In Re Estate of Rushford

18 A.2d 175, 111 Vt. 494, 1941 Vt. LEXIS 183
CourtSupreme Court of Vermont
DecidedFebruary 11, 1941
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 18 A.2d 175 (In Re Estate of Rushford) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Vermont 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 Rushford, 18 A.2d 175, 111 Vt. 494, 1941 Vt. LEXIS 183 (Vt. 1941).

Opinion

Sturtevant, J.

This is an appeal to Franklin County Court from the decision and report of commissioners allowing certain claims against the estate of Asa Eushford, late of Enosburg, Vermont, in favor of one Henry J. Ladue and from the order of the Probate Court for the District of Franklin accepting and approving said report. The appeal was taken by one Harley Eushford, an heir of said Asa Eushford, deceased, the administrator of said estate, F. E. Fullington, having declined and refused to do so. After the time for dilatory pleas had expired the creditor, Henry J. Ladue, and the administrator each filed a motion to dismiss the appeal. These motions were granted upon the ground that the county court was without jurisdiction in said matter because the bond filed by the appellant did not meet the requirements of P. L. 3012. This statute provides that when, as in this case, an administrator declined to appeal from the decision of commissioners, a person interested in the estate as heir may appeal from such decision as the administrator might have *496 done and the same proceedings shall be had in the name of the administrator; “ # * * but the person so appealing shall, before the appeal is allowed, give a bond to secure the estate from damages and costs and to secure the intervening damages and costs to the adverse party.”

A bond was filed to secure the estate conditioned that the said Harley Rushford “* * * shall prosecute said appeal to effect, and pay all intervening damages and costs occasioned by said appeal, * * *. ’ ’

The appellant brings the case here upon exceptions to the action of the court in dismissing his appeal and thereby presents two questions for our consideration, viz:

1. Does the bond filed conditioned as hereinbefore stated meet the requirements of P. L. 3012 as above set forth ?

2. Did the court have authority to grant these motions, both having been filed after the time for dilatory pleadings had passed ?

As to the first question, since the statute required the bond in question to secure the estate “from damages and costs” we should have in mind just what is included under the term damages. “The term ‘damages’ in its legal sense may be defined as meaning the compensation which the law will award for an injury done; * # 17 C. J. 710, para. A; I Sedgwick on Damages, 9th ed., page 24, Sec. 29; 15 Am. Jr. page 387, sec. 2; Scott v. Donald, 165 U. S. 58, 86, 17 Sup. Ct. 265, 41 L. Ed. 632; United States Steel Products Co. et al. v. Adams, 275 U. S. 388, 48 Sup. Ct. 162, 163, 72 L. Ed. 326.

From the foregoing authorities it is clear that should the appellant fail to prosecute his appeal to effect and the estate should thereby suffer an injury the statute in question requires a bond to protect the estate from financial loss resulting from such injury. That is, the purpose and effect of the statute is to provide a bond that will protect the estate against loss resulting from such appeal, something that will make the estate as well off as though no appeal had been taken. This was exactly the effect of the bond furnished by appellant. In McGregor v. Balch et al., 17 Vt. 562, 568, this Court, in considering the question of damages, stated: “Intervening damages are such as will make the party as well off, as if no appeal had been taken. ’ ’

The case of Roberts v. Warner, 17 Vt. 46, was scire facias *497 to recover upon a recognizance the condition of which was as follows: “ * * * prosecute the review to effect, and answer and pay all intervening damages occasioned to the adverse party by delay, with additional costs in case judgment is affirmed.” This Court, through Iiebard, J., stated in the first sentence of its opinion in that case: “The judgment, from which the cause was reviewed, was affirmed, and the question is, what damage was occasioned to the plaintiff by the delay.” It is to be noted that while the recognizance was to secure the plaintiff against “intervening damages” this Court stated the question presented as “what damage was occasioned to the plaintiff by the delay.”

To the same effect are Green v. Shurtliff et al., 19 Vt. 592, 596, 597; Peasley v. Buckminster, 1 Tyler (Vt.) 264, 267; Sargeant et al. v. Sargeant et al., 20 Vt. 297, 301, 302; State Treasurer v. Wells, 27 Vt. 276, 279.

In the interpretation of statutes the fundamental rule is to ascertain and give effect to the intention of the Legislature. The whole and every part of the. enactment must be given attention as well as other statutes in pari materia. State v. Baldwin, 109 Vt. 143, 148, 194 Atl. 372, and cases there cited.

P. L. 3010 relates to the same general subject-matter as P. L. 3012 and is as follows:

“Before an appeal is allowed, the person appealing shall give a satisfactory bond to the court, conditioned that he will prosecute his appeal to effect and pay the intervening damages and costs occasioned by such appeal.”

P. L. Chapter 136 has to do with this subject-matter, viz: probate bonds. P. L. 3059, a part of this chapter, directs how bonds taken to the probate court shall be prosecuted. Section IX of this statute is as follows:

“The action shall thereafter proceed and be prosecuted in the name of the prosecutor, on the breaches assigned; and, if he prevails, he shall have judgment in his own name for his damages and costs; * # *.”

That is, while P. L. 3010 provides for the giving of an appeal bond to the probate court conditioned to pay “interven *498 ing damages” and costs, sec. IX of P. L. 3059 provides that an action on this bond shall be prosecuted in the name of the prosecutor and if he succeeds in his action he shall have judgment for his “damages” and costs. That is, the prosecutor is to have exactly the same judgment that he would have been entitled to receive had the bond mentioned in P. L. 3010 been conditioned for the payment of ‘ ‘ damages ’ ’ instead of the payment of “intervening damages.”

From the foregoing it appears that the bond in question given by appellant secured the estate to exactly the same extent and in exactly the same manner as would have been done had the same been conditioned to secure the estate from “damages” instead of to secure it from “intervening damages.” It was in effect a strict compliance with the statutory requirements in this respect.

However, the administrator and the claimant Ladue contend that regardless of what may be the decision as to the bond in question, the county court was without jurisdiction over such portion of the appeal as relates to the allowance of the sum of $10,719.94 on Ladue’s claim, and as to this the appeal was properly dismissed.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Tarrant v. Department of Taxes
733 A.2d 733 (Supreme Court of Vermont, 1999)
In Re Estate of Boynton
148 A.2d 115 (Supreme Court of Vermont, 1959)
Winegar v. Estate of Aubin
94 A.2d 240 (Supreme Court of Vermont, 1953)
Gould v. Towslee
94 A.2d 416 (Supreme Court of Vermont, 1953)
Lovejoy v. Morrison
78 A.2d 679 (Supreme Court of Vermont, 1951)
Ricci v. Bove's Estate
75 A.2d 682 (Supreme Court of Vermont, 1950)
Billings v. Billings
39 A.2d 748 (Supreme Court of Vermont, 1944)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
18 A.2d 175, 111 Vt. 494, 1941 Vt. LEXIS 183, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-estate-of-rushford-vt-1941.