eudge, his sureties in his administration bond, for their distributive shares in the estate
The defendant, J. M. Davis, answered the bill, to which the plaintiffs replied generally, and an account was ordered and taken and reported, showing a balance against the administrator, J. M. Davis, of $7,942.39; to which the defendants filed exceptions, and depositions were taken. Said exceptions were afterwards withdrawn, and the following decree was entered: “ This cause came on to be heard this the 2d of July, 1873, upon the papers heretofore read, and the report of Samuel C. Graham and the exceptions thereto; and the defendants withdrawing all exceptions to said report, admit here in court that the defendant, Davis, as administrator of E. H. Harman, H. B. Harman and R G. Eudge, his securities in his administration bond, are responsible to the complainants, the
The first instalments falling due and being unpaid, the plaintiffs caused executions of ji. fa. to be issued therefor, and thereupon the defendants brought their bill in the circuit court of Tazewmll county against them, praying an injunction to said executions, which w^as granted, and upon the coming in of the answer of Haney Harman, w7as, by a decree of the court of the 18th of May, 1875, dissolved. And on the 10th day of September, 1875, the said J. M. Davis, administrator of E. H. Harman, deceased, H. B. Harman and Beuben C. Fudge, sureties of said Davis as administrator as aforesaid,
The court is of opinion that it was not error to decree in that cause in favor of the plaintifts because some of them were infants. The defendants were adults, and •admitted that they were chargeable for distribution to the widow and children of E. H. Harman, deceased, with the sum of $5,000, and interest thereon from the first day of February, 1873, till paid, for which the defendant, Davis, as administrator of E. IT. Harman, and his securities in his administration bond, are responsible to the complainants, the widow and distributees of the said E. H. ITarman, deceased. And the court says the complainants, the widow and heirs aforesaid, being willing and consenting here in court to accept the same in full satisfaction and discharge of their claim against the said administrator and his sureties, “ it is therefore adjudged, ordered and decreed, by and with the consent
There is no claim made by the widow and distributees for more, nor dissatisfaction expressed by them with the amount decreed in their favor, but the complaint comes from the administrator and his sureties, that they admitted their liability for more than they ought, and they seek to be released from this acknowledgment on the ground that some of the parties to whom they acknowledged it to be due were infants. It is very clear that they being under no disability, their acknowldgmenf could not be impaired or affected by the fact that those to whom they acknowledge themselves indebted were -infants. But t]iey contend that their acknowledgment ought not to be binding upon them because it was made as a concession to the complainants upon the considerathat it would be received in full. satisfaction and discharge of all they owed them; that the complainants did agree to receive it as such, but that some of them are infants, and. are not bound by that agreement, and may, after they attain majority, refuse to be bound by it and compel them to pay more.
If there is any ground for their complaint that they acknowledged a larger indebtedness than they were in fact owing, and they are prepared to show it, they surely can have no ground for the apprehension that after the infants attain majority they may he able to have the decree complained of set aside and annulled, and subject them to the payment of an additional sum. It is not a motion of the infants to be relieved from a consent decree, which allowed them less than they were entitled to, upon the ground that they were incapable of giving their consent by reason of their infancy; but it is a motion
The administrator'must be presumed to be well informed as to the condition of the estate and the state of the accounts between him and his intestate, and it is presumable that he would not have acknowledged a larger indebtedness to the distributees, or a larger sum in his hands for distribution than truth and justice required. The account taken by the commissioner showed a much larger amount due from the administrator to the estate; but there were still some outstanding debts of the decedent which had not been paid, and the administrator contended that some of his vouchers evidencing disbursements, had been erroneously rejected by the commissioner; but upon the whole, he was willing to acknowledge an indebtedness to the complainants—an amount in his hands, not for paying debts and distribution, but for distribution, of course after paying debts—an amount for which he and his sureties were responsible, not to creditors and distributees, but to the distributees, the complainants, of $5,000, with interest thereon as specified; and was willing that the plaintiffs should take a decree therefor in full satisfaction and discharge of their whole claim. They agreed to it, and the court entered such a decree, by consent and agreement of all the parties. The plaintiffs are satisfied with it, and seek to enforce it, and do not ask to be released from it, on the ground of the disability of two of them by reason of infancy. But the defendants seek to be released from it on the ground that it is not binding on the infant plaintiffs, they being incapacitated to give their consent. But that could be no .ground for
And in this case the court is of opinion that it is no ground for releasing them from the decree in favor of the infant plaintiffs. Although the infants were incapable .of consenting to the decree, it is binding upon them, if for their benefit—as binding as it would have been if no consent had been given. An infant plaintiff is as much bound by a decree as an adult. Broion v. Arm.stead, 6 Rand. 594. .Unless the court was satisfied that this decre'e was for the benefit of the infants, it would have been error to have entered it as a consent decree. And this court, having the whole case before them, and being satisfied that the decree was for the benefit of the infants, and that they are therefore bound by it, there is no error upon the face of the decree on this account for which it could be reviewed or reversed.
The court is further of opinion that the decree of the 2d of July, 1873, sought to be reviewed is not erroneous, because it contains no provision requiring the plaintiffs to execute refunding bonds before enforcing payment. Such a provision would have been incompatibl e with the evident intent and legal effect of the decree, which was that the sum decreed to be paid by the administrator and his sureties was in his hands for distribution amongst them, which could not have been so if there were outstanding and unsatisfied debts of the estate for which it was liable; and that the defendants were responsible to them for that amount, which could not have been so if it were chargeable with, the payment of debts due from the estate; and that the same was to be paid them in full of their entire interest in the estate, and that all debts due the estate or the different co-partners, of which the defendant, Davis, was the surviving partner, were to be his property, not liable for any further claim on their part for distribution, but liable, of course, for any debts
The court is therefore of opinion to reverse the decree of the 18th of November, 1875, of the circuit court of Tazewell county, to dissolve the injunction, and dismiss the plaintiffs’ bill of review with costs.
The decree was as follows:
This day came again the parties by their counsel, and the court having maturely considered the transcript of the record of the said decree and the arguments of counsel, is of opinion, for reasons stated in writing and filed with the record, that there is no error in the decree of said circuit court rendered on the 2d day of July, 1873, and in the proceedings mentioned, for which the same ought to have been reviewed and opened; and hence that the decree of said court rendered on the 18th day of November, 1875, and which is the subject of this appeal, is erroneous. Therefore it is decreed and ordered, that said decree of 18th November, 1875, be reversed and annulled, and that the appellants recover of the appellees their costs by them in the prosecution of their said appeal here expended. And this court proceeding now to render such decree in the premises as the said circuit court of Tazewell county ought to have rendered, it is further
Decree reversed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Harman & als. v. Davis, adm'r, & als.
- Status
- Published