Stavros v. Bradley
| Decision Date | 27 October 1950 |
| Citation | 313 Ky. 676 |
| Parties | Stavros v. Bradley |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky |
Action to settle estate by Edward L. Makey, administrator de bonis non of the estate of Thomas P. Bradley, deceased, against Tillie Bartha Bradley. A judgment was entered and Pete Stavros filed an intervening petition seeking an interpretation of the rights of the parties under such judgment. The Chancery Branch, Second Division, Circuit Court, Jefferson County, W. Scott Miller, J., entered a judgment denying the right of Pete Stavros to intervene, and Pete Stavros appealed. The Court of Appeals, Sims, C.J., held that, under the rule that a life tenant must pay interest on indebtedness against estate, the judgment in settlement suit adjudging that life tenant satisfying insurance company's lien on property was subrogated to lien of company and should receive interest therein would not be construed so as to permit life tenant to actually receive the interest.
Judgment reversed with directions.
1. Declaratory Judgment. — A declaratory action may be maintained for the purpose of construing a judgment where the parties do not know how to proceed thereunder or how the judgment affects them.
2. Judgment. — Where judgment in settlement suit adjudged that life tenant satisfying insurance company's lien on property was subrogated to lien of company and should receive interest thereon, intervening petition of holder of remainder interests admitting that judgment was correct but asserting that life tenant should not receive the interest provided by judgment was not collateral attack on judgment. Civ.Code Prac. sec. 428 et seq.
3. Life Estates. — A life tenant must pay interest on indebtedness against estate.
4. Life Estates. — Under rule that life tenant must pay interest on indebtedness against estate, judgment in settlement suit adjudging that life tenant satisfying insurance company's lien on property was subrogated to lien of company and should receive interest thereon would not be construed so as to permit life tenant to actually receive the interest. Civ. Code Prac. sec. 428 et seq.
5. Life Estates. — Where life tenant satisfied insurance company's lien on property and judgment in settlement suit adjudged that life tenant was subrogated to lien of company, holder of remainder interests could not satisfy lien and force life tenant to transfer property to holder so that holder could obtain a sale of property in satisfaction of lien. Civ. Code Prac. sec. 428 et seq.
6. Life Estates. — Where life estate is in entire property, remaindermen cannot force sale of property.
Samuel Steinfeld and Allen P. Dodd, Jr., for appellant.
Richard B. Crawford, Thomas S. Dawson, Louis H. Jull and Arthur J. Deindoerfer for appellee.
Before W. Scott Miller, Judge
Reversing.
This appeal is prosecuted from a judgment denying the right of appellant, Pete Stavros, to intervene in a suit to settle an estate, wherein the intervening petition averred he sought a declaration of the rights of the parties under the judgment entered in the settlement suit. It is necessary to give a brief history of the settlement action for a proper understanding of the question before us.
Thomas P. Bradley died Oct. 7, 1939, and his will devised a life estate in certain property in Ashland Kentucky, jointly to his wife and to a former wife from whom he was divorced, with remainder to his children and grandchildren in certain contingencies not here material. It was provided in the will that at the death of his wife or of his divorced wife, the survivor should take the entire life estate. The divorced wife died and appellee, Tillie Bartha Bradley, took the whole of the life estate as the surviving widow. She was named as executrix of her husband's will but was removed by the Jefferson Circuit Court and Edward L. Makey was appointed as administrator de bonis non. He filed in the Jefferson Circuit Court an action to settle the estate under Civil Code of Practice, sec. 428 et seq.
The Commonwealth Life Insurance Company held a lien on the property for $19,281.87, which appellee satisfied out of her own funds and in the judgment in the settlement suit she was subrogated to the lien of the insurance company in that amount, with six per cent interest per annum from Oct. 7, 1946, until paid, subject to a credit as of that date of $5,750 she owed the estate. The judgment which was rendered on Jan. 21, 1947, further ordered a sale of the Ashland property to satisfy appellee's lien. However, on her motion the sale was held up.
Appellant acquired all interest of the remaindermen with the exception of F.E. Bradley, a son of testator who had a contingent remainder interest in the property. On July 5, 1949, more than two years after entry of judgment in the settlement suit, appellant filed an intervening petition therein in which he set out the remainder interests he had acquired in the...
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