La Follette v. Higgins

28 N.E. 768, 129 Ind. 412, 1891 Ind. LEXIS 72
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 27, 1891
DocketNo. 13,216
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 28 N.E. 768 (La Follette v. Higgins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
La Follette v. Higgins, 28 N.E. 768, 129 Ind. 412, 1891 Ind. LEXIS 72 (Ind. 1891).

Opinion

Olds, J. —

This is an action by the appellant to set aside the final settlement report of John Higgins, the appellee, as guardian of the minor heirs of Harvey M. La Follette, deceased, of which heirs appellant is one.

The appellee answered in two paragraphs, one in estoppel, alleging the giving of a receipt in full of account by the appellant after he arrived at his majority, and the other in denial.

There was a trial by the court, and, on proper request, the court made a special finding of facts, stated its conclusions of law, and rendered final judgment for the appellee.

The court found the facts to be as follows :

“ On the 10th day of November, 1865, John Higgins, the defendant, was by the clerk of the common pleas court of Boone county, Indiana, appointed guardian of the heirs of Harvey M. La Follette, deceased, six in number, among whom was the plaintiff, which appointment was confirmed by the said common pleas court on the 1st day of January, 1866. Said defendant filed no inventory of the property of any of his said wards, including said plaintiff, at any time. At the date of said appointment said plaintiff owned his share of the personal estate of his father, in the hands of the administrator of the estate, and also the undivided one-ninth of realty in Thorntown, in said county, in which property the widow of said decedent and his family then lived, [414]*414and on which said widow and members of said family have ever since lived, and the property having been used for a homestead, no rents therefrom have ever been received by said defendant. The plaintiff was also the owner of an interest in said property, which was afterwards sold by the administrator, and whatever came to the hands of said defendant as the proceeds of the sale of this property has been accounted for by him in his reports. On the 26th day of January, 1868, said defendant filed his first report as guardian, which was general as to all the heirs for whom he was guardian, and he did not separate the interest of the plaintiff from the others. In this report he charges himself as follows (August 3d, 1866): The proceeds of the mill from November 10th, 1866, to June> 1st, 1867; $1,197.26 ; January 6th, 1867, received of Mote, administrator, one note on R. H. La Follette, $627.35; January 6th, 1867, received of Mote, cash, $776.49 ; January 20th, 1867, received of S. A. Lee, clerk, cash, $1,382.60; January 31st, 1868, received of Mote, administrator, $1,940.23; received of Mote, administrator, $28.97; interest, $167.
In this report the undisputed credits are $149.13. The guardian charged $100.. The theory upon which interest is accounted for in the defendant’s reports was to. charge himself with interest which had been received, and not with interest accrued and not paid. Plaintiff’s share of the principal was $992.15; his share of interest was $27.83 — $1,-019.98 ; his share of credits, including guardian’s charges, $41.52, leaving $978.46.
Interest accounted for in second report: January 17th, 1870, $120.93, making $1,099.39 credits in this report not disputed; plaintiff’s share, $19.88, leaving $1,079.51; one-sixth interest accounted for in third report, January 15th, 1873, $205.73, making $1,285.26; one-sixth of undisputed credits, $89.82 ; one-sixth of guardian’s charges, $6.33, making $96.15, and leaving $1,189.11; one-sixth of interest accounted for in fourth report, April 19th, 1875, $190.18, mak[415]*415ing $1,379.29; one-sixth of undisputed credits, $35.93; one-sixth of guardian’s charges, $22.83 = $58.76, leaving $1,-320.53; one-sixth of interest accounted for in fifth report, January 28th, 1876, $90.44, making $1,410.97 ; one-sixth of undisputed credits, $75.63 ; one-sixth of guardian’s charges, $3.66, making $79.29, leaving $1,331.68.
“ In this report final settlement was made with one of the wards; ■ one-fifth of interest accounted for in sixth report, April 13th, 1877, $141.98, making $1,473.66; one-fifth of undisputed credits, $37.13; one-fifth of guardian’s charges, $8.50, making $45.63, and leaving $1,428.03.
“ In this report, after reporting generally as to the five, there is a separation of the account, and William L. is charged with Susan C. La Follette receipt No. 44, $50, leaving $1,378.03. The seventh report is as to Warren J. alone. The eighth report is separate. April 18th, 1879, interest, $192.78, making $1,570.81 ; credits, without guardian’s charges,$248.98; add guardian’s charges, $22 — 270.98, making $1,299.83. The ninth report is final as to Harvey M. La Follette, and relates to him alone. Interest charged in tenth report, July 9th, 1881, $155.12, making $1,454.95 ; undisputed credits, $79.65; guardian’s charges, $28; voucher 89-J incorrect, $50; interest, $2.50; incorrect and never corrected, $2.50, making $160.15, and leaving $1,294.80. The eleventh report is as to Grant alone.
The twelfth and final report as to plaintiff charges back to the defendant voucher 89i, $50, but not the interest, $2.50, and also accounts for interest $26.88 — $76.88, $1,-204.80, $1,381. 68 ; undisputed credits, $13.85 ; guardian’s charges, $7, making $20.85, and leaving $1,360.83. The twelfth report, as numbered, was filed February 8, 1883. With this report were the following vouchers, executed by the ward or by his authority, and the money paid to him, or his agent: 1st. I, William L. La Follette, as an heir of Harvey M. La Follette; deceased, hereby acknowledge the receipt of the sum of $1,299.68 in full of all demands due me from John [416]*416Higgins, my guardian, and I hereby represent, that on the 30th day of November, 1881, I arrived at the age of twenty-one years. In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name, this 10th day of January, 1882.
“ William L. La Follette.”
“ * 2d. I, William L. La Follette, as an heir of Harvey M. La Follette, deceased, hereby acknowledge the receipt of ($51) fifty-one dollars in full of all demands due me from John Higgins, my guardian, and I hereby represent that on the 30th day of November, 1881, I arrived at the age of twenty-one years. In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 28th day of March, 1882.
Wm. L. La Follette.’
From the foregoing the defendant received of his ward’s money, August 3d, 1866, $199.54, January, 1867, $464.40, January, 1868, $328.20, making $992.15 ; he accounted for interest, $1,151.89, making $2,144.04; his credits amounted to $790.71; he paid his ward January 10th, 1882, $1,299.68 ; he paid his ward March 28th, 1882, $51, making $2,141.39, leaving $2.65, which is $2.50 not credited back, as hereinbefore found, where it should have been, and 15 cents probably growing out of the difference in calculations. The money was loaned at different rates of interest, mostly at ten per cent. At times some portion was deposited in the National Bank of Thorntown in his individual name and with other funds belonging to him in the same account, and he was an ordinary business man, but all of the money received by the defendant was not so deposited at the date of its reception. There is no proof of any failure of the defendant to account for interest, and he substantially accounted for all the money he received. The defendant did not, as shown by the dates of the reports heretofore filed, file his reports regularly every two years.

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Bluebook (online)
28 N.E. 768, 129 Ind. 412, 1891 Ind. LEXIS 72, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/la-follette-v-higgins-ind-1891.