Succession of Pons

77 So. 515, 142 La. 721, 1918 La. LEXIS 1426
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedJanuary 3, 1918
DocketNo. 22742
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 77 So. 515 (Succession of Pons) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Succession of Pons, 77 So. 515, 142 La. 721, 1918 La. LEXIS 1426 (La. 1918).

Opinion

MONROE, C. J.

This matter is brought before the court by appeals from a judgment upon oppositions to the final account of the executor. The appellants are Mrs. Veazey and others, heirs at law, and testamentary, P. L. Fourchy and Woodville & Woodville, P. L. Fourchy individually and as testamentary executor, Drs. O’Hara, Mioton, and Pothier, Dr. O’Hara individually, and Mrs. Suarez. “Mrs. Veazey and others” (including all the heirs except Mrs. Suarez) are now insisting upon their oppositions only as to the following items, which were allowed by the executor but reduced or disallowed by the trial court, to wit:

(1) The item of $30,810, less $10,000 paid by consent, claimed by P. L. Fourchy and Woodville & Woodville as balance of attorney’s fees.

(2) The item of $18,500 claimed by P. L. Fourchy as balance due under contract with decedent.

(3) The item of $3,000 claimed by Drs. O’Hara, Mioton, and Pothier for services as experts.

(4)The item of $1,000 claimed'by Dr. O’Hara for medical services.

The remaining appellants are ashing that the judgment appealed from be amended, and that they have judgment for the amounts claimed by them and recognized by the executor. After a brief preliminary statement, we shall proceed to the consideration seriatim of the oppositions and claims thus mentioned.

On November 27, 1912, the heirs of the decedent, with the exception of her daughter, Mrs. Suarez (being four married daughters and a grandson), brought a suit for the interdiction of their mother and grandmother, who was then past 70 years of age, and caused an administrator pro tempore to be placed in charge of her estate, though it was being honestly and efficiently administered by P. L. Fourchy, whom the owner herself had selected, and who was discharging his functions under a contract which had still three years or more to run, and whereby he was to receive an annual salary of $5,000 during that period. Mr. Fourchy and Messrs. Wood-ville & Woodville were then employed to defend the suit so brought, and discharged their obligations in that respect until about the middle of September, 1915, when their client died, at which time the suit was pending in the district court, awaiting retrial, under a judgment of this court remanding it for the admission of certain testimony.

1. The Messrs. Fourchy and Woodville & Woodville fixed upon $34,310 as a proper fee to be charged for their services in the interdiction proceedings and others incidental thereto, that amount representing 10 per cent, of the appraised value of the estate of their client as shown by the inventory taken, at the inception of those proceedings. The sum of $3,500 was paid on account of the fee to be charged by the administrator pro tempore, though it does not appear that he was told [725]*725what the total charge would be, and $10,000 was paid on the same account, by consent of parties and without prejudice to the position of either side, after the filing of the account that we are now considering, so that the amount really in dispute at present is $20,-■S10. • After considering the evidence, showing that the estate of Mrs. Pons was appraised •at $343,100.79, in the interdiction proceeding (in 1912), that at her death in September, 1915, it was appraised at $310,446.53, and that the amount now in the hands of the ex-'eeutor for distribution is $134,128.24, and after considering the evidénce showing the time actually spent in court during the interval between the dates thus mentioned by Mrs. Pons’ attorneys in their efforts in her behalf, and other services rendered by them, the learned counsel for the heirs make a résumé of the situation and state their view of the question to be decided as follows:

“Therefore they spent in court during 3 years, in all, 89 days. We imagine that any reputable lawyer would be glad to take employment in this or any other case at $50 per diem for trial work, and would consider himself well paid. We say this with all the greater confidence, because in the parish of Orleans the lawyer’s trial work, as a rule, leaves his mornings and evenings and Saturdays free. * * * Besides this, * * * the actual court work was hot consecutive, hut spread out through the months, a day now, and 2 or 3 days then, the highest number of days being 10 and 12, respectively. Si * S- Granting, now, that we should add time for the study of the case, the interviewing of the witnesses, the consultation with experts, and that it should be compensated at the same rate, the record is silent as to the time expended in such work, but any active lawyer would say at once that a case of this kind would not be worked on consecutively; the other work ■of a lawyer’s life would be attended to; in other words, it does not consume the whole of the day or night. But we can go further and listen to the widest suggestion about the length of time thus consumed, and yét we could not bring ourselves to admit, in the absence of actual diary entries or contemporary notes, or specific proof, that a greater time was consumed than that actually spent before the courts. There is no such proof in this record; that is, the testimony establishes no fixed times or periods of work on study, preparation, etc. There are no contemporary diary entries, no contemporary notes, not even specific, positive testimony showing the necessary data upon which to base an estimate. The oral testimony is all vague and general. Under such circumstances, with the burden of proof on the claimants to make their ease certain, we think we are entirely liberal in crediting them with a period of study and preparation equal to the time used up in court. This would be 89 days for preparation and 89 days in court, or 178 days, at $50 per diem, would make $8,900. To this figure and to this allowance of time we should add the work in preparing briefs in the appellate court and the arguments there. * * * Those briefs are before your honors, and you are the best judges of the nature of the work and of the time spent in the confection thereof and in the oral arguments. All of this work was in this court except one minor ease, a habeas coi'pus before the Court of Appeals, which was denied on preliminary application. Considering all the foregoing, ■we suggest that a fee of $4,500 would be a liberal allowance for the work in the appellate courts. Those two sums, $8,900, plus $4,500, equals $13,400. The claimants have already received $13,500. The judgment below, which allowed $20,000 additional, is manifestly excessive.”

What may appear to be “silence” and “vagueness” to a person who is interested in bearing and taking into account particular sounds and expressions may be the most pronounced vociferousness and definiteness to another who is concerned about something else. Mr. Eourchy, as a witness in behalf of himself and associates, makes a statement of this case as be sees it, and is corroborated by the testimony of one of the Messrs. Woodville, and also by the impression produced upon the minds of the trial judge and of the members of this court by the proceedings in their courts, respectively; and the statement so made, under oath, is entirely uncontradicted in so far as any of the facts included therein are concerned. He says that his adversaries on one occasion obtained an order of court (upon an ex parte application as we understand) revoking an allowance for the maintenance of Mrs. Pons; that he was therefore obliged to maintain her at his own expense for several weeks before he could get the order rescinded; and that he and his associates found it necessary that one or the other should visit the court [727]

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Bluebook (online)
77 So. 515, 142 La. 721, 1918 La. LEXIS 1426, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/succession-of-pons-la-1918.