Powell v. Cooper

42 Miss. 221
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 15, 1868
StatusPublished

This text of 42 Miss. 221 (Powell v. Cooper) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Powell v. Cooper, 42 Miss. 221 (Mich. 1868).

Opinion

Shackelford, C.J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

This is an appeal from the final decree of the Probate Court of Madison county, rendered on the 13th day of November, 1867, upon the report of the commissioner of insolvency, and the proof in the cause, against J. R. Powell, the appellant.

The report of the commissioner, E. D. Wade, and all the proof in the case, are embodied in the bills of exceptions taken and allowed at the hearing.

The first error assigned is, that the court erred in overruling the exceptions taken to the allowance of the-commissioner, Wade, of the claim of G-. W. Gillam.”

The proof shows that the claim of Gillam had been-regularly probated and registered in the office -of the clerk of said court, on the 1st January, 1861.

That it was not presented to the commissioner within the twelve months allowed from date of the publication of the insolvency of the estate of Lanier. That on the day previous to the expiration of the time for presentation of claims, etc., the [226]*226attention of the commissioner was called to said claim by the administrator, Jesse R. Powell; that judgment had been rendered against him in the Circuit Court of Madison county upon Gil-lam’s claim, as administrator of Lanier’s estate, for §7,745.84, on the 1st day of October, 1866, which had been regularly enrolled on the judgment roll of said court. '

Exceptions were taken to the allowance of this claim by the appellant, and William M. Fowler, a creditor of said estate.

The exceptions were overruled,.and the claim of Gillam was ordered to remain in the report of commissioner as allowed.

We consider it unnecessary to refer to the argument of counsel, in support of this assignment of error, in' 1ns construction of the statute of Revised Code, art. 101, § 12, p.. 449, under which these proceedings were had, as the question at issue has been decided by this court in the case of Gibbs v. W. H. Sims, administrator, 41 Miss., the case before us being a much stronger one in favor of Gillam than that of Gibbs.

In the case under consideration the claim was filed with the commissioner, and embraced in his report of the 18th of October, 1867.

The court decided correctly in overruling the exceptions to the allowance of Gillam’s claim.

The second assignment of error is, that the court erred in charging the appellant ten per cent interest.”

This court has repeatedly held that an administrator is liable for interest under a certain state of facts : for instance, when an administrator has sold cotton belonging to the estate (Cole v. Leake, 27 Miss. p. 767); or on a balance in his hands after a final settlement, until payment. Smith’s Executor v. Hurd, 8 S. & M. Rep. p. 682.

When through a series of years the. administrator showed cash balances, and never paid over the money, he was chargeable with compound interest. Crowder, administrator, et al. v. Shackelford, et al. 35 Miss. p. 321; Brandon et al. v. Hoggart, 32 Miss, p. 335. It is a well-settled principle of law, that, when a trustee mingles the trust money with his own and uses it, he should be held accountable to the cestuigue [227]*227trust for interest. 9 Pick. 368; 9 John. p. 11, and cases therein cited.

Counsel contend that the appellant should not be charged with interest, because the proof in the cause shows that the estate was judiciously managed by the appellant. The proof is ample on this point. This proof establishes the claims of the appellant to a liberal allowance by the court; beyond this we cannot see why he should be exempt from the payment of interest, as he admits in his testimony on the final hearing of the cause that he sold the cotton of the estate, and placed it in his commission house in the city of New Orleans, and then used it in his business. The facts of the case in this particular are analogous to those in the cases before cited; he is clearly liable for interest.

The authorities cited for our consideration on this point are not applicable to the facts of the case before us.

The only question left for us to consider in this connection is whether the appellant should be charged with eight or ten per cent interest.

He admitted in his testimony that he sometimes paid for the use of money eight, and sometimes ten per cent interest per annum.

It appears from the proof in the cause, that the appellant was not ordered by the court to loan out the money of the estate, and in consideration of this fact counsel for appellant contend that he should not be charged with ten per cent, the legal interest for the boná-fide loan of money allowed by the Revised Code, but that, if he is to be charged with interest, it should be the legal interest of the State, when no interest has been agreed upon.

If the appellant did not wish to use the money of the estate in his hands, he should have signified to the court his unwillingness ; or, if he desired an order to loan it out, the court would have ordered it to be loaned out at ten per cent interest; and then, if he could not have done so at the rate of ten per cent, he could have obtained an order for its loan at a lesser rate. If lie could not have obtained eight per cent, he could have been [228]*228authorized by the court to retain it, and use it at a rate less than ten per cent, or at such rate, of interest as the court should have ordered.

Ilis having failed to do any of these things, the conclusion is irresistible, that the appellant was willing to pay the highest rate of interest.

Another reason why he should be charged with this rate of interest is, that a trustee is not allowed in any case to use the funds of the cestui-que trust for his own profits. If ho were to be required to pay only eight per cent or a lesser rate, he would be deriving a profit from the funds, which the law does not allow.

For these reasons, we think the decree in this respect is correct, and should not be disturbed.

We come now to the consideration of the third and last assignment of error, which is, that the court erred in ordering execution against Powell in his personal capacity for the amounts due the creditors pro rata, as per report of E. D. Wade, commissioner, etc.”

It is insisted by counsel for appellant, that the jurisdiction of the Probate Court over the appellant ceased when the court appointed the clerk commissioner of insolvency, except as to amounts unaccounted for, of which there is no proof; ” and that the only remedy of the creditors was by suit in the Circuit Court, against appellant and his sureties upon his administration bond, for their fro rata share, and rely upon the case of Anderson v. Tindall, Judge, etc., 26 Miss. R. p. 332.

We have carefully considered the case of Anderson v. Tindall, and can find nothing in the opinion of the court sustaining the construction placed upon it by counsel for appellant.

In the case of Anderson v. Tindall the appellant was cited to make or render an annual settlement of his accounts as administrator of Aaron Root, deceased.

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Related

Anderson v. Tindall
26 Miss. 332 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1853)
Cole v. Leake
27 Miss. 767 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1854)
Crowder v. Shackelford
35 Miss. 321 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1858)

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42 Miss. 221, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/powell-v-cooper-miss-1868.