Kuteman v. Ratliff

154 S.W.2d 864
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 6, 1941
DocketNo. 5411
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 154 S.W.2d 864 (Kuteman v. Ratliff) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kuteman v. Ratliff, 154 S.W.2d 864 (Tex. Ct. App. 1941).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

On March 17, 1941, in the case of Kuteman v. Stone, 150 S.W.2d 102, pending in this court on appeal from the district court of Kent County, this court rendered its opinion and judgment reversing the judgment and order of the trial court appointing Guinn Williams receiver of the properties of the estate of James E. Kuteman, deceased, and dissolving the receivership. The grounds upon which the receivership was dissolved were that the estate of James [865]*865E. Kuteman, deceased, was being administered by the probate court of Donley County and that the district court of Kent County did not have, and could not acquire, jurisdiction of the property of the estate and was without power to appoint a receiver thereof.

On September 8, 1941, relator, Nellie Kuteman, who is the surviving mother and an heir of the estate of James E. Kute-man, deceased, filed in this court her application for leave to file a petition for a writ of prohibition against the Honorable Dennis P. Ratliff, district judge, and Guinn Williams, receiver, in which she alleged, among other things, that on the 17th day of March, 1941, the day upon which the judgment was rendered in this court dissolving the receivership and the opinion handed down, the receiver paid to the United States Internal Revenue Collector $21,087.41, and to the tax collector of Palo Pinto County $6,805.60, and that in order to procure the funds with which to pay the same, he had attempted to create a lien on a large portion of the properties of the estate. She further alleged that on the 1st of September, 1941, Jerome S. Stone, the appellee in the case of Kute-man v. Stone, for and on behalf of his wife, Beatrice K. Stone, who is a sister of James E. Kuteman, deceased, and the only other heir of his estate, filed in the district court of Kent County his first supplemental petition in the same cause in which he prayed the court as in his original petition and also prayed that all pleas in abatement and answers of the defendant therein, Nellie Kuteman, setting up prior jurisdiction of the probate court of Donley County be overruled, and prayed the trial court then to hold and adjudge that it had jurisdiction to appoint the receiver as he had theretofore been appointed and then to terminate such receivership in accordance therewith. She further alleged in the application that on the 1st of September, 1941, the trial court had entered an order allowing the expenditure by the receiver of a large sum of money belonging to the estate, including a fee to himself of $1,500 and a like amount as a fee to his attorney, all of which, together with a number of other acts of the receiver and orders of the court, she alleged, were in direct violation of the order and judgment of this court dissolving the receivership.

The application of relator to file the petition for a writ of prohibition was granted and, upon the allegations contained in the petition for a writ of prohibition, which were sworn to by the relator, and the proof offered thereon, this court, on September 9, 1941, granted the prayer of the petitioner and the writ was duly issued, returnable to this court on September 22, 1941. The Honorable Dennis P. Ratliff, District Judge, and Guinn Williams, the receiver, duly made their returns and the cause was heard in this court on the date last, mentioned. In their returns, the respondents admit the allegations of fact made by relator but deny they have invaded the jurisdiction of this court or that they or either of them has any intention of doing so.

The record shows that during his administration as receiver the respondent, Guinn Williams, has received a total of $45,722.40 in money, of which amount he has expended $44,880.91, leaving a balance on hand of $841.49. Of the total amount expended, $31,378.73 was disbursed under the orders and with the approval of the respondent, Honorable Dennis P. Ratliff, District Judge, after March 17, 1941, when the receivership was dissolved by the order and judgment of this court. The amount last mentioned includes the fee or commission which the receiver paid to himself and a like amount to his attorney.

In his report and account for final settlement, filed at the September term, 1941, of the district court of Kent County, the above items, together with a large number of others, are shown, and the receiver alleges therein that he has rendered large and valuable services to the estate for which he is entitled to an additional fee of $5,-000, and that his counsel has rendered large and valuable services to the receiver and the estate for which he is entitled to an additional fee of $3,500.

The record shows that the trial court had heard the final report and was considering the same, together with the final account of the receiver, when the temporary writ of prohibition was issued out of this court and served.upon him. In his return, the Honorable Dennis P. Ratliff, District Judge, alleges that, being in doubt as to the amount of expenses, commissions and fees that should be adjudged, he took such matters under advisement and was engaged in studying the authorities with a view of arriving at a conclusion when the temporary writ of prohibition was issued. He alleges further that, upon the testimony [866]*866adduced at the hearing- of the report, he is of the opinion that the receiver and his attorney have rendered good and valuable services to the estate and that by their diligence and efforts many thousands of dollars have been saved in the way of reduction of State and Federal taxes and the leasing of properties belonging to the estate. In this connection he further expresses the opinion and belief that the closing of the receivership and discharge of the receiver should be governed by the rules laid down in the cases of Shell Petroleum Corp. v. Grays, Tex.Civ.App., 87 S.W.2d 289; Rex Refining Co. v. Morris, Tex.Civ.App., 75 S.W.2d 156; and Taylor v. Taylor, Tex.Civ.App., 91 S.W.2d 394. Those cases adhere to the general rule that the receiver and his attorney are entitled to reasonable compensation to be taxed as costs against the property and funds in receivership, and without regard to the results of the litigation, and irrespective of the right of either party to recover costs of court against his adversary. The law is well settled that, in a case of which the court has jurisdiction, if a receiver is appointed and takes charge and custody of property and administers the same under orders of the court, he is entitled to his fees and to reasonable fees for his counsel, to be paid out of the corpus of the property in his hands regardless of whether the receiver was providently or improvidently appointed. We cannot agree with the respondents, however, that the rule applies in a case wherein the court does not have jurisdiction over the subject matter. The law is well established in this state that the county court, sitting in probate matters, has exclusive jurisdiction of all matters pertaining to estates of 'deceased persons and the district court is without power or authority to interfere in any manner with that jurisdiction. Art. 5, Sec. 16, of our Constitution specifically places such jurisdiction in the county court and the only jurisdiction the district court has in such matters is appellate jurisdiction and general control over the county court as provided by Sec. 8 of the same article.

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Bluebook (online)
154 S.W.2d 864, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kuteman-v-ratliff-texapp-1941.