Calkin v. Wolcott

1937 OK 699, 77 P.2d 96, 182 Okla. 278, 1937 Okla. LEXIS 240
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedDecember 7, 1937
DocketNos. 26349, 26350.
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 1937 OK 699 (Calkin v. Wolcott) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Calkin v. Wolcott, 1937 OK 699, 77 P.2d 96, 182 Okla. 278, 1937 Okla. LEXIS 240 (Okla. 1937).

Opinion

DAVISON, J.

This is an appeal from an order and judgment of the district court of Tutóa county, sustaining the defendants' de *279 murrer to the plaintiffs’ evidence in two cases which were consolidated for the purpose of trial, and were consolidated in this court for all proceedings before it.

These two actions are prosecuted by E. M. Calkin and D. M. Oreutt, coguardiuns of Pearlie Oreutt Roberts, an incompetent, and by Pearlie Oreutt Roberts, an incompetent, 'against. C. W. Wolcott, her former guardian and the sureties on the guardian’s bonds.

In their petitions plaintiffs asked that the order approving the final account of the guardianship on January 6, 1931, by the county court of Wagoner county, be vacated, set aside, and held for n'aught, and that the order discharging the guardian and the bondsmen on January 8, 1931, be set aside and held for naught and that an accounting be had. The plaintiffs have 'appealed from the order and judgment of the court sustaining a demurrer to the plaintiffs’ evidence.

The parties hereto will hereinafter be referred to as they appeared in the trial court.

Upon filing of the petition in error and case-made in this court, the defendants filed their motion to dismiss this appe'al, assigning as grounds therefor that the cases-made were settled and signed, over objections and exceptions of defendant Wolcott, before the time granted by court orders for suggesting amendments had expired. It was also contended that the cases-made were never filed with the court clerk below after the purported settlement and signing on May 7, 1931.

The record in this case shows that the motion to dismiss filed herein was overruled without prejudice, subject to being a-gain considered when the cause was considered upon the merits. The court, after further consideration of same and upon the authority of American Surety Co. v. Wolsey, 163 Okla. 270, 20 P. (2d) 158, and Emery, Rec., v. Villines, 175 Okla. 552, 53 P. (2d) 227, here make the former order overruling the motion to dismiss final.

The petitions filed in the two cases No-26349 and No. 26350 are practically identical and include a period of time after the ward had become of age and had been declared an incompetent.

In their fourth amended petition, plaintiffs h'ave alleged the appointment of defendant C. W. Wolcott as guardian of plaintiff Pearlie Oreutt Roberts during her minority and the time after her majority and during her incompetency. The petition alleges that W. S. Vernon, now deceased, was surety on Wol-cott’s guardian bond, and that defendant Cl'ara P. Vernon is. the executrix of his estate. It is further alleged that defendant National Surety Company was surety on the bond given by Wolcott as guardian and that defendant Edward M. Box is the duly qualified and acting receiver of the assets of said company located in the state of Oklahoma. Defendant Lem Vernon is also shown to be a surety on the guardian’s bond.

The plaintiffs have alleged in their petitions many ’acts of mismanagement and fraudulent misconduct in connection with the handling of the' ward’s estate by the guardians, and allege that such conduct on part of the guardian is so replete with fraudulent conduct as to authorize the court in granting the relief prayed for in their petition. It is alleged that at the time of the discharge of the guardian when the ward reached her majority, the guardian retained a large sum of money for which he had not accounted, the exact amount not available to the plaintiffs; that various illegal expenditures and charges were disclosed by the account and exhibit attached to his petition ; that the order approving the final account and discharge was procured by fraud, in that Wolcott falsely represented to the county court of Wagoner county that he had made a full settlement and- fully accounted for all property coming into his hands as guardian.

Plaintiffs allege that the accounts were hot true and correct, but were false and untrue and made for the purpose of deceiving the county court; that the county court believed the statements of the ’guardian to be true and approved the fraudulent reports ; that the order approving the alleged fin’al report was procured by false representations concerning matters outside of the records of the county court of Wagoner county ; and that but for said false representations the court would not have approved same. The specific acts alleged constituting the fraud will be referred to later in order to avoid repetition herein.

The answer of defendant Wolcott alleges that the court is without jurisdiction; that the order of the county court settling guardian’s account and discharging the guardian and his sureties is final and not-subject to re-examination by the district court of Tulsa county, and that all matters referred to in the petition had been adjudicated in favor of the guardian and against the ward in the county court of Wagoner county, and that upon the ward obtaining majority and re *280 stored to competency, affirmed and ratified ail acts of her guardian, and that plaintiffs’ cause of action is barred by the statute of limitations.

The answer of Clara P. Vernon, executrix, is to the same effect.

In the answer of Edward M. Box, receiver, it is alleged that he has no funds out of which to pay any judgment which might be rendered, and that the National Surety Company is in process of liquidation, and further alleges that the court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter or over Edward M. Box, and denies that the petition states a cause of action, and alleges that the matters complained of have been finally adjudicated, and defendant further pleads the statute of limitations.

While the judgment of the trial court does not affirmatively so show, the record discloses that the court sustained the defendants’ demurrers to the evidence on the ground that plaintiffs failed to produce evidence to show that the former guardian committed fraud extraneous to the issues determined in court. Such fraud as prevented fair hearings upon the issues heard and determined by the .court, including various hearings and orders and the final decree of the court, approving the guardian’s final report and discharging him and his bondsmen.

It is the contention of the plaintiffs that, since the proceeding before the county court was not an adversary proceeding, it is not necessary that the fraud practiced by the guardian on the court be extraneous.

The plaintiffs further contend that if this court concludes that extraneous fraud is necessary in the type of case here presented, to warrant the interference of a court of equity, that fraud similar to that practiced here by the guardian Wolcott has been held by this court to be of extraneous character and sufficient to justify a court of equity in vacating the order settling the final account and discharging the guardian and his sureties.

It is the contention of the defendants that the fraud which will justify the cancellation, in ’ an equitable suit, of a judgment or order of a county probate court must be extraneous to the issues presented and determined and such as prevented the complaining party from having a fair hearing. That a recovery cannot be had upon a showing of extrinsic fraud, unless it is shown th'at such fraud prevented a fair hearing.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1937 OK 699, 77 P.2d 96, 182 Okla. 278, 1937 Okla. LEXIS 240, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/calkin-v-wolcott-okla-1937.