Sullivant v. Sullivan
| Decision Date | 15 June 2007 |
| Docket Number | 1051803. |
| Citation | 976 So.2d 991 |
| Parties | Michael S. SULLIVANT and Sandy Sullivant v. Charles James SULLIVAN III, as administrator of the estate of Susan Toler Sullivan, deceased. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
Anthony J. Bishop of Law Firm of Anthony J. Bishop, LLC, Evergreen, for appellants.
William H. Webster, D. Mitchell Henry, and Mark E. Irby of Webster, Henry, Lyons & White, P.C., Montgomery, for appellee.
Michael S. Sullivant and his wife, Sandy Sullivant, appeal from a final judgment dismissing their action against Charles James Sullivan III, in his capacity as administrator of the estate of Susan Toler Sullivan, deceased (hereinafter "the administrator"). We affirm.
Michael Sullivant, a resident of Elba, was driving his vehicle when he collided with a vehicle operated by Susan Toler Sullivan, a resident of Montgomery. Sullivan was killed as a result of the accident, and Sullivant was injured. The administrator published notice to potential creditors of Sullivan's estate in the Montgomery Independent, a newspaper published in Montgomery County. No actual notice was given to the Sullivants. Six months after his appointment the administrator, alleging that all debts of the estate had been paid in full, obtained an order from the Montgomery Probate Court closing the estate and discharging him from further liability. Within two years of the accident, but after the estate had been closed, the Sullivants sued the administrator in the Montgomery Circuit Court, asserting claims of personal injury and loss of consortium. The administrator moved to dismiss the Sullivants' action because the six months allowed by the statute of nonclaims, § 43-2-350(b), Ala.Code 1975, had expired without their having filed a claim against the estate and the administrator had been discharged by order of the probate court. The trial court dismissed the action, and the Sullivants appealed.
Beckerle v. Moore, 909 So.2d 185, 186-87 (Ala.2005) (citations omitted).
Relying on American Home Assurance Co. v. Gaylor, 894 So.2d 656 (Ala.2004), the Sullivants contend that because the administrator failed to provide to them the requisite notice of the administration of the estate as reasonably ascertainable creditors under §§ 43-2-60 and 43-2-61, Ala. Code 1975, the statute of nonclaims is not a bar to their claims against the estate, and they may collaterally attack in the circuit court the judgment of the probate court closing the estate and discharging the administrator. In Gaylor, this Court held that the driver of a truck involved in a fatal accident was a reasonably ascertainable creditor of a deceased motorist's estate, and, thus, the personal representative of motorist's estate was required to give the truck driver actual notice of the probate proceedings. Gaylor is not dispositive, however, because the plaintiff there asserted his claim against the estate in the circuit court before the probate court had entered an order closing the estate and discharging the administrator.
The administrator argues that the statute of nonclaims precludes the Sullivants' action, regardless of the resolution of the collateral-attack issue, because the Sullivants did not file their claims against the estate within 30 days of the date they acquired actual knowledge that an administrator of Sullivan's estate had been appointed, as required by § 43-2-350(b). The administrator also contends that a collateral attack on the probate court's judgment in the circuit court is prohibited under Alabama law. We first address the issue whether the Sullivants' claims are barred by the statute of nonclaims because, if they are, any issue concerning the availability of collateral attack would be rendered moot.
The statute of nonclaims provides, in part:
"(b) All claims against the estate of a decedent, other than the claims referred to in subsection (a) of this section [claims held by the personal representative], whether due or to become due, must be presented within six months after the grant of letters, or within five months from the date of the first publication of notice, whichever is the later to occur, provided however, that any creditor entitled to actual notice as prescribed in section 43-2-61 must be allowed 30 days after notice within which to present the claim, and if not presented within that time, they are forever barred and the payment or allowance thereof is prohibited...."
§ 43-2-350(b) (emphasis added). It is undisputed that the administrator did not provide the Sullivants with actual notice of his appointment as administrator; rather, the Sullivants learned of his appointment from their attorney after Sullivan's estate had been closed and the administrator discharged. The issue before us is whether the notice the Sullivants received from their attorney, and not from the administrator, after the estate had been closed and the administrator discharged, is sufficient to trigger the 30-day period in § 43-2-350(b) for filing claims after the receipt of actual notice. If so, their claims are barred, because it is undisputed that this action was commenced more than 30 days after the Sullivants learned of the administrator's appointment from their attorney.
Sections 43-2-60 and 43-2-61 set forth the provisions relevant to giving notice to creditors of an estate of the appointment of an administrator for the estate. Section 43-2-60 provides, in pertinent part:
(Emphasis added.) The type of notice to which each creditor is entitled depends on the classification of that creditor. Section 43-2-61 describes the two classes of creditors and the notice to which each class is entitled:
(Emphasis added.) The administrator does not here dispute that the Sullivants were reasonably ascertainable creditors. Rather, the administrator contends that the notice the Sullivants received from their attorney after the estate had been closed and the administrator discharged was sufficient to trigger the 30-day savings clause in § 43-2-350(b) of the statute of nonclaims.
The administrator further contends that the statute of nonclaims may be triggered by any notice, not necessarily notice as described in §§ 43-2-60 and 43-2-61. The administrator cites Blackwell v. Williams, 594 So.2d 56 (Ala.1992), but notes that in that case this Court did not reach the issue whether the creditor's receipt of notice of appointment from a source other than the personal representative was sufficient to trigger the 30-day period, because the Court determined that the creditor was not reasonably ascertainable and therefore was not entitled to actual notice. The administrator also cites Ivory v. Fitzpatrick, 445 So.2d 262 (Ala. 1984); Moore v. Stephens, 264 Ala. 86, 84 So.2d 752 (1956); Barrett v. Fondren, 262 Ala. 537, 80 So.2d 243 (1955); and Smith v. Nixon, 205 Ala. 223, 87 So. 326 (1921), for the proposition that the statute of nonclaims has long been applied to tort claims. That issue is not in question here.
The relevant portion of § 43-2-350(b) states that "any creditor entitled to actual notice as prescribed in section 43-2-61 must be allowed 30 days after notice within which to present the claim" in order to prevent the claim from being barred. (Emphasis added.) The entitlement to which § 43-2-350(b) refers is expressly tied to § 43-2-61, which provides the manner of giving notice when notice is required by § 43-2-60. Section 43-2-60 clearly imposes a duty upon the personal representative of an estate to "notify[] all persons having claims against the estate" of the appointment of the personal representative in accordance with the provisions of § 43-2-61. Section 43-2-61(1) states that the personal representative must provide notice as required by § 43-2-60, by first-class mail addressed to their last known address or by other mechanism reasonably calculated to provide actual notice to claimants who are known or who are reasonably ascertainable, within six months from the grant of letters of administration.
It is undisputed that the administrator...
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