Greer v. McNeal

• Decision Date: 04 September 1901
• Citation: 69 P. 891,1901 OK 58,11 Okla. 519
• Parties: FRANK H. GREER AND ROBERT S. REEVES v. J. W. MCNEAL, T. B. REDER, J. N. WALLACE, HARRY W. PENTECOST AND T. F. MCKENNON, as Administrator of the Estate of Francis R. McKennon.
• Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court

1901 OK 58

69 P. 891

11 Okla. 519

FRANK H. GREER AND ROBERT S. REEVES v. J. W. MCNEAL, T. B. REDER, J. N. WALLACE, HARRY W. PENTECOST AND T. F. MCKENNON, as Administrator of the Estate of Francis R. McKennon.

Supreme Court of Oklahoma

Decided: September 4, 1901

Error from the District Court of Logan County; before Jno. H. Burford, Trial Judge.

Syllabus

¶0 1. PROBATE COURT--Judgments Final, When. The probate court is, upon all matters upon which it is authorized to deal and upon which it has jurisdiction, a court of record and of final authority, and its final judgments are in these matters absolute, unless appealed from.

2. SAME-- Judgment Need not Recite Jurisdiction. It is not necessary that in proceedings properly before the probate court and within its jurisdiction, that its judgments shall contain a recitation of the facts upon which the jurisdiction of the court depends. A final judgment of the probate court imports jurisdiction, and it will be inferred from the fact that such a judgment was rendered, that all the facts necessary to its proper rendition, had been found to exist before the judgment was rendered.

3. SAME-- Judgment Final, When. In the absence of fraud and collusion, the amount found to be due against the administrator upon a final settlement of his accounts, by the judgment of the probate court is conclusive, not only upon him but upon his sureties in an action upon the administration bond, unless an appeal has been taken or the judgment has been reversed upon a proceeding in error.

Lawrence & Huston, for plaintiffs in error.

Cotteral & Hornor, for defendants in error.

STATEMENT OF FACTS.

This was an action brought in the district court of Logan county by McKennon, administrator, against the plaintiffs in error and others, upon certain administration bonds. The facts necessary for a determination of the case are that Pentecost and Murphy were appointed administrators of the estate of F. R. McKennon, deceased, in January, 1893. Thereafter Murphy was, at his own request, relieved from the administration, after which time Pentecost served as sole administrator.

Thereafter on December 12, 1895, J. W. McNeal was, upon his application, released as surety upon Pentecost's original administration bond, and Pentecost, under the direction of the court, filed a second administration bond, which was approved June 20, 1896, upon which the plaintiffs in error were, with others, sureties.

Each of these administration bonds provided that: "If the above bounden H. Pentecost shall faithfully execute the duties of the trust as such administrator, according to law, then this obligation to be null and void, otherwise to be and remain in full force and effect."

Pentecost filed what purported to be his last annual report on February 27, 1897, which was not approved by the probate court. Thereafter, upon April 27, 1897, he was removed from his office, and the defendant in error, T. F. McKennon and C. E. Billingsley were appointed by the court to be special administrators of the estate to serve until an administrator could be appointed to succeed Pentecost.

After his removal Pentecost was required by the court to file a supplementary report covering the period from the date of his last annual report to the date of his removal, and also covering the period up to the time when his supplementary report was filed, namely, June 23, 1897.

Various hearings were had upon these reports, when, upon the 27th day of July, 1897, the probate court rendered a final judgment against Pentecost, in which it was recited that "the same being a day of the regular July term of said court, * * * this matter came on for hearing upon the special report of Harry W. Pentecost, late administrator of said estate, filed June 23, 1897, * * * and the court having heard the evidence and argument of counsel and being duly advised in the premises, finds the following," (and here the court included in the judgment rendered an elaborate and itemized finding of facts), and the judgment concludes that, "It is therefore considered, ordered and adjudged by the court, that said Harry W. Pentecost, late administrator of said estate, is indebted to said estate in the sum of $ 2,403.33. And that said Pentecost now or should have in his hands said amount, belonging to said estate, and the said H. W. Pentecost is hereby directed and ordered to forthwith pay over to George E. Billingsley and T. F. McKennon, special administrators of said estate, the said sum of $ 2,403.33, as the money of said estate."

The special administrators thereafter demanded from Pentecost the amount of money thus found to be due by the probate court, and payment having been refused, two suits were brought in the district court, one against Pentecost and his sureties upon his first administration bond, and the other against the administrator and his special sureties upon the second administration bond. The petition in each case declared upon the judgment which had been found by the probate court against the defendant, Pentecost, and his sureties respectively, and by each of the petitions filed therein, averred additional liabilities upon various other items of account as due from Pentecost. Each of these cases was tried to the court without a jury, and by consent of the parties to the cause, were...