In Re Estate of Richardson

903 So. 2d 51, 2005 WL 373147
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 17, 2005
Docket2002-CT-01485-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 903 So. 2d 51 (In Re Estate of Richardson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Estate of Richardson, 903 So. 2d 51, 2005 WL 373147 (Mich. 2005).

Opinion

903 So.2d 51 (2005)

In the Matter of the ESTATE of Kela RICHARDSON, Deceased.
Bernice Richardson, Administratrix of the Estate of Kela Richardson
v.
Virgil Cornes, Jr., Individually and as the Natural Father and Duly Appointed Guardian of Virgil Cornes, III, a Minor, Jerome Cornes and Julian Cornes.

No. 2002-CT-01485-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

February 17, 2005.

*52 Ellis Turnage, Cleveland, Tamekia Rochelle Goliday, attorneys for appellant.

William Harvey Gresham, Jr., Curtis D. Boschert, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI

EASLEY, Justice, for the Court.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 1. The Estate of Kela Richardson was opened in the Second Judicial District Chancery Court of Bolivar County, Mississippi, as a result of the January 29, 1996, wrongful death of Kela Richardson (Kela). Kela's mother, Bernice Richardson (Richardson), was appointed administratrix of the estate and granted letters of administration. Richardson filed a petition for determination of heirs-at-law and wrongful death beneficiaries. Richardson also filed a petition for authority to settle a claim of the estate and wrongful death beneficiaries.

¶ 2. The trial court entered an order granting authority to settle a claim of the estate and wrongful death beneficiaries. The trial court also entered an order determining heirs-at-law and declaring wrongful death beneficiaries to be: Bernice Richardson (mother); Virgil Cornes, Jr., (Cornes), (father); Virgil Cornes, III (brother); Julian Cornes (brother); Jerome Cornes (brother); Chrysanthemum Richardson (sister); Nathan Duwell White (brother) and Kamia White (sister).

¶ 3. Following recovery in the wrongful death case, Richardson filed a petition for determination of heirs-at-law and wrongful death beneficiaries and to disinherit natural father, Virgil Cornes, Jr., and his kindred, namely being Kela's brothers, Virgil Cornes, III, Julian Cornes and Jerome Cornes, pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 91-1-15(3)(d)(I) (Rev.2004). Richardson alleged that Cornes did not openly treat Kela as his child and did not provide any financial or emotional support to Kela. The trial court denied the petition to disinherit Cornes and Cornes' children because Richardson, as the administratrix, had previously filed sworn pleadings in which she *53 alleged that the biological father and his children were heirs-at-law.[1]

¶ 4. Richardson appealed the trial court's decision. A divided Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's decision and denied Cornes' motion for rehearing on August 3, 2004. In re Estate of Richardson, 905 So.2d 620, 2004 WL 1099993 (Miss.Ct.App.2004).[2]

¶ 5. Unhappy with the decision of the Court of Appeals, Cornes filed a petition to this Court for writ of certiorari. This Court granted Cornes' writ of certiorari.

FACTS

¶ 6. Bernice Richardson and Virgil Cornes, Jr., were the natural parents of Kela Richardson. Richardson and Cornes were never married. Kela died intestate in January 29, 1996, at the age of twenty-two years old. Richardson was granted letters of administration and proceeded with a wrongful death case on behalf of Kela's wrongful death beneficiaries. That suit yielded a substantial settlement.

¶ 7. Meanwhile, Richardson filed numerous sworn pleadings declaring Kela's heirs-at-law and wrongful death beneficiaries to be Richardson, her other children, Cornes, and Cornes' other children. In his separate opinion Court of Appeals Judge Griffis noted, "[n]owhere did Richardson or [Ellis] Turnage advise the chancellor that any of the named individuals were `potential' heirs or indicate that there was any remaining controversy on or challenge to the Cornes' right of heirship or their right to receive a portion of the wrongful death settlement proceeds." Estate of Richardson, 905 So.2d at 636, 2004 WL 1099993 at *14.

¶ 8. In both the estate action and the wrongful death action, Richardson was represented by attorney Ellis Turnage. Turnage assisted Cornes and his children in filing their waivers of process and joinders to the petition for authority to settle a claim of the estate and wrongful death beneficiaries filed by Richardson to receive authority to settle Kela's wrongful death claim. Turnage also represented Cornes in creating a guardianship for his minor child for purposes of handling the settlement proceeds.[3]

*54 ¶ 9. On November 29, 2000, the trial court entered an order that determined Kela's heirs-at-law and declared her eight wrongful death beneficiaries to be Richardson, Richardson's other children, Cornes and his children. On November 29, 2000, the trial court also entered a separate order which granted Richardson the authority to settle the claims of the estate and the wrongful death beneficiaries. That order directed Richardson to distribute the proceeds of the settlement equally between Richardson, her children, Cornes, and his children. The order stated:

That after acceptance of the settlement, Petitioner is authorized to distribute the remainder of the settlement funds equally among the wrongful death beneficiaries of Kela Richardson, deceased, with a 1/8 (one-eighth) share being distributed to each of the 8 (eight) wrongful death beneficiaries.

¶ 10. On January 4, 2001, the trial court entered an order granting authority to Richardson, as administratrix, to open an interest-bearing account and empowered her to deposit the $339, 077.80, in settlement proceeds into the account.

¶ 11. Despite the trial court's orders, Richardson did not distribute the settlement proceeds. On June 6, 2001, Richardson filed a second petition to determine the heirs-at-law and wrongful death beneficiaries. Richardson requested that the trial court disinherit Cornes and his kindred pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 91-1-15(3)(d).[4] On September 5, 2001, Cornes and Virgil Cornes, III, filed a petition to enforce the trial court's prior orders. Julian Cornes and Jerome Cornes subsequently joined into the petition to enforce the trial court's prior orders. Thereafter, the trial court conducted a hearing.

¶ 12. On March 1, 2002, the trial court ruled that Richardson was prohibited, based on the clean hands doctrine and estoppel, from maintaining her petition to disinherit. The order of the trial court stated in pertinent part:

That the Administratrix is prohibited, based on the clean hands doctrine and the doctrine of collateral estoppel, from maintaining her Petition to Disinherit because the Administratrix has made numerous sworn statements that the Cornes are heirs at law and wrongful death beneficiaries of the Decedent to this Court and the Court has found them in fact to be heirs at law and wrongful death beneficiaries of the Decedent, and the Administratrix cannot now make another sworn statement contrary to her prior sworn statements and receive a benefit to the detriment of the Cornes.[5]

¶ 13. Richardson appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the trial court and remanded for a hearing on the merits of the petition to disinherit Cornes.[6]

DISCUSSION

¶ 14. The Court of Appeals held that Richardson's pleadings did not operate as *55

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
903 So. 2d 51, 2005 WL 373147, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-estate-of-richardson-miss-2005.