Estate of Middleton

California Court of Appeal Apr 22, 1963 No. Civ. No. 19872Published

Before: Shoemaker

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Holding. The court held that a probate order denying a motion to treat late claims as timely is non-appealable, and that failure to file a claim against an estate within the statutory period bars the action even if the claimant seeks recovery only from liability insurance proceeds.

Issues

Whether an order denying a motion to treat late claims as timely filed is appealable under Probate Code section 1240.
Whether Probate Code section 707 requires the filing of claims against an estate even when the claimant seeks recovery solely from the decedent's liability insurance.

Disposition. Dismissed in part; affirmed in part.

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“Probate proceedings are special and must be strictly followed.”

“The courts have also held that a claimant who ignores this procedure and applies directly to the probate court may not appeal from the order denying him the relief sought.”

“It necessarily follows that in all other cases, the requirements of section 707 must be complied with in full.”

215 Cal.App.2d 324 (1963) Estate of OPAL GWYNDOLA MIDDLETON, Deceased. HELEN SCHNIPPER et al., Claimants and Appellants,

PAUL B. JENSEN, as Public Administrator, etc., Objector and Respondent.

Civ. No. 19872. California Court of Appeals. First Dist., Div. Two.

Apr. 22, 1963. Garry, Dreyfus & McTernan and Charles R. Garry for Claimants, Plaintiffs and Appellants.

Keith C. Sorenson, District Attorney (San Mateo), Hardin, Fletcher, Cook & Hayes and Cyril Viadro for Objector, Defendant and Respondent.

SHOEMAKER, J.

These appeals stem from an automobile accident which occurred June 13, 1959. Opal Gwyndola Middleton was the driver of a car in which Helen Schnipper, Katherine Calori, and Thelma Pederson were passengers. Everyone in the car was injured when the car struck a concrete wall, the driver so badly she died the same day. On June 8, 1960, in the Superior Court of Alameda County, the passengers sued the estate of Opal Gwyndola Middleton, of which Paul B. Jensen was administrator, to recover damages for their injuries allegedly caused by the gross negligence of the decedent.

On June 10, 1960, plaintiffs Schnipper and Calori filed their creditors' claims against the Middleton estate, then under probate in San Mateo County. On June 14, 1960, both claims were rejected by the administrator for the reason that first notice to creditors of the estate had been published on October 25, 1959, and plaintiffs' claims had not been filed within six months of that date, as required by Probate Code, section 707.

On October 28, 1960, the administrator, in his capacity as defendant in the personal injury action, filed a motion for summary judgment against plaintiffs Schnipper and Calori. The sole ground for this motion was that neither of these plaintiffs had filed claims against the estate within the statutory period.

On November 2, 1960, plaintiffs Schnipper and Calori applied to the probate court, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure, section 473, for an order relieving them "from the proceedings taken against them" and ordering their claims to be filed and treated as if filed within the statutory period. As grounds for this motion, plaintiffs filed affidavits of their attorney to the effect that he had telephoned the San Mateo County Clerk on April 11, 1960, within the time allowed for filing claims against the Middleton estate, and had inquired whether probate proceedings had been filed with respect to

Estate of Middleton

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SHOEMAKER, J.

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