Alderson's Adm'r. v. Alderson

44 S.E. 313, 53 W. Va. 388, 1903 W. Va. LEXIS 42
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedApril 25, 1903
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 44 S.E. 313 (Alderson's Adm'r. v. Alderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alderson's Adm'r. v. Alderson, 44 S.E. 313, 53 W. Va. 388, 1903 W. Va. LEXIS 42 (W. Va. 1903).

Opinions

McWhorter, PresideNT :

S. Lewis Price, administrator c. t. a. of Mary P. Alderson, instituted in the circuit court of Greenbrier County his bill against J. C. Alderson, the husband of his testratrix and others, alleging that the estate was considerably in debt and no per-, sonal property left to pay the debts; that before her death, the testratrix had joined with her husband in a coal lease for cer-. tain of her lands in which the lessee had not developed nor. opened the mines on said land; that Alderson had given notice to the lessee, James Lang, as well as to plaintiff that he claimed his wife’s interest in said lease and curtesy in all real estate of which his wife died seized; alleging that Alderson was not entitled to curtesy in said lease nor in the proceeds derived therefrom, nor in any other land of the testratrix in their present condition, as said lands, except probably a tract of about one hundred and ninety acres in the Richlands, Greenbrier County, are undeveloped and timber lands upon which no mines had been opened and no operation commenced at the death of the testatrix, and as to that portion of the mineral land leased to Lang said J. C. Alderson united in said lease, parting with any and all interest he may have had therein. Plaintiff asked the court to take charge of the administration of the estate of his testatrix under the will and give him full and explicit directions as to the payment of debts for which the estate might [390]*390be liable, and. praying that said Álderson be required to discover any and all property he might own that was liable to' the payment of the debts owing by him and for which the plaintiff testatrix was bound as his endorser, that the real estate of J. C. Álderson be first subjected to the payment of all debts due by him and on which his wife M. P. Álderson was endorser, that the will of his testatrix be construed and the rights of the devisees and legatees thereunder be determined and also the rights of J. 0. Álderson, the husband, in her said estate.

The defendant J. C. Álderson filed his answer disclosing the land to which be was entitled and interest therein, showing that he had large interests and holdings in several counties in this State and in other states. The court decreed in that cause that J. C. Álderson was entitled to curtesy in the real estate of which his wife died seized of an estate of inheritance and. including a life estate by the curtesy in the -said interest of his wife in mineral lands described in the Lang lease, which, included the rents, issues, and profits arising from said interest by reason of said lease to land; from which decree the plaintiff appealed and the decree was affirmed by this Court, 46 W. Va. 242; (33 S. E. 228).

Plaintiff filed an amended bill at the March rules 1898, in said circuit court bringing in other parties, co-owners in certain lands with plaintiff’s testatrix,' praying that they be required to answer and disclose what their interests were and by whom -the legal title thereto was held. Át the June rules, 1899, plaintiff filed his second amended bill making the creditors of the estate of J. C. Álderson parties stating, that it was alleged in the original bill that said Mary P. Álderson was at the time of her death bound as security of or endorser for her said husband to a large amount, that some of said creditors had filed their claims in said suit which were allowed and reported to the court, that plaintiff was informed that there were others claiming to be creditors of said J. C. Álderson for whose debts his wife’s éstate was not bound who claimed the right to subject to the satisfaction of their claims the interest in her estate so adjudged in his favor and denying that such creditors had any such right, except subject to the prior rights- of the remainder-man and those who were creditors of both Álderson and his wife, and -alleging that whatever interest said J. C. Álderson [391]*391might have in liis'wifo’s estate under the Raid decisions that interest must first lie subjected to the payment of the debts of Alderson for which his wife’s estate was bound and further alleging that the defendant Thomas Tabb as the owner of the legal title to the Raleigh County land under the deed of trust from Alderson and wife of date December 28th, 1893, must be' brought before the court that other creditors named who claimed to have sued out and levied attachments since the institution of this suit upon said interest of Alderson for the debts asserted by them in this suit; that the defendant Tabb and Smith not parties to the original bill and individual creditors of said J. C. Alderson also claimed, as plaintiff was informed, to have sued out and levied attachments on the said interest; that the defendant’s Bank of Alderson, Feamster, Peabody Insurance Co., and J. N. Alderson claimed to be judgment-lien creditors of said J. C. Alderson and that the defendants Miller and Read claimed to be assignees of a certain portion of said interest and prayed that the several, attaching creditors,, and the said judgment-lien creditors, assignees, and all others claiming to have liens upon the said interest or estate of said Alderson might be required to' present their claims in this suit; that the said several parties might be enjoined from the further prosecution of any suits brought by them to subject said interest or estate to the payment of their debts; that the court might ascertain and determine for what debts of the said J. C. Alderson the estate of said M. P. Alderson was bound, the extent to which it was entitled to be relieved therefrom by the application thereto of the interest of said J. C. Alderson and that such application might be made according to the respective rights of the parties to this suit.

In April, 1899, Thomas Tabb, for Annie J. Phoebus, filed his affidavit in the circuit court of Greenbrier County and sued out attachments in several counties against said J. C. Alderson, and C. L. Smith and the Kanawha Valley Bank, respectively, also sued out attachments in actions of debt against said Al-derson, all of whom, designating the lessee Lang and the Sun Coal & Coke Co. as garnishees, and the said Phoebus filed her bill against said J. C. Alderson in said circuit court of Green-brier County to enforce her claim against said Alderson and praying that defendants James Lang and S. Lewis Price [392]*392might be required to discover and disclose by answer, or as the court might otherwise direct, the moneys owing by them and the property in his possession or under their control belonging to the defendant J. C. Alderson and the enforcement of the attachment and for general relief.

The defendant J. G. Alderson filed his demurrer and answer to the second amended bill of said S. Lewis Price, administrator, &c., denying the rights of those creditors of his late wife, Mary P. Alderson and himself jointly, or those creditors of Mary P. Alderson on debts or obligations for which she was security for him.to any priority of the other creditors, also himself in regard to respondents estate by the curtesy in the estate of. his late wife, except such as said creditors might acquire by some mode and manner prescribed by law, and denying that his said interests must be first subjected to the payment of his debts for which his said wife’s estate was bound to the exclusion of others of his creditors who might acquire proper liens on said estate.

The defendant S. W. N. Feamster also filed his separate demurrer and answer to the second amended bill setting up his judgment as a valid and binding lien on the estate by the curtesy of J. .C.

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Bluebook (online)
44 S.E. 313, 53 W. Va. 388, 1903 W. Va. LEXIS 42, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aldersons-admr-v-alderson-wva-1903.