In re Estate of Luongo

Decision Date01 May 2003
Citation2003 Pa. Super. 171,823 A.2d 942
PartiesESTATE OF Romeo A. LUONGO, Jr., Deceased Appeal of Michael R. Luongo, Appellant.
CourtPennsylvania Superior Court

Michael J. Dougherty, Philadelphia, for appellant.

William J.M. Thompson, Philadelphia, for Flechtner, appellee.

Richard T. Mulcahey, Philadelphia, for Arena and Johnson, participating parties.

Before: MUSMANNO, BOWES and KELLY, JJ.

KELLY, J.

¶ 1 This appeal is from a final order and decree of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, Orphans' Court Division, which dismissed the exceptions of Appellant, Michael R. Luongo, and affirmed the decree of the Register of Wills admitting to probate the 1995 will of Romeo A. Luongo, Jr. ("Decedent"). Appellant asks us to determine whether the Orphans' court erred in sustaining preliminary objections to his appeal/petition for citation sur appeal from the decree of the Register of Wills on the grounds of lack of standing; failure to conform to rules of court; and legal insufficiency, without leave to amend his petition. For the following reasons, we hold that Appellant has standing to contest Decedent's 1995 will, but only in part, and his petition does not violate the rules of court as alleged. Nevertheless, we hold that Appellant's petition was legally insufficient and properly dismissed. Accordingly, we affirm.

¶ 2 The relevant facts and procedural history of this case are as follows. Until 1999, Decedent was a practicing medical doctor. He maintained his medical practice on the first floor of 2054 Locust Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and had practiced medicine there with his father for many years. Decedent was also raised at this address. His parents occupied the upper floors as the family's personal residence. Ultimately, the second and third floors of the building were converted to rentals. Decedent reserved the fourth floor of the building to himself, and it contained his personal belongings until the time of his death.

¶ 3 Decedent and Appellant's mother were married in 1955. The marriage produced three children, Appellant and his two sisters. From the late 1960s, Decedent struggled with alcohol and drug addictions, which he eventually controlled and stopped in 1976. Decedent and his wife divorced in 1978. Following the divorce, Decedent was estranged from his former wife and his three children. He did not attend his daughters' weddings or his son's graduation. However, contact with his former family resumed in 1984. Thereafter, Decedent spent many holidays and special events with his former wife and his children. By all accounts, Decedent was a headstrong, truculent, and fiercely independent person.

¶ 4 On October 15, 1999, Decedent died while hospitalized at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He left a will dated March 17, 1995. In addition to six specific bequests, the will provided for the residuary estate to pass to Decedent's long-time friend and companion, Jacqueline Flechtner ("Proponent"). The will also appoints Proponent as executrix of Decedent's estate. Decedent's specific monetary bequests are to his three children, his two grandchildren, and Proponent's son. All of the bequests appear on page one of the 1995 will.

¶ 5 Prior to the 1995 will, Decedent executed two other wills, one on September 27, 1987 ("1987 will"), and another on October 18, 1983 ("1983 will"). Decedent's 1995 will expressly revoked the previous wills. Under the prior wills, Decedent left his entire estate to Proponent.

¶ 6 On October 21, 1999, Proponent offered Decedent's 1995 will for probate in Philadelphia County. On November 5, 1999, Appellant filed a caveat to the probate of the 1995 will alleging, inter alia, the application of New Jersey law, lack of testamentary capacity, forgery, undue influence, and the Slayers' Act pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 8801-8815.1 On October 3, 2000, a caveat hearing proceeded before the Register of Wills. Following the presentation of Appellant's evidence, Proponent did not produce any evidence. Instead, she moved for a compulsory nonsuit. On February 5, 2001, the Register of Wills entered a decree, which dismissed Appellant's caveat, admitted Decedent's 1995 will to probate, and granted letters testamentary to Proponent as executrix of the 1995 will. The decree did not expressly grant or otherwise mention Proponent's motion for nonsuit.

¶ 7 On March 8, 2001, Appellant filed an appeal in Orphans' court from the decree of the Register of Wills and a petition for citation sur appeal. In his petition, Appellant alleged the 1995 will was a product of Proponent's undue influence and forgery. He further averred that Proponent was directly implicated in Decedent's death and should be barred from taking under the will by virtue of the Slayer's Act.

¶ 8 Proponent filed preliminary objections on March 28, 2001. In her, preliminary objections, Proponent challenged (1) Appellant's standing to contest the 1995 will in that he failed to show how he is aggrieved by its probate; (2) Appellant's failure to conform to rules of court in that he proceeded on appeal to the Orphans' court without first filing a motion to remove the compulsory nonsuit allegedly entered by the Register of Wills; and (3) Appellant's failure to file a legally sufficient petition.

¶ 9 On May 17, 2001, Appellant filed a separate petition for removal of Proponent as executrix of the will and representative of the estate. In this petition, Appellant claimed (1) Proponent was not a domiciliary of Pennsylvania and had posted no bond; (2) there was ill will between Proponent and the other beneficiaries of the will due to her alleged involvement in Decedent's death, which should also disqualify Proponent from receiving letters testamentary; and, (3) the estate was in danger of depletion due to Proponent's self-dealing.

¶ 10 On May 30, 2001, the Orphans' court sustained Proponent's preliminary objections by decree, and dismissed Appellant's appeal and petition. The court also dismissed Appellant's petition to remove Proponent as executrix of the estate.

¶ 11 On June 5, 2001, Appellant filed exceptions to both decrees. On June 27, 2001, the court ordered briefing on the exceptions, and scheduled oral argument for August 15, 2001. Oral argument proceeded as scheduled on August 15, 2001. On September 14, 2001, the Orphans' court entered a final decree and opinion, dismissing Appellant's exceptions to the May 30th decrees. The record was thereafter returned to the Register of Wills to proceed under the ordinary course, without prejudice to Appellant's right to raise the Slayer's Act as a bar to distribution in the event of appropriate proof. Appellant timely filed his notice of appeal with this Court on September 20, 2001.

¶ 12 On September 26, 2001, Appellant filed a petition with the Orphans' court for a stay of all proceedings pending appeal. On October 1, 2001, the Orphans' court dismissed Appellant's petition for stay without prejudice to file it again with proper notice to all appropriate parties. Appellant refiled his petition for stay on October 10, 2001. Following consideration of Appellant's petition for stay and the preliminary objections thereto, the Orphans' court sustained the preliminary objections and dismissed the petition for stay by order dated November 6, 2001. On November 11, 2001, Appellant filed an application for stay with this Court, which was denied by a per curiam order dated December 11, 2001.

¶ 13 On appeal, Appellant raises the following issues for our review:

DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN SUSTAINING PRELIMINARY OBJECTIONS AND DISMISSING APPELLANT'S PETITION CHALLENGING THE VALIDITY OF APPELLANT'S DECEASED FATHER'S WILLS, HOLDING THAT APPELLANT LACKS STANDING? DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN SUSTAINING PRELIMINARY OBJECTIONS AND HOLDING THAT APPELLANT'S PETITION IS LEGALLY INSUFFICIENT AND FAILS TO CONFORM TO COURT RULES? DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN SUSTAINING PRELIMINARY OBJECTIONS AND DISMISSING APPELLANT'S PETITION, WITHOUT GRANTING APPELLANT LEAVE TO AMEND HIS PLEADING?

(Appellant's Brief at 3).

¶ 14 On appeal from the Register of Wills' decree admitting a will to probate, the Orphans' court must consider the facts presented and "either dismiss the petition, grant an issue2 in case of a substantial dispute, or set aside the probate." Wagner's Estate, 289 Pa. 361, 367, 137 A. 616, 618 (1927). With respect to this Court's standard and scope of appellate review in will contests, the Orphans' court decision will not be reversed unless there has been an abuse of discretion or a fundamental error in applying the correct principles of law. In re Elias' Estate, 429 Pa. 314, 239 A.2d 393 (1968). See also In re Estate of Presutti, 783 A.2d 803 (Pa.Super.2001)

. If the record supports the court's factual findings, we will defer to these findings and will not reverse absent an abuse of discretion. In re Estate of Blumenthal, 812 A.2d 1279, 1286 (Pa.Super.2002). We are not constrained, however, to give the same deference to the court's legal conclusions. Id.

¶ 15 Initially, Appellant presents us with a complicated argument to support his standing to contest Decedent's 1995 will and to appeal its probate. To appreciate Appellant's position, we have divided his argument into two parts.

¶ 16 Appellant first establishes he is a named beneficiary under the 1995 will. Appellant maintains that if the residuary provision of Decedent's 1995 will is declared invalid, the residuary bequest will pass by virtue of intestate succession. Appellant suggests that invalidation of the 1995 will's residuary clause will allow him take his specific bequest plus an intestate share of the residuary of the estate. To support his position in favor of partial invalidation of the 1995 will, Appellant directs our attention to the fourth provision of the 1995 will that allows any invalidated, impaired, or ineffective provision to be carved out of the will and the will...

To continue reading

Request your trial
42 cases
  • In re Fiedler
    • United States
    • Superior Court of Pennsylvania
    • 5 Enero 2016
    ...unless there has been an abuse of discretion or a fundamental error in applying the correct principles of law." In re Estate of Luongo, 823 A.2d 942, 951 (Pa.Super.2003), appeal denied, 577 Pa. 722, 847 A.2d 1287 (2003).In re Estate of Whitley, 50 A.3d 203, 206–207 (Pa.Super.2012). This Cou......
  • In re Estate of Fritts
    • United States
    • Superior Court of Pennsylvania
    • 17 Agosto 2006
    ...probate orders determining the validity of a will or trust. See In re Estate of Janosky, 827 A.2d 512 (Pa.Super.2003); In re Estate of Luongo, 823 A.2d 942 (Pa.Super.2003), appeal denied, 577 Pa. 722, 847 A.2d 1287 (2003). However, on February 26, 2004, a panel of this Court ruled that inte......
  • In re Estate of Tscherneff
    • United States
    • Superior Court of Pennsylvania
    • 1 Febrero 2019
    ...unless there has been an abuse of discretion or a fundamental error in applying the correct principles of law. In re Estate of Luongo , 823 A.2d 942, 951 (Pa. Super. 2003). This Court's standard of review of questions of law is de novo , and the scope of review is plenary, as we may review ......
  • In Re Bidz.Com Inc. Derivative Litigation, Case No. CV 09-4984 PSG (Ex)
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. Central District of California
    • 24 Febrero 2011
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT