Bolton v. Schriever

This is an action of ejectment to recover possession of a lot of land on Tenth avenue, between Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth streets, in the city of New York. The land belonged, at the time of his death, to one Theodore B. Tallmadge, who died in January, 1841. Mr. Tallmadge is the common source of title, the plaintiffs claiming as his heirs at law, while the defendant claims through his will, which, in May, 1841, was proved before the surrogate of the County of New York, and letters granted to the executor named therein. It is claimed by plaintiffs that Mr. Tallmadge died in the County of Columbia, and that at the time of his death he was not an inhabitant of New York County, and the surrogate of that county had no jurisdiction to take proof of the will or to grant letters testamentary thereon, and as there was no other proof of the execution of the will, the defendants made out no title to the land, and the plaintiffs were entitled to recover it as heirs at law of Tallmadge. There was a hearing before the New York surrogate and a judicial investigation, and the result was the judgment or decree, admitting the will to probate. The

The petition of the executor named in the will to the surrogate of New York alleged that the deceased was, at or immediately previous to his death, an inhabitant of the County of New York, by means of which the proving of the will belonged to such surrogate.

The surrogate, in admitting the will to probate and issuing letters testamentary to the executor, in effect decided the fact of inhabitancy, for it was a fact' necessary for the surrogate to decide before admitting the will to probate or granting letters, and his decision of that fact, based upon evidence having a legal tendency to support it, ought, it would seem on general principles, to stand until reversed or set aside, even though it were erroneous.

Much of the general importance which might otherwise attach to the decision of this question is taken from it by reason of legislation upon the subject. In 1870 an act was passed which applied to judgments of surrogates’ courts in New York County, and in 1880 a similar act was passed in regard to those courts in all the other counties of the State (chap. 359, Laws of 1870; Code Civ. Pro. § 2473). These acts provided in substance that the objection to the jurisdiction of such judgments should not be taken collaterally.

We are of opinion that in a case like the present the

We think that where the individual died an inhabitant ■of the State, by reason of which there was in fact an estate to be administered upon, and the only question is which of the surrogates’ courts should act, there is in that case jurisdiction over the subject matter, that is over the administering upon the estate of a deceased person ■dying an inhabitant of the State, and which surrogate is to exercise such jurisdiction depends upon the fact as to which county deceased was an inhabitant of at the time ■of his death. The decision of such question, where evidence is given, and upon a hearing of the parties, ought to be, and we think is conclusive upon any collateral attack. Under our statute as to proof of wills, although it does not in terms provide that the petition shall state, or that the surrogate shall inquire and decide as to the fact of inhabitancy, yet we think the fair implication arising from a perusal of the whole statute upon the subject, is that the surrogate has power, and is bound before admitting the will to probate or issuing letters, to institute the-inquiry and to decide upon the fact of inhabitancy (Laws of 1837, chap. 460, §§ 4, 5, etc.).

As the surrogate is directed to inquire as to the names and places of residence of the heirs of the testator, the

Another statute authorizes the surrogate to issuesubcenas and take testimony in all matters material to-any inquiry pending in his court (2 Rev. Stat. 221, §6). The duty to investigate and decide upon the fact of inhabitancy is necessarily and naturally to be implied, from the whole provisions of the statute relating to wills- and • their probate, and such duty is to be performed before the will is admitted or letters issued. If no contest is made, and there is no evidence upon the subject of the inhabitancy of the testator, one way or the other,, except the sworn allegation in the petition, 1 do not see why the surrogate may not rely upon the fact so stated. Whether, when the fact thus appears in the sworn petition addressed to the surrogate, such fact shall be resworn to by the petitioner or someone else, upon an oath administered by the surrogate himself, is matter which as it seems to us is not of a jurisdictional nature. The surrogate may regard the oath taken to the petition as-sufficient prima facie evidence, although the statute does not in terms require the fact of inhabitancy to be stated in the petition. If it be so stated and sworn to, and no-evidence is offered on the other side and no issue raised as to the truth of the allegation in any manner or form,the decision of the surrogate should be regarded as conclusive, subject only to attack by a direct proceeding to-review it. It might happen that where there is evidence pro and con, the decision would appear to be erroneous, and for that reason it ought to be reversed, but unless a.

The nature of a judgment which admits a will to probate is somewhat similar to that of one in rent. The res which the court takes into its hands for purposes of administration as representative of the State is the property which was once possessed- and owned by the ■deceased, who died an inhabitant of the State. Civilized States have for generations past recognized their ■obligations to specially protect that kind of property. That obligation arises the moment the death occurs. The ■obligation assumed has been not only that of protection of the property, but also that of the distribution thereof to those who are living and who come within the rules of law governing the subject. How great the right of testamentary disposition should be, and under what rules and regulations it should be permitted, are questions which have been differently decided by different nations and by the same nations at different times. Such rights are matters of municipal regulation. The right to inherit from, or to receive by gift under the will of, a deceased person is recognized and protected by the State, and from the fact of such recognition and protection the State owes the duty to see to it that the estate of a deceased person shall pass in accordance with the law which obtains in the State when the death occurs.

To prevent contention, and to achieve a peaceful distribution of the estate under the rules of law, and to protect the rights of the creditors of the deceased, all civilized States have created tribunals of a judicial nature whose function and duty it is to represent and exercise the powers of the State in the course of administration, and whose judgments determine the rights of the respective

In construing the language of the statute creating such courts, the fact must continually be borne in mind that the State is creating a tribunal or tribunals for the purpose of fulfilling its general obligations to all its inhabitants to protect and distribute according to law that which was once the property of one of their own number. That obligation is as broad as the sovereignty of the State itself. In the organization of the tribunals which are to exercise this jurisdiction, although the language of the statute may create a separate and distinct tribunal for each county in the State, and upon certain facts grant jurisdiction to one of them to the exclusion of all others, yet the facts upon which the jurisdiction is given to the court of one county instead of to another are merely incidental, partaking somewhat of the character of matters of procedure, the main fact being the actual death of an individual who at the time of his death was an inhabitant of the State. That is the jurisdictional fact upon the existence of which is founded the duty of the State to protect and distribute the property according to law.

Whether one or the other of the surrogates’ courts in the various counties shall administer upon the estate and thus fulfill the obligation which lies with the State itself, is a question which the legislature has provided for, and it depends, among other things, upon the fact of inhabitancy. This fact the surrogate to whom the matter is presented must decide, and if he decide that it exists and upon evidence which legally tends to support his decision, under such circumstances we think it ought to stand until reversed. This is believed to be the general rule. It is a matter of very trifling importance except upon the

There is in the nature of things a broad distinction between the case of the granting of letters of administration upon the estate of one not in fact dead, and the granting of letters upon the estate of one who was at the time of his death an inhabitant of the State, but not of the county where the will was proved, although the Surrogate upon some evidence erroneously decided that he was.

It is quite unnecessary and wholly unprofitable to enlarge upon it here.

We do not intend by this decision to attack the principle or to shake the authority of the first Roderigas case (63 N. Y. supra), for we simply say it is not necessary to here go so far as that case goes. In the opinions delivered in the two Roderigas cases will be found much of the learning on this subject, and a citation to most of the decided cases then reported and bearing upon the question.

In this record we think it appears that there was evidence enough to call upon the surrogate of New York to decide upon the question of the inhabitancy of Mr. Tallmadge, and the surrogate, by admitting the will to probate and issuing letters testamentary, did, in fact, decide that Mr. Tallmadge was, at the time of his death, an inhabitant of New York County, and this conclusion must, in such an attack as this, be a bar to a reopening of that question.

In Bolton v. Jacks (6 Robt. 166), a contrary result was arrived at by the superior court of New York in a very elaborate and learned opinion. With many of the views therein expressed as to the right to question a judgment rendered without jurisdiction we entirely concur, but for the reasons above given, we think they are inapplicable to the particular facts of this case.

Upon this appeal the plaintiffs seek to review the •order granting an extra allowance of costs to the defendant. The ground of the appeal is that a new trial herein was taken by plaintiffs under the section of the Code (§1525) /granting such right as of course upon payment of costs, and that included in the costs which plaintiffs paid when availing themselves of the right to a new trial was the ■ amount of an extra allowance granted by the court after the former trial. The plaintiffs contend that but one extra allowance can be collected in the same action. This precise question has already been determined ■adversely to the plaintiff’s view in the case of Wing v. De La Rionda ( 131 N. Y. 422 ).

We have considered the other questions raised by the -appellants, but we do not think that any error prejudicial to them appears in the record. The whole judgment .must be affirmed, with costs.

All the judges concurred, except Gray, J., who took mo part.