Lockhart v. Wilson

962 So. 2d 141, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 500
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedAugust 7, 2007
DocketNo. 2006-CA-00200-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 962 So. 2d 141 (Lockhart v. Wilson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lockhart v. Wilson, 962 So. 2d 141, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 500 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

GRIFFIS, J.,

for the Court.

¶ 1. Walter Lockhart, Sr., commenced this action to probate the last will and testament of Bennie Metzler Thomas (“Thomas”), and he was appointed executor for the estate. Beverly McNair Wilson, Brenda McNair, Adrienne McNair, Nicole Pirtle-Willis, Kevin Pirtle, Antoinette Pirtle, Elizabeth McNair, Pierre McNair, and Gaynetha McNair (collectively, the “Appellees”) contested the will. The chancellor entered summary judgment declaring that the will was invalid and that Thomas died intestate. Lockhart appeals and argues the chancellor erred in (1) granting summary judgment when there was a probated claim pending, and (2) declaring the will invalid for lack of two attesting witnesses. We find no error and affirm. We remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

FACTS

¶ 2. Thomas was a long time resident of Yazoo City. Lockhart was a family friend who helped care for Thomas in her old age. Thomas passed away on August 17, 2004, at the age of eighty-four. Her husband predeceased her, and she had no children. Likewise, her parents, sister1 Annie Mae Rucker McNair, and brothers Mickey Creely and James Metzler, Jr. predeceased her.

¶ 3. On August 26, 2004, Lockhart filed a petition to probate the last will and testament of Bennie M. Thomas. The purported will was dated August 2001 and named Annie Mae as sole beneficiary. In case Annie Mae predeceased Thomas, the will provided that Lockhart would be the sole beneficiary. The will was nonholographic and was signed by Thomas and was witnessed by notary public Evelyn Dixon. On August 30, 2006, the chancellor admitted the will to probate and authorized letters testamentary be issued to Lockhart. The same day, letters testamentary were issued by the clerk.

¶ 4. On November 12, 2004, the Appel-lees2 filed a petition to determine the [143]*143heirs-at-law of Bennie M. Thomas, to set aside the order admitting will to probate and to remove Lockhart as executor. The petition contested the will and alleged that the will was invalid for lack of attesting witnesses and undue influence. They also petitioned for the court to determine Thomas’s heirs. An amended petition was filed on March 1, 2005, and it added a request for a declaratory judgment.

¶ 5. Lockhart responded that the will was valid. He also challenged the listing of heirs. Lockhart also probated a creditor’s claim against the estate for $131,520. The Appellees contested Lockhart’s claim.

¶ 6. On June 3, 2005, the Appellees filed a motion for summary judgment or, in the alternative, for partial summary judgment. The motion asked for a judgment on the following matters:

a. The purported last will and testament of Bennie M. Thomas is void.
b. If the court finds that the purported last will and testament of Bennie M. Thomas is a valid will, any devise or bequest to Walter Lockhart, Sr. is void.
c. Bennie M. Thomas died intestate.

On June 13, 2005, the Appellees filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings that asked for a judgment on the identical issues.

¶ 7. On December 22, 2005, the chancellor entered an order that determined the motion for judgment on the pleadings was not appropriate and that granted the motion for summary judgment “on all issues addressed in the [Appellee’s] motion for summary judgment.”

¶ 8. On January 5, 2006, Lockhart filed his notice of appeal. On February 24, 2006, the Appellees’ filed a motion to dismiss with the supreme court. The Appel-lees’ motion argued that the December 22, 2005 order was not a final appealable judgment and that it was not certified for appeal under Rule 54(b) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. By order dated April 13, 2006, the supreme court denied the motion to dismiss. After the parties filed their briefs, the appeal was deflected to this Court for review.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 9. This Court employs a de novo standard of review of a lower court’s grant or denial of summary judgment and examines all the evidentiary matters before it — admissions in pleadings, answers to interrogatories, depositions, affidavits, etc. McMillan v. Rodriguez, 823 So.2d 1173, 1176-77(¶ 9) (Miss.2002). The evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party against whom the motion has been made. Id. at 1177(¶ 9). If, in this view, there is no genuine issue of material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, summary judgment should forthwith be entered in his or her favor. Id. Issues of fact sufficient to require reversal of a summary judgment obviously are present where one party swears to one version of the matter in issue, and another says the opposite. Id.

ANALYSIS

I. Did the chancellor err in granting summary judgment when Lock-hart’s proof of claim remained pending?

¶ 10. At oral argument, both parties agreed that the Lockhart’s probated claim remained pending before the chancery court. Indeed, it is apparent that the chancellor’s December 22, 2005 order actually granted a partial summary judgment instead of a summary judgment on all issues.

[144]*144¶ 11. Normally, we would next look to determine whether this Court has jurisdiction to consider this appeal. A partial summary judgment is not a final appealable order unless the trial court certifies the judgment as final under Rule 54(b) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure or the supreme court grants permission for an interlocutory appeal under Rule 5 of the Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure. Neither occurred here. Nevertheless, the Appellees challenged the appellate court jurisdiction in the motion to dismiss appeal. The supreme court considered the jurisdictional issue and rejected the Appellees’ challenge. The supreme court having determined jurisdiction is appropriate and deflected this matter to this Court, we address the issues presented.

¶ 12. Lockhart’s petition to probate the last will and testament of Bennie M. Thomas commenced this action before the chancery court. The Appellees’ petition challenged the legality of the will and Lockhart’s right to take from Thomas’s estate. There were several claims before the chancellor. First, was the will probated the lawful and proper will of the decedent? If the answer was yes, the will would be probated and the estate administered according to the terms of the will. If the answer was no, then the will would not be accepted for probate, the estate would be declared intestate and the estate would be administered according to the laws of intestate succession. Second, if the laws of intestate succession applied, the court would have to determine the lawful and proper heirs of the decedent. Third, and exclusive of the above claims, the court would have to determine whether there were any amounts owed to creditors of the decedent who probated their claim against the estate. Finally, the chancellor would determine the proper distribution of the estate.

¶ 13. The December 22nd order determined the first issue, that the will probated by Lockhart was void and that Thomas died intestate. As a result, the second, third and fourth issues stated above remained before the chancellor to continue the administration of Thomas’s estate based on this determination.

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Related

In Re Estate of Thomas
962 So. 2d 141 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2007)

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Bluebook (online)
962 So. 2d 141, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 500, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lockhart-v-wilson-missctapp-2007.