Pattison v. Farkas

180 S.E. 831, 180 Ga. 798, 1935 Ga. LEXIS 567
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedJuly 11, 1935
DocketNo. 10766
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 180 S.E. 831 (Pattison v. Farkas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pattison v. Farkas, 180 S.E. 831, 180 Ga. 798, 1935 Ga. LEXIS 567 (Ga. 1935).

Opinion

Bell, Justice.

On April 4, 1901', a charter was granted by the superior court of Dougherty county to “Albany Hospital Association,” the name of which was changed, on April 8, 1921, to “Phcebe Putney Memorial Hospital Association.” In January, 1935, Mrs. Eugenia G. Davis and others, by their attorneys Leonard Farkas and Walter H. Burt, filed in the superior court of Dougherty county an application to revive the charter of “the said Phcebe Putney Memorial Hospital Association.” A few days after the filing of such petition John R. Pattison, Richard T. Pattison, and Mrs. Lucile Kirby instituted against such petitioners and their attorneys a suit to enjoin them from prosecuting the application to revive such charter, and for other relief. The court refused an interlocutory injunction, and to this judgment the plaintiffs excepted. The petition alleged many reasons why the application to revive the charter should not be granted and why an injunction to prevent the revival should be issued; but it is apparent from the record that the plaintiffs are utter strangers to the former cor-, poration, and it is the opinion of this court that no right of the plaintiffs would be infringed by the granting of such revival. In this view, it is unnecessary to make specific reference to many of the contentions made by the plaintiffs.

The following is a sufficient statement as developed from the pleadings and the evidence: Thomas L. Pattison, a resident of Dougherty county, died on October 4, 1934, leaving a “purported will,” to the probate of which the present plaintiffs, John R. Pattison, a brother, and Richard T. Pattison and Mrs. Lucile Kirby, children of a deceased brother, filed a caveat in the court of ordinary. By the terms of the will the testator gave all of his property for life to his sisters, Mary and Sarah Pattison, with remainder as follows: one half to the “Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital of Albany, Georgia,” and the other half.to other charitable institutions named. The will was offered for probate by the two sisters [800]*800who were named as life-tenants, but the other beneficiaries, including Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Association, filed an intervention in the court of ordinary “for the purpose of joining in the prayers for the probate of the will in solemn form.” This intervention, so far as it applied to the hospital association, was met by a plea in abatement filed by the caveators, alleging that the former charter of the association had expired by operation of law and has never been renewed, revived, or extended. The caveators also amended their original caveat by alleging that the devise to the hospital association was void because there was no such corporate entity or person as that designated, its charter having expired and not having been renewed or extended; that the failure of the devise to this association had the effect of destroying the whole testamentary plan and scheme; and that no ¡Dart of the will can stand. The court of ordinary, “without considering the alleged invalidity of any devise,” and passing solely upon the issue devisavit vel non, ordered that the will be admitted to probate in solemn form. No other proceedings were had in the court of ordinary. After the probate of the will the caveators carried the case by appeal to the superior court, where, at the time of filing the present petition, the contest in relation to probate was pending.

It was in this situation that the caveators filed the instant suit to enjoin revival of Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Association. It appears that by some rule or regulation of the hospital association Dougherty County and the City of Albany had been permitted, through the county and city authorities respectively, to appoint a designated number of persons as members of the board of control of the hospital association, and that at the time of filing this suit two members of the board of commissioners of Dougherty County and three members of the city commission were acting as members of the board of control under this arrangement. These persons were among the number who filed the application for a revival of the charter. The petition alleged, among other things, that “the purpose, scheme, and object of the said application for revival of charter is to procure [for applicants] some colorable standing in court as intervenors in the said contested-will case, and thereby to harass and annoy your petitioners, and to seek to oust them of their vested rights as heirs at law of the said Thomas L. Pattison as aforesaid, and to fortify themselves with a position not subject [801]*801to collateral attack; and that under the allegations of this petition it would be a legal fraud for the said defendants to obtain, by the granting of said charter-revival application, any standing in court under the said intervention in said will case, and it would be a legal fraud under the allegations of this bill should they obtain any colorable standing against petitioners as a revived corporation of the charter granted more than twenty-seven years ago which they seek now to revive.” Also, “that the granting of said charter-revival application will result in a multiplicity of suits.” The plaintiffs prayed that “said application for revival of the charter . . be restrained and enjoined;” that the members of the board of county commissioners of Dougherty County and of the city commission who are acting as members of the board of control of the hospital association be enjoined, as representatives of the county and city, from participating in the affairs “of the purported defunct corporation,” it being alleged that the plaintiffs were taxpayers of the county and city respectively; that the plaintiffs’ right and title “as heirs at law of Thomas L. Pattison may be decreed to have vested at his death,” October 4, 1934, and “that defendants may be restrained and enjoined from in any wise contesting same or interfering therewith;” that the petitioners recover “such damages as may be shown on the trial of the case as. the result of the illegal acts and doings complained of;” that “said defunct corporation of Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Association, as chartered as herein set forth, may be declared forever dead, defunct, a nullity from and after the 4th day of April, 1927, to this date and forever, and, if not as to all parties whatsoever, at least so far as concerns the property rights of plaintiffs as herein claimed and set forth;” and that “petitioners do have such other and further relief as to this honorable court may seem meet and proper.” Other prayers of the petition need not be stated. In the bill of exceptions error was assigned, consistently with the contentions made in the petition; upon the court’s refusal to grant an interlocutory injunction, and upon the admission of evidence in several instances over objection of the plaintiffs.

As indicated above, the plaintiffs were absolute strangers to the alleged “defunct corporation.” They were not concerned as officers, stockholders, or creditors. Nor does it appear that as strangers they would be hurt by the granting of the application to revivé the [802]*802charter. For the purposes of this case, we may assume that the charter can not be lawfully revived as attempted; and that if the plaintiffs were in a position to object, every ^contention made by them as to that question should have been sustained. The whole point is that the plaintiffs are injecting themselves into a matter in which they are either not interested, or as to which, if they have any right, they may adequately protect themselves in some other proceeding at the proper time.

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Bluebook (online)
180 S.E. 831, 180 Ga. 798, 1935 Ga. LEXIS 567, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pattison-v-farkas-ga-1935.