Estate of Cornell, In re
| Citation | 515 A.2d 555,511 Pa. 475 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Pennsylvania |
| Decision Date | 26 September 1986 |
| Parties | In re ESTATE OF Pearl M. CORNELL, Deceased. Appeal of Jessie Roger ERWIN, Executor of the Estate of Pearl M. Cornell, Deceased, Appellant. |
James A. Downey, Langhorne, for appellee.
Before NIX, C.J., and LARSEN, FLAHERTY, McDERMOTT, HUTCHINSON, ZAPPALA and PAPADAKOS, JJ.
We are here called upon to review the propriety of the Superior Court's order reversing the order of the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County, Orphans' Court Division, which found the evidence presented before it insufficient to hold the Appellant liable on counts of conversion and unjust enrichment. Having fully reviewed the record in this matter, we find that the Superior Court abused its discretion in overruling the judgment of the Orphans' Court and therefore reverse.
The facts underlying this appeal are as follows: Upon the death of Appellant's decedent on February 21, 1979, Appellant, the executor of decedent's estate, began marshalling the assets. In so doing, he found a $10,000 certificate of deposit from Appellee First Federal Savings & Loan Association which he presented and redeemed. Subsequent to its redemption, Appellant continued to get monthly checks from Appellee, ostensibly representing interest payments on another certificate of deposit. Following several inquiries to Appellee as to the source of these payments, he personally appeared at Appellee's office and at that time was informed that a second certificate, bearing the decedent's name, was held by Appellee. The Appellee then redeemed this second certificate. The Appellant placed the proceeds into the estate account and subsequently made an at risk distribution of the monies among the heirs pursuant to a family settlement agreement.
Approximately five months later, Appellee contacted Appellant and informed him that there had only been one certificate and that the second one which had been redeemed had been issued to replace the first, which bore the same number as another certificate issued to another person. Subsequently, Appellee filed a Petition for Citation to Show Cause Why Account Should Not Be Filed in the Orphans' Court. Thereafter, Appellee brought an action in trespass and assumpsit against Appellant in the Court of Common Pleas alleging conversion and unjust enrichment. Pursuant to an agreement of counsel, the matter was transferred to the Orphans' Court Division, and an account was filed on behalf of the estate. At the audit, Appellee entered a claim in the amount of $10,528.40 representing the funds allegedly paid by mistake pursuant to the second certificate. The evidence produced at the hearing consisted of the testimony of the Appellant and that of Mr. Louis Persichetti, Appellee's Branch Manager, who testified that prior to the decedent's death he spoke to her on the telephone and informed her that she would be receiving a replacement certificate by mail and that she should destroy the original certificate upon receipt. Additionally, various pieces of documentary evidence were introduced by Appellee to show that the first certificate bore the same account number as one possessed by another unrelated individual and that that was the reason for the issuance of the second certificate.
Having chosen to bring the claim against the decedent's estate in the Orphans' Court, it was the Appellee's burden to establish and prove that claim by evidence which is clear, direct, precise and convincing. Estate of Allen, 488 Pa. 415, 412 A.2d 833 (1980). Following a hearing on Appellee's claim, the Orphans' Court concluded that Appellee had not met that burden and therefore found in favor of Appellant. In so concluding, the Orphans' Court placed great weight on the fact that Appellee had failed to produce a copy of a transmittal letter sent to the decedent regarding the forwarding of the alleged replacement certificate or a request to return the original certificate in the decedent's possession. In addition, the Court pointed out that no bank records were introduced pertaining to the replacement transaction which...
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Alberici v. Safeguard Mut. Ins. Co.
...credibility of the witnesses, an appellate court may not re-examine the weight to be given to their testimony. In re Estate of Cornell, 511 Pa. 475, 480, 515 A.2d 555, 557 (1986); Allegheny County v. Monzo, 509 Pa. 26, 35, 500 A.2d 1096, 1101 (1985). Similarly, an appellate court may not su......
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Estate of Braun, In re
...weight to be given to ... [the] testimony, for that is within the sole province of the trier of fact. In re: Estate of Cornell, 511 Pa. 475, 479-480, 515 A.2d 555, 557 (1986) (citations and quotation marks omitted). Accord Estate of Getz, 421 Pa.Super. 513, 520, 618 A.2d 456, 459 (1992); In......
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Fenderson v. Fenderson
...537 (1984) (appellate court is not bound by trial court's conclusions of law based on its findings of fact). See In re Estate of Cornell, 511 Pa. 475, 515 A.2d 555 (1986) (whether the evidence presented was clear, direct, precise and convincing is a question of law). The following is an acc......
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In re Estate of Field, 2128 EDA 2007
...to produce clear and convincing evidence that the Wagner Amendments are valid. Appellant's brief at 21, citing In re Estate of Cornell, 511 Pa. 475, 515 A.2d 555 (1986). ACS further contends the "evidence adduced by the Appellees did not raise to meet clear and convincing evidence of Settlo......