Estate of Jones, Matter of, 84SC190
| Decision Date | 19 August 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 84SC190,84SC190 |
| Parties | In the Matter of the ESTATE OF Charles R. JONES, Deceased. Harold M. ALLDREDGE and William F. Alldredge, Claimants-Petitioners, v. Blanche FORBIS, Claimant-Respondent, and United Bank of Fort Collins, N.A., Trustee-Respondent. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
Dean & Martin, Daniel W. Dean, Fort Collins, for claimants-petitioners.
Claimant-respondent and trustee-respondent not appearing.
We granted certiorari to review an unpublished opinion of the court of appeals which dismissed an appeal following the denial by the Larimer County District Court of a motion for a final accounting and distribution of the corpus of a testamentary trust. The court of appeals held that the failure of the appellants to give notice of the appeal to certain persons named in the trust who were not parties and did not enter appearances but who were named in the district court's order as persons upon whom "copies of all pleadings" were to be served mandated dismissal of the appeal. We disagree and reverse and remand with directions.
A testamentary trust was established by Charles Jones in favor of his daughter for her lifetime, and named the Poudre Valley National Bank of Fort Collins as trustee. Following the death of the life estate beneficiary in 1982, the petitioners, William and Harold Alldredge, filed a petition for the ascertainment of beneficiaries and a final accounting, and asserted an interest as survivors and remaindermen in the distribution of the corpus of the trust. On August 16, 1982, the district court set the matter for a hearing, specified the names and addresses of persons named in the trust to whom "copies of all pleadings" were to be sent, and ordered that entries of appearance be filed within forty-five days. The trustee subsequently entered an appearance and asserted an interpretation of the trust that was contrary to that asserted by the petitioners. The district court adopted the interpretation advanced by the trustee following a hearing, and denied the petition for ascertainment of beneficiaries and a final accounting.
Following the denial of their motions to alter and amend the judgment and for rehearing and reconsideration, the petitioners filed a notice of appeal. Copies of the notice of appeal were sent by both the petitioners and the clerk of the Larimer County District Court to each party who entered an appearance in the action, but not to other persons named in the trust who did not enter an appearance in the action. However, on April 5, 1984, the court of appeals dismissed the appeal on the ground that the petitioners "failed to give notice of this appeal to each of those individuals named in the trial court's August 16, 1982 order, which specifically sets forth the names and addresses of each person upon whom 'copies of all pleadings' were to be served...."
In dismissing the appeal, the court of appeals relied upon rule 4(a) of the Colorado Appellate Rules. However, the provisions of rule 4(a) govern only the initial filing of a notice of appeal with the district court by the appellant, and neither expressly nor impliedly require the service of notice...
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Casserly v. State
...the parties of the pendency of an appeal and to apprise the district court clerk of the need to certify the record. In re Estate of Jones, 704 P.2d 845 (Colo.1985). The issues raised in the notice of appeal are not binding on the parties or the court. C.A.R. 3(d)(3). Turning to the substanc......
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In re Runge
...an answer to a cross-claim, a third-party complaint and answer, and a reply to an affirmative defense. See In re Estate of Jones , 704 P.2d 845, 847 (Colo. 1985) (defining pleadings as "the formal allegations by the parties of their respective claims and defenses"). The rule distinguishes a......
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Peterson v. People
...a notice of appeal in the trial court is to require the clerk of the trial court to certify the record for review. See In re Jones, 704 P.2d 845, 847 (Colo.1985); Hull v. Denver Tramway Corp., 97 Colo. 523, 525, 50 P.2d 791, 792 (1935). Although the court of appeals must have a certified re......
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Runge v. Runge, Court of Appeals No. 16CA1492
...an answer to a cross-claim, a third-party complaint and answer, and a reply to an affirmative defense. See In re Estate of Jones, 704 P.2d 845, 847 (Colo. 1985) (defining pleadings as "the formal allegations by the parties of their respective claims and defenses"). The rule distinguishes a ......