Estate of Cleveland v. Cleveland (Ex parte Adams)

• Court: Alabama Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: SHAW, Justice.
• Citation: Estate of Cleveland v. Cleveland (Ex parte Adams), 211 So.3d 780 (Ala. 2016)
• Decision Date: 06 May 2016
• Docket Number: 1141293.,1140732
• Parties: Ex parte Raymond ADAMS, as executor of the Estate of Clifford Wayne Cleveland, deceased. (In re Estate of Clifford Wayne Cleveland, deceased). Raymond Adams, as executor of the Estate of Clifford Wayne Cleveland, deceased v. Clifford W. "Chip" Cleveland and Celeste Cleveland Minor.

211 So.3d 780

Ex parte Raymond ADAMS, as executor of the Estate of Clifford Wayne Cleveland, deceased.

(In re Estate of Clifford Wayne Cleveland, deceased).

Raymond Adams, as executor of the Estate of Clifford Wayne Cleveland, deceased

v.Clifford W. "Chip" Cleveland and Celeste Cleveland Minor.

1140732

1141293.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

May 6, 2016.

Debra D. Spain and Chad W. Bryan of Capell & Howard, P.C., Montgomery, for petitioner/appellant Raymond Adams.

Rob Riddle of Cleveland, Riddle & Atchison, Attorneys at Law, LLC, Prattville, for respondents/appellees Chip Cleveland and Celeste Minor.

SHAW, Justice.

These matters involve the administration of an estate. In case no. 1141293, Raymond Adams, the executor of the estate of Clifford Wayne Cleveland, appeals from a preliminary injunction issued against him at the request of the beneficiaries of the estate, Clifford Wayne Cleveland II ("Chip") and Celeste Cleveland Minor. In that matter, we reverse and remand. In case no. 1140732, Adams petitions this Court for a writ of mandamus directing the trial court (1) to require the beneficiaries of the estate—Chip and Minor—to produce certain materials disclosing the assets and liabilities of the estate, (2) to vacate its order prohibiting Adams from hiring attorneys and accountants to assist him with the administration of the estate, (3) to vacate its order requiring Adams to produce certain corporate documents, and (4) to sanction the beneficiaries, and (5) directing the trial judge to recuse himself from further presiding over the underlying case. For the reasons discussed below, we deny that petition.

Facts and Procedural History

As discussed in Ex parte Adams, 168 So.3d 40 (Ala.2014) ("Adams I "), this litigation began following the death of Clifford Wayne Cleveland ("Cleveland"), on March 28, 2014. 168 So.3d at 41. Cleveland died possessed of assets with an estimated value of between $2 million and $3 million; however, as discussed in more detail below, those assets were significantly encumbered, rendering the estate potentially insolvent.

Cleveland's will named two coexecutors of the estate: Louis C. Colley, Cleveland's law partner, and Adams, Cleveland's business partner.¹ The primary beneficiaries of the will were Cleveland's children, Chip and Minor. The facts, as stated in Adams I, are as follows:

"Colley and Adams petitioned the Autauga Probate Court to probate the estate and were granted letters testamentary. On April 30, 2014, the Autauga Circuit Court granted Chip and Minor's motion, as beneficiaries under Cleveland's will, to have the probate of the estate removed to that court.

"On May 5, 2014, Chip and Minor moved the circuit court to disqualify Adams as a coexecutor of the estate, arguing as a basis for disqualification that Adams does not reside in Alabama. The circuit court set the motion for a hearing on May 27, 2014, and gave Adams ‘ten days to provide proof of his residency.’ ... On May 9, 2014, Chip and Minor moved the circuit court to prohibit Adams from retaining any third-party professionals, such as attorneys or CPAs, to assist with the administration of the estate, arguing that it was an unnecessary expense [because they were allegedly sufficiently familiar with Cleveland's finances]. The circuit court entered an order on that date, granting the motion and prohibiting any coexecutor or beneficiary from hiring such professional help ‘until further order’ of the circuit court. The circuit court also set the issue for further discussion at the May 27 hearing.

"On May 16, 2014, Adams filed with the circuit court a statement of residency, acknowledging that ‘he currently resides in North Carolina’ but arguing that,

" ‘[c]ontrary to the Motion to Disqualify Co–Executor filed by [Chip and Minor], out-of-state residency does not preclude [the] service of an executor appointed by Will. Rather, Ala.Code [1975,] § 43–2–22 [,] only imposes an in-state residency requirement upon administrators of intestate estates.’

"... Also on May 16 Colley resigned as coexecutor of the estate, stating that he did not have time to fulfill his duties as coexecutor and noting that ‘[he] ha[d] been informed by Chip Cleveland, son of [Cleveland], that [Chip] is willing to assume the role of [c]o-[e]xecutor.’ ... That same day, Chip moved the circuit court to substitute him in Colley's place as coexecutor or, in the alternative, to appoint him as a coexecutor of the estate. The circuit court granted that motion and appointed Chip coexecutor on May 19, 2014.

"Adams objected to the substitution of Chip as coexecutor, arguing:

" ‘Neither the [w]ill nor Alabama law provides any basis for the substitution of an unnamed co-executor in the place of a co-executor who resigns his appointment. Rather, as a matter of law, the sole remaining co-executor is vested with full authority to act on behalf of the estate. A court may only appoint a substitute personal representative when all of the designated co-executors are unable to serve.’

"... The circuit court ‘noted’ Adams's objection but took no further action with regard to Chip's appointment.

"On May 23, 2014, Adams moved the circuit court to compel Chip and Minor ‘to produce all materials within their possession concerning the assets and liabilities of the [e]state’ ...; to remove Chip as coexecutor; and to impose sanctions against Chip and Minor. With regard to the latter, Adams argued that Chip and Minor had ‘obtain[ed] the appointment [of Chip as coexecutor] through misrepresentations of law and fact.’ ...

"On May 26, 2014, Chip and Minor supplemented their motion to disqualify Adams, adding an argument that Adams had not timely administered the estate. A hearing was held on May 27, and on May 28 Adams submitted a response to the supplemental motion to disqualify him as coexecutor. On May 29, 2014, Chip and Minor moved the circuit court to compel Adams to produce certain documents related to the administration of the estate[, including ‘all documents and records' of C & M Baling Systems, Inc. (‘C & M’), a North Carolina business jointly owned by Adams and Cleveland, and ‘any documents concerning assets wherein’ Adams and Cleveland had a shared interest]. That same day Adams moved the circuit court to require Chip to post bond as a coexecutor. The parties filed responses to those respective motions. On June 5, 2014, Adams supplemented his motion to require Chip to post a bond. It appears that there has been no ruling on those motions.

"On June 6, 2014, Adams petitioned this Court for mandamus relief from the circuit court's May 9 order prohibiting Adams from hiring attorneys or other professionals to assist with the administration of the estate and from the May 19 order appointing Chip as coexecutor of the estate. Adams also asks this Court to instruct the circuit court to ‘direct [Chip and Minor] to produce all materials within their possession that would reflect upon the assets and liabilities of the [e]state, [including such items as check registers and statements of account]’ ..., and ‘to enter sanctions against [Chip and Minor] for the amount of attorneys' fees and costs determined to have been the result of the ... improper attempts to usurp control over the [e]state from Adams and/or Adams' administration of the [e]state.’ ... Adams also moved this Court for an emergency stay of the order appointing Chip as a coexecutor of [the] estate.

"On June 13, 2014, Chip moved for sanctions against Adams, arguing that Adams had presented ‘willful and gross falsehoods set forth in documents before [the circuit court],’ including, among others, that Chip and Minor had pressured Colley to resign as coexecutor. On June 20, 2014, this Court issued a stay of the order appointing Chip coexecutor and of ‘all proceedings in the case generally ... pending further order of this Court’ and ordered answer and briefs to be filed as to Adams's petition for mandamus relief."

Adams I, 168 So.3d at 41–43.

In Adams I, we first considered Adams's claim that he had a clear legal right to have Chip removed as coexecutor. Citing applicable statutory authorities identified by Adams and the lack of ambiguity in Cleveland's will, this Court agreed. 168 So.3d at 44–45, 46. However, noting that Adams filed the petition in Adams I before the trial court's actual refusal to remove Chip as coexecutor, we nonetheless declined to grant the requested mandamus relief "at [that] time. " 168 So.3d at 46. We similarly denied Adams's related requests on the ground that the trial court had not actually refused to withdraw the order prohibiting Adams from obtaining the assistance of attorneys and accountants or his demand for access to estate-related documentation in Chip and Minor's possession. 168 So.3d at 47.

Following the release of this Court's decision in Adams I on November 26, 2014, proceedings resumed in the trial court. Specifically, Adams immediately filed a motion requesting that the trial court rule on the motions made the subject of the petition for mandamus relief at issue in Adams I. Chip and Minor responded with their own request for a ruling on all pending motions, as well as renewed requests both to sanction Adams and to disqualify him from serving as executor.

On January 30, 2015, Adams filed a motion seeking the trial judge's recusal on the ground of apparent bias and/or partiality in favor of Chip, whom the motion identified as "a local attorney who routinely practices before [the trial] [c]ourt." In support of his request, Adams cited the trial court's alleged refusal to dispose of any pleadings submitted by Adams "while ... grant [ing] multiple filings by Chip ... almost simultaneously with their submission." More particularly, Adams noted the trial court's continued refusal to remove Chip as coexecutor despite alleged indications in Adams I that it might be appropriate to do so. See 168 So.3d at 46, 47 (terming the "alleged difference in treatment" as "troubling" and stating, in connection with a concurrent lift of the...