State v. Superior Court of Walla Walla County

• Decision Date: 08 November 1895
• Parties: STATE EX REL. RESER v. SUPERIOR COURT OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. [1]
• Court: Washington Supreme Court

42 P. 630

13 Wash. 25

STATE EX REL. RESER v. SUPERIOR COURT OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. ^[1]

Supreme Court of Washington

November 8, 1895

Certiorari by the state, upon the relation of John M. Reser, to the superior court of Walla Walla county. Dismissed.

Thos H. Brents and Wellington Clark, for relator.

J. W Brooks, for respondent.

SCOTT J.

This matter is before us upon the return of the respondent to a writ of certiorari heretofore issued. The relator had been appointed by the respondent as administrator of the estate of one Winnie Tanksley, and filed his final account as such administrator in the month of May, 1894; whereupon he petitioned for his discharge upon his making a distribution of said estate. A hearing was had on June 20, 1894, and an order was made allowing the account, and directing the distribution of the estate. On January 31st following, a further and supplemental order was made, directing that relator be discharged as administrator of the estate of said deceased upon his obtaining from the heirs, and filing with the clerk of the court, receipts for their respective shares of the estate under the order of distribution. On February 23d following, one J. M. Turner filed a petition, alleging several inaccuracies in the final account, and a failure upon the part of the administrator to distribute the estate as required, and asked that such final account be set aside. To this petition relator filed objections, which were sustained by the court, and the petition was denied. On June 1, 1895, said Turner filed another petition, including therein the matters contained in the former petition, and setting forth additional grounds and again asked that the final account of the administrator be set aside, and for other relief, to the end that the relator might be called upon to account for certain sums which it was alleged he had failed to distribute, etc. This petition was also objected to by the relator. The objections were overruled, and the court set aside its previous orders relating to the settlement of the account, etc., and made an order setting another time for hearing. Whereupon application was made to this court for the writ aforesaid.

A materially different case is presented to us by the return of the respondent from that shown by the relator at the time the writ was directed to issue. Upon the preliminary showing it was made to appear that the relator had obtained receipts from the heirs for their respective portions of the estate and that the matter had been finally settled and determined long prior to the proceeding instituted by Turner, upon which the order allowing the final account was set aside. It now appears, however, that the receipts of all the heirs had not been filed, and this is substantially conceded by the...