State ex rel. Harrington v. Pratt

170 S.W. 418, 183 Mo. App. 209, 1914 Mo. App. LEXIS 469
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 2, 1914
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 170 S.W. 418 (State ex rel. Harrington v. Pratt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Harrington v. Pratt, 170 S.W. 418, 183 Mo. App. 209, 1914 Mo. App. LEXIS 469 (Mo. Ct. App. 1914).

Opinion

JOHNSON, J.

This is an original proceeding in prohibition. A preliminary writ was issued and we appointed the Hon. B. R. Dysart of Macon county, commissioner, to take and report the evidence which, as reported, discloses the following facts:

The relator Prances Harrington, who appears by Prank L. Harrington, her father and legal guardian and curator, was the only child horn of the marriage of her father and her mother Helen Clora Harrington. Shortly after her birth in 1899, her father and mother were divorced and her mother moved to St. Louis where she resided until her death which occurred in November, 1912, Prom infancy until after the death [211]*211of her mother relator lived at Browning, Linn county, with her mother’s parents, Dr. J. A. Mairs and his wife Sallie A. Mairs. Sometime after her mother’s death relator went to live with her father who resides in Kirksville and who was appointed her guardian and curator. Relator’s mother left an estate consisting of money and other personal property of the total value of about $2000, and Dr. Mairs was appointed administrator of the estate by the probate court of Linn county.

On January 29', 1913, Sallie A.. Mairs exhibited to her husband, as such administrator, a demand against the estate in the sum of $1706.65. Of this sum $1425 appear as money loaned by the claimant to her daughter at various times from July 4, 1910', to September 8,1911, and $301.65 as money advanced for funeral expenses. Dr. Mairs waived service of notice of the presentment of the'demand and on the following day Mrs. Mairs and her witnesses went to the probate court, which was then in session at Linneus, to present the claim and procure its allowance. Dr. Mairs did not accompany them but remained at Browning. On finding that the claimant was the wife of the administrator the court appointed Fred W. Powers an attorney ‘ ‘ to defend against such claim. ’ ’ Mr. Powers was notified by telephone and appeared in court a few moments after his appointment. He offered no objections to an immediate hearing of the claim and assisted in the interrogation of the witnesses introduced by Mrs. Mairs. No evidence to sustain the claim for funeral expenses was offered. In support of the claim that she had repeatedly sent money to her daughter with the understanding that it would be repaid, the claimant introduced two bankers of Browning who testified that Mrs. Mairs had frequently bought drafts at their respective banks and sent them to her daughter. The cancelled drafts, bearing the daughter’s indorsement, [212]*212were produced and received in evidence, but it'does not appear that any legal evidence was offered to show that these remittances from mother to daughter were loans and not gifts or payments.

Following the hearing, and on the same day, the court entered the following judgment:

“Now at this day comes Sallie A. Mairs' and presents demand founded on account for cash furnished deceased from February 4,1910, to August 24,1912, to the amount of fourteen hundred and twenty-five dollars ($1425), and funeral expenses to the amount oí three hundred and one dollars and twenty-five cents ($301.25), and said demand being verified by the affidavit of claimant and notice, of the presentation of same for allowance having been waived by the administrator and the matter of the claim coming on for hearing and determination, and it appearing to the court that the claimant is the wife of the administrator, the court doth appoint Fred W. Powers to defend against such claim; and all of the parties answering ready for trial the claimant makes proof of her demand, and thereupon the court doth allow the sum of seventeen hundred and twenty-six dollars and twenty-five cents ($1726.25) in favor of claimant, Sallie A. Mairs, and against the estate of Helen Clora Harrington, deceased, with interest from this date at the rate of six per cent per annum and costs; and the sum of three hundred and one dollars and five cents ($301.05) being for funeral expenses of deceased that amount, to-wit: Three hundred and one dollars and five cents ($301.05) is assigned to the first class of demands, and the remainder of the amount allowed, to-wit: Fourteen hundred and twenty-five dollars ($1425) is assigned to the fifth class of demands. ’ ’

No notice of the demand or of its presentation to the court was given to. relator or her father.

[213]*213At the hearing before onr commissioner Mrs. Mairs testified (tbe relator objecting to ber competency as a witness) that tbe remittances were loans which ber daughter agreed to repay. Tbe two bankers testified that on tbe different occasions when drafts were bought by Mrs. Mairs, she stated she was lending tbe money to ber daughter who' bad promised to repay ber, and one of tbe bankers stated that on some occasions tbe daughter came to tbe bank with ber mother or father and always spoke about paying tbe money back.

There was evidence beard by our commissioner tending to support tbe claim for funeral expenses but it is argued that neither such evidence nor evidence supporting tbe claim for money loaned which was not beard by tbe probate court can have any bearing on tbe question of whether or not that court exceeded its-jurisdiction in allowing a demand which was unsustained by legal evidence. This is true and it must be conceded that tbe .demand was not supported by sufficient evidence and therefore that tbe court erred in rendering judgment for tbe claimant, but it does not follow from this concession that such error would warrant relator’s resort to tbe extraordinary remedy of prohibition. Where a judge assumes to exercise a judicial power not granted by law prohibition will lie to restrain him and to check tbe execution of an extra-jurisdictional and void judgment rendered by him, whether such excessive exercise of power occurs in a cause clearly beyond tbe scope of bis jurisdiction, or is an unauthorized application of judicial force in a cause over which be has jurisdiction. [Railroad Co. v. Wear, 135 Mo. l. c. 256.]

But prohibition is not an ordinary, but an extraordinary and drastic, remedy, tbe function of which is to correct and prevent tbe exercise of extrajurisdictional power. It is not a writ of right (State ex rel. [214]*214v. Sale, 188 Mo. l. c. 496) and should not he employed for the correction of mere judicial errors and may be employed only in instances where it appears that no other means will suffice to keep the court addressed within the bounds of its lawful jurisdiction.

Where the court has jurisdiction over the parties and subject-matter and is proceeding in the cause according to the course prescribed by law, the fact that it errs in the construction of the pleadings, or in giving weight and probative yalue to evidence which has no value, would constitute an error of law reviewable on appeal, but would’not amount to an abuse of judicial power for the redress of which an extraordinary writ should issue. (State ex rel. v. Tracy, 237 Mo. 109.) In the instant case if the probate court had jurisdiction over the parties and the subject-matter and, in hearing the cause, was proceeding in the course prescribed by law, the fact that it erred in rendering judgment for the claimant upon insufficient evidence would not warrant relator in invoking extraordinary relief.

But it is argued that “the probate court had no jurisdiction to hear the claim on January 30, 1913, because the waiver of service of notice of the presentation of said claim was not- made ten days before the first day of the term at which it was allowed. ’ ’

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Bluebook (online)
170 S.W. 418, 183 Mo. App. 209, 1914 Mo. App. LEXIS 469, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-harrington-v-pratt-moctapp-1914.