Baker v. Baker, Eccles & Co.

• Decision Date: 11 February 1915
• Citation: 162 Ky. 683,173 S.W. 109
• Parties: BAKER ET AL. v. BAKER, ECCLES & CO. ET AL.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

173 S.W. 109

162 Ky. 683

BAKER ET AL. v. BAKER, ECCLES & CO. ET AL.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

February 11, 1915

Appeal from Circuit Court, McCracken County.

Suit by Mrs. Josie Baker and others against Baker, Eccles & Co. and others. Judgment for the defendants, and plaintiffs appeal. Affirmed.

C. C Grassham and Berry & Grassham, all of Paducah, Pitts &amp McConnico, of Nashville, Tenn., and E. W. Ross, of Savannah Tenn., for appellants.

Wheeler & Hughes, of Paducah, for appellees.

CARROLL J.

This litigation, concerning the descent and distribution of the personal estate of Charles Baker, and which involves one important and disputed question of fact and several interesting questions of law, arose in this way: Charles Baker was born and lived for a number of years at or near the town of Savannah, in Hardin county, Tenn. In 1901 he came to Paducah, Ky. and engaged in the mercantile business, in which business he remained at Paducah from that time until his death in 1912. In September, 1912, while en route to his old home in Tennessee for a visit, he died while on board a steamboat in Humphrey county, Tenn., leaving surviving, as his only heirs at law, his widow, the appellant, Mrs. Josie C. Baker, his mother, the appellee, Mrs. Augusta H. Baker, and a brother, E. W. Baker. At the time of his death he owned real property situated in Hardin county, Tenn., also some personal estate located in that county, as well as valuable personal estate having a situs in Paducah, Ky. consisting of shares of stock in the Paducah corporation of Baker, Eccles & Co. and a large debt against this corporation. In November, 1912, his widow applied to the county court of Hardin county, Tenn., for letters of administration on the estate of her husband. The proceedings in this court, which were entirely ex parte, were had on the motion of the widow. The request was granted, and the order of the Hardin county court appointing her administratrix recites that:

"At the time of his death the residence of the said Charles Baker was in Hardin county, Tenn., and that he left therein estate, goods and chattels, rights and credits, the granting of the administration whereof belongs to this court; and Mrs. Josie C. Baker, the widow of the said Charles Baker, deceased, having applied for letters of administration on his estate, and she having a right thereto under the laws of the state of Tennessee, and the court being satisfied of her right to so administer, it is therefore ordered and decreed by the court that said application made by the said Mrs. Josie C. Baker for the granting of letters of administration on said estate to her be granted."

At another term of this county court held in December, 1912, it appears that Mrs. Baker presented a settlement of her accounts as administratrix, and thereupon this order was made:

"It further appearing to the court from proof introduced to and heard by the court that the said Charles Baker died intestate, and at the time of his death was a resident of Hardin county, Tenn.; that he left no children or descendants of such surviving, but left surviving his widow, the said Mrs. Josie C. Baker, and under the laws of the state of Tennessee the said Mrs. Josie C. Baker, as the widow of the deceased, is entitled to all of the surplus personal property of the estate, and the court, being of the opinion that she is entitled to receive and hold as her own individual property all of the surplus personalty of the estate after payment of the debts of the same and the expenses of the administration, so adjudges and decrees."

It further appears from the settlements and orders of this court that the debts due by the deceased were few in number and trifling in amount, and that the widow, as administratrix, had in her possession certificates of stock owned by the deceased in the corporation of Baker, Eccles & Co., of Paducah, of the value of $27,000, and also some other personal assets of small value. On this showing it was ordered and adjudged by the court that Mrs. Baker, as administratrix, transfer and deliver to herself, as the widow of the deceased, all of the personal estate in her possession, including these shares of stock, and this was done, as appears from the settlements and receipts filed in this court.

It will be observed that the order appointing Mrs. Baker administratrix recites that the court heard proof on the subject of the place of the intestate's residence at the time of his death, but the record does not disclose what character of proof was heard, nor does it appear from the record that his mother or any other persons interested in his estate or its distribution were in any manner parties to this county court proceeding or had any notice of it.

Subsequent to these proceedings in the county court, and on December 28, 1912, Mrs. Josie C. Baker, individually and as administratrix of Charles Baker, filed in the chancery court of Hardin county, Tenn., her petition in equity, or bill of complaint, as it is called in the Tennessee practice, against Mrs. Augusta H. Baker, the mother, and E. W. Baker, the brother of the deceased, who were then residents of Paducah, Ky. and also against several persons who were residents of Hardin county, Tenn. In her petition she set out her appointment as administratrix of the estate of Charles Baker in the Hardin county court, and averred that her husband died intestate, a resident of and domiciled in Hardin county, Tenn., leaving surviving him as his sole heir and distributee his widow, and as his only other heirs at law his brother, E. W. Baker, and his mother, Mrs. Augusta Baker. The petition further set up her ownership of the stock in the Paducah corporation of Baker, Eccles & Co., the interest of the deceased in several tracts of land in Tennessee, and averred that Mrs. Augusta Baker was asserting some claim and interest in the Tennessee lands owned by Charles Baker, and also to one-half of the personal estate left by him, upon the theory that he died a resident of the state of Kentucky, and under the laws of that state his mother was entitled to one-half of his surplus personal estate.

The prayer of her petition was that Mrs. Augusta Baker and E. W. Baker be brought before the court in the manner provided for nonresidents and be required to assert whatever claim they might have to the estate left by the deceased. She further prayed that it be adjudged that Charles Baker died a resident of the state of Tennessee, and that she, as his widow, was the sole distributee and entitled to all of his personal estate after the payment of his debts, and for all other and proper relief.

On the filing of this petition an order of publication was made citing Mrs. Augusta Baker and E. W. Baker, as nonresidents, to make defense to the petition on a named day; and it is not questioned that these defendants were regularly proceeded against under the law of Tennessee, as nonresident defendants, although they did not appear in the action.

On April 7, 1913, an order was entered by the court reciting that these nonresident defendants were regularly before the court by publication, and, having failed to make any defense, the petition under the Tennessee practice was taken for confessed as to them. It also appears that in April the depositions of several witnesses were taken for the plaintiff for the purpose of establishing, among other things, that Charles Baker was a resident of Tennessee at the time of his death. On May 2, 1913, a judgment was entered in this chancery case adjudging that:

"The said Charles Baker at the time of his death was a citizen of and had his domicile at Savannah, Tenn.; that at no time was he a citizen of and domiciled at Paducah, Ky.; that all of his life he was a citizen of, and had his domicile at, Savannah, Tenn., and the court so adjudges and decrees."

It was further adjudged that his widow was the sole distributee, and as such entitled, in accordance with the laws of Tennessee, to the whole of the surplus personal property of which he died the owner. She was further adjudged entitled to the 270 shares of stock in the Baker, Eccles & Co. corporation and the accumulated profits thereon.

This is all that need be said at this time respecting the proceedings in the Tennessee courts and the orders and judgments therein made.

Turning now to the Kentucky proceedings, it appears that on November 27, 1912, Mrs. Augusta Baker, the mother of Charles Baker, was granted letters of administration on his estate by the county court of McCracken county, Ky. and on December 3, 1912, as such administratrix, she filed a petition in the McCracken circuit court for a settlement of the estate of Charles Baker, and to this petition his widow and Baker, Eccles & Co. were made defendants. In this petition it was averred that Charles Baker died a resident of McCracken county, Ky. the owner of shares of stock in the Baker, Eccles & Co. corporation of the value of $27,000, together with accumulated profits thereon, and some other articles of personal property, and also a claim of several thousand dollars against Baker, Eccles & Co. She also set up that herself and the widow were the only heirs at law of the decedent entitled to an interest in his estate, and that she was entitled to one-half of his personal estate after the payment of debts and the widow to the other one-half.

In this action Mrs. Josephine Baker was proceeded against as a nonresident defendant, but whether she was brought before the court by virtue of these proceedings is a question that will later be disposed of. For the present it is sufficient to say that Mrs. Josephine Baker did not appear in this action, and on February 13, 1912, a judgment was rendered by the McCracken circuit court adjudging...