Curtis v. Smith

6 F. Cas. 1007, 6 Blatchf. 537
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Connecticut
DecidedAugust 15, 1869
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 6 F. Cas. 1007 (Curtis v. Smith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Curtis v. Smith, 6 F. Cas. 1007, 6 Blatchf. 537 (circtdct 1869).

Opinion

SHIPMAN, District Judge.

On the 8th of June, I860, Alida M. Benson, of Chicago, Illinois, died, leaving a last will and testament, which, among other things not necessary to mention here, contained the following clauses: ‘‘My pianoforte and silver I give and bequeath to my nephew, Homer Collins, son of Nelson Collins, and I direct that the care and custody thereof during the minority of said Homer, be given to his father. All the rest and residue of my property, consisting of bonds, promissory notes, and debts due and owing to me, and all securities by way of mortgage or otherwise, given for the payment thereof, I hereby give and bequeath, subject to the payment of my just debts, and the charges and legacies hereinbefore named, to my brother, Nelson Collins, in trust, never[1008]*1008theless. for the following uses and purposes, that is to say: That my said brother shall collect the same, and invest the proceeds arising from such collections, for the sole use and benefit of my said nephew, Homer Collins, for and during his minority, and, when he shall attain the age of twenty-one years, then that he give said proceeds, with all the increase thereof, to the said Homer absolutely; but, in case the said Homer shall die during his minority, leaving any brother or sister him surviving, then, and in that case, the said proceeds, with all their increase, over and above what shall have been expended for and on account of said Homer, .to be held after his decease for the use and benefit of the remaining child or children of the said Nelson, for and during their minority, and to be divided between them, share and share alike, as they shall respectively attain the age of twenty-one years; but, in the event of the decease of the said Homer during his said minority, leaving no brother or sister him surviving, or, in the event of the decease of the remaining child or children of the said Nelson during their minority, then, upon the decease of • the said Homer, in the one case, and the decease of the remaining child or children, in the other case, said.proceeds then remaining, with all their increase, to go to such person as said Nelson shall in writing appoint, to be held by such person for the sole use, benefit and enjoyment of said Nelson for and during his life, and to be used, managed, controlled and disposed of in such way or manner as he, the said Nelson, shall direct, and, in the event that any portion thereof shall remain at the time of his decease, the portion then remaining to go to such person or persons, use or uses, as he, the said Nelson, shall, in and by his last will and testament, appoint, and, in default of such appointment, then to the heirs of said Nelson.” The testatrix appointed Seth Wadhams to be her executor. The will was duly probated in the county court for the county of Cook, Illinois, and the estate of the deceased was there settled. Nelson Collins, to whom the above bequest was made in trust, died, at sea, on the ISth of January, 18G1, his wife, the mother of Homer, having died previously. The domicil of Homer Collins, the cestui que trust named in the will, has always been and now is in the state, of New York. On the 23d of April, 38G1, Cicero Collins, then of the city of New York, was, by the supreme court of that state, appointed “trustee, in place of Nelson Collins, deceased, and directed and fully empowered to. execute the trust in and by said will directed in favor of said Homer Collins.” Homer Collins was then, and is still, an infant, under the age of twenty-one years. Cicero Collins accepted the appointment of trustee, and, on the 22d of May, 1861, duly filed his bond for the faithful performance of the trust. On the 5th of 'October, 1801. he received from Wadhams, the executor of the will, the property bequeathed in the clauses, of the will above cited, and gave his. receipt therefor. He subsequently converted the-same into money, amounting to several thousand dollars, and held the avails thereof in his hands at the time of his death, which, took place at Litchfield, Connecticut, which place was then his domicil, in 18GG. The-court of probate for the district of Litchfield, having jurisdiction of the settlement of the-estate of Cicero Collins, appointed Haskell G. Smith, the defendant, administrator thereon, which trust he accepted, and gave bonds for its performance. Nelson Collins left no children other than Homer, the one named in the Will, and left no will. On the 24th of February, 1868, the supreme court of the state of New York, at a special term held at Rochester, the domicil of Homer Collins, appointed the plaintiff “trustee under the wilL of the said Alida M. Benson, to execute and carry into effect the same, so far as it relates to the infant Homer Collins.” The trustee-accepted the appointment, and gave bonds. He has now instituted the present suit against the defendant, as administrator of Cicero Collins, the former trustee. It is an action at law, for an account, and the declaration alleges, that Cicero Collins, in his lifetime, as bailiff and receiver of the minor Homer Collins, received from Wadhams, the executor of Alida M. Benson, eight thousand dollars, and from other sources two thousand dollars. It is conceded, that whatever property or funds Cicero Collins received, came,, in some form, from the estate of Alida M. Benson, and under her will, as above cited.

The defendant has pleaded the general issue, and also set up several specific grounds of defence: (1) That the supreme court of New York had no jurisdiction to appoint the plaintiff trustee, as set forth in the declaration; (2) that, whatever appointment the plaintiff in fact received from the supreme court of New York, that appointment conferred upon him no power to act within the-limits of the state of Connecticut, or bring this suit in this court; (3) that, whatever may have been the relations existing between Cicero Collins and the minor, the former was never trustee of the estate of the latter, nor bailiff or receiver of any part of his estate, or liable to be sued in an action of account; (4) that the defendant, as administrator of Cicero Collins, deceased, is not liable to be sued in an action of account by the minor, or any one in his behalf. These four points are set up by notice, under the general issue, according to the modern practice of the state courts in Connecticut, and, as no objections have been raised to this form of presenting the questions in this court, all such objections aré deemed to-have been waived by the plaintiff, -and the court, for the purposes of this case, takes the questions as if more formally pleaded.

The will, after the bequest of the pianoforte and silver to Homer Collins, already cit[1009]*1009ed, makes certain other devises and bequests, which need not be noticed in this case. Then follows the residuary clause, above cited, giving to Nelson Collins the property in question, In trust for the uses set forth. Both Nelson Collins and his wife, the parents of Homer Collins, being dead, leaving no issue except Homer, the scope of the trust created by the will is narrowed. In case of Homer’s death before attaining his majority, a contingency provided for in the will, he can leave no brother or sister. Nelson being dead, the contingency upon which he was to appoint a trustee to hold the property for his use and benefit, can never occur. He left no will making any appointment touching the trust property. Whether he had the power to make such an appointment by will, previous to the death of Homer, need not be determined. All tlie provisions of the trust have, therefore, fallen, except those which relate to the interests of Homer Collins and of the heirs of Nelson Collins.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
6 F. Cas. 1007, 6 Blatchf. 537, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/curtis-v-smith-circtdct-1869.