Wilczinski's Estate

40 Pa. D. & C. 179, 1940 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 13
CourtPennsylvania Orphans' Court, Philadelphia County
DecidedDecember 27, 1940
Docketno. 743
StatusPublished

This text of 40 Pa. D. & C. 179 (Wilczinski's Estate) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Orphans' Court, Philadelphia County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wilczinski's Estate, 40 Pa. D. & C. 179, 1940 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 13 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1940).

Opinion

Bolger, J.,

The exceptions filed by the accountant are completely lacking in merit, save that dealing with the disallowance of claim for counsel fee. The adjudication fully explains the mismanagement of the minor’s funds, without notice to him or his parents, and justly, for the reasons stated therein, requires restitution by the accountant.

Counsel for the accountant claims $50 for services in stating and filing the account and appearing at the audit. Such services are essential and in no wise dependent upon the action of the court respecting the items of charge and of discharge in the account; it is a service rendered to the minor in this instance and is assessable as an expense. Therefore, with the approval of the auditing judge, exception no. 13, complaining of the disallowance of the attorney’s fee, is sustained. All other exceptions of the receiver are dismissed.

The substitute guardian excepts to the failure of the auditing judge to order the accountant, as receiver of the Commercial National Bank, to pay the amount of the surcharge. The argument is advanced that the proceeds of the sale of bonds in 1939, as well as the income received theretofore on the bonds, are impressed with a trust in favor of the estate and now justify an order of this court directing the receiver to pay the money to the substitute trustee.

[190]*190In effect we are asked to hold that the auditing judge erred in not awarding execution. Applications in the orphans’ court for execution are not addressed to an auditing judge, but are governed by Rule 19(5) which prescribes the practice to be by petition addressed to the court in banc. The application was ill-timed and therefore was properly dismissed.

Aside from the procedural aspect of the application, we are referred to Fenelli’s Estate, 330 Pa. 499. Our reading of Fenelli’s Estate, which involved the tracing of funds to a receiver, is exactly contrary to the contention advanced by exceptant. On page 501 the court said:

“When the case was here before, we said: Tf the final ruling on this issue [giving rise to the beneficiaries’ option to accept or reject the mortgage investments] be in favor of the petitioner, it will then be incumbent upon it, in appropriate proceedings, to produce testimony sufficient to identify the trust res as a part of the present assets of the insolvent trustee.’ The ‘appropriate proceedings’ mean proceedings in the jurisdiction having charge of distribution of the assets of the national bank: see National Banking Act, 12 USCA sections 191 et seq.; Earle v. Pennsylvania, 178 U. S. 449; Hoffman v. Rauch, 300 U. S. 255.”

The limitations of a State or other court respecting its judgments or decrees involving distribution of assets against receivers of National banks, as successors to such banks serving as fiduciaries, are clearly defined in Earle v. Pennsylvania, 178 U. S. 449, and Earle v. Conway, 178 U. S. 456. In those cases it was held that any court of competent jurisdiction, meaning a State court as well as a Federal court, has jurisdiction to declare the rights of parties as against a National bank or the receiver thereof, but cannot effectuate such rights by lien upon specific assets of the bank in the hands of the receiver, nor disturb his custody of those assets by way of execution or other means. It is the duty of such court to determine the rights of the parties to the litigation so that the Comp[191]*191troller of the Currency may be guided thereby in the distribution of the assets of the bank. An illustration of the handling of such matters is contained in Citizens Trust Company of Clarion, Pa., v. Trunk et al., 30 D. & C. 511.

None of the hereinbefore-cited cases involves the question of the jurisdiction of State courts, especially orphans’ courts, over the acts of National banks which have formally qualified as fiduciaries with such courts and in pursuance thereof have been awarded and have accepted assets in such fiduciary capacity. All of them are concerned with debtor and creditor relationship. It might, therefore, appear that such cases are not controlling.

Under the decision of Turner’s Estate, 277 Pa. 110, this court was ordered to accept as fiduciaries National banks which qualify under the laws of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and who, in addition thereto, further place themselves upon equal basis with local trust companies by filing with this court their agreement to be bound by Rule 21 (A) 16 of the court. This rule requires securities and other property received by fiduciaries in a fiduciary capacity to remain in “the jurisdiction of the court and shall be kept separate and apart from the money, securities, and property of said company, so that the same can at all times be easily identified as belonging to the estate or person or persons for whose account the same has been received; and that trust funds received by the said company as fiduciary or from the person or persons for whom it is surety shall be deposited in a separate account or accounts in a bank or banks or trust company or trust companies, other than the petitioner ...” Our accountant undertook this responsibility.

We had in In re National Bank of Germantown, etc., 30 Dist. R. 603, refused to accept National banks as fiduciaries. Judge Henderson in that opinion stated prophetically (p. 606) :

“Another, and the most serious, question of conflict arises in the case of insolvency or suspension of a national bank. Section 5234 of the Revised Statutes provides:

[192]*192“ ‘That on becoming satisfied that a national bank has refused to pay its circulating notes and is in default, the Comptroller of the Currency may forthwith appoint a receiver.
“ ‘Such receiver, under the direction of the Comptroller, shall take possession of the books, records and assets of every description of such association, collect all debts, dues and claims belonging to it, and, upon the order of a court of record of competent jurisdiction, may sell or compound all bad or doubtful debts, and, on a like order, may sell all the real and personal property of such association, on such terms as the court shall direct.’
“Section 1 of the Act of June 30,1876, ch. 156,19 Stat. at L. 63, also provides: ‘That whenever any national banking association shall be dissolved, or whenever any creditor of such an association shall have obtained a judgment against it, which has remained unpaid for thirty days, and the Comptroller is satisfied of the insolvency of the association, he may, after due examination into its affairs, appoint a receiver, who shall proceed to close up such association.’
“It may not be gainsaid that such receiver would be under the control of the Federal authorities rather than our courts, and the administration of trust assets would pass under Federal control, and meanwhile our courts would be powerless. The regular administration of estates held in trust by the bank might be seriously interfered with, and they might be subjected to delay and expense attendant upon such receivership proceedings and administration, here and in Washington, if the Comptroller so decides.

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Related

Earle v. Pennsylvania
178 U.S. 449 (Supreme Court, 1900)
Earle v. Conway
178 U.S. 456 (Supreme Court, 1900)
Hoffman v. Rauch
300 U.S. 255 (Supreme Court, 1937)
Fenelli's Estate
199 A. 496 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1938)
Turner's Estate
120 A. 701 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1923)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
40 Pa. D. & C. 179, 1940 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 13, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilczinskis-estate-paorphctphilad-1940.