Title: Bowen, Administrator v. Lewis

State: kansas

Issuer: Kansas Supreme Court

Document:

198 Kan. 605 (1967)
426 P.2d 238
BELDON BOWEN, Administrator c.t.a. of the Estate of Marcelline M. Ward, Deceased, Appellant,
v.
NORMAN P. LEWIS, Appellee.
No. 44,710

Supreme Court of Kansas.
Opinion filed April 8, 1967.
Charles A. Walsh, of Concordia, argued the cause, and William J. Walsh, of Concordia, was with him on the briefs for the appellant.
Charles W. Harris, of Wichita, argued the cause, and Lee R. Stanford, of Concordia, and Paul M. Buchanan, of Wichita, were with him on the briefs for the appellee.
*606 The opinion of the court was delivered by
HATCHER, C.:
This appeal stems from a controversy over the statute of limitations in an action to bring assets into a decedent's estate.
The facts material to the statute of limitations upon which summary judgment was rendered may be summarized.
Mrs. Marcelline M. Ward was for many years the owner of the Baron's Hotel in Concordia, Kansas. During the year 1953, Mrs. Ward became involved in an income tax controversy with the federal government for the years 1943 through 1952. The amount involved was some $93,000 plus interest.
Mrs. Ward, on May 19, 1953, transferred title to real property on which the hotel was located to her son, Norman Lewis, and to her daughter, Margaret L. Rogers. On June 2, 1953, the Internal Revenue Service filed tax liens on the property of Norman Lewis claiming that as a transferee, he had become liable for his mother's personal income tax. On June 5, 1953, Lewis and his sister reconveyed, by quit claim, to their mother all interest or ownership in the real property. A federal tax controversy then arose during the mother's lifetime in which the Internal Revenue Service was attempting to collect the mother's taxes from the son, Norman Lewis, the defendant herein. The mother died on August 10, 1955. On August 20, 1955, the mother's will was admitted to probate and Norman Lewis was appointed and qualified as executor.
Norman Lewis served as executor until October 1, 1962, when, on his own motion and resignation, he was relieved therefrom and Beldon Bowen was appointed as the successor administrator c.t.a.
On September 29, 1964, the action which we now have under consideration was filed. Additional facts may be taken from the allegations of the pleadings.
As to the item in the petition which was subjected to summary judgment, it was alleged:
The answer insofar as material to the specific item in controversy alleged:
The answer also raised the statute of limitations as an alternative defense. Exhibit A, mentioned in the answer, will be considered later in more detail.
On October 21, 1965, defendant filed his motion for summary judgment on the ground the claim was barred by the statute of limitations. The motion was presented by oral argument of the parties and then submitted on briefs. On December 16, 1965, the trial court submitted its memorandum decision in which it concluded that the claim was based on an oral contract and barred by the three year statute of limitations. Summary judgment was entered for the defendant.
The plaintiff has appealed.
The issues are somewhat confused due to the fact that there were other controverted claims between the parties which are not material to the determination of the specific question before us. The appellant discusses some fourteen alleged errors in his brief. It may help us to sort out the pertinent issues if we stay close to the general statement found in the appellant's brief, which reads:
..............
The appellant first suggests that discovery was incomplete when the motion for summary judgment was considered and that the record clearly reflects material issues of fact. It may be said that appellant's position would be correct if the case were to be tried on the merits. However, such matters did not reflect on the question of the statute of limitations. If the case was to be determined by the statute of limitations the factual issues to which reference is made were immaterial. Although summary judgment should not be rendered if there remains a genuine issue of fact (Secrist v. Turley, 196 Kan. 572, 412 P.2d 976; Brick v. City of Wichita, 195 Kan. 206, 403 P.2d 964), the fact is not genuine unless it has legal probative force as to a controlling issue. In City of Ulysses v. Neidert, 196 Kan. 169, 409 P.2d 800, we held:
Although not necessary to the conclusion reached by the trial court in its memorandum decision, the trial court does appear to hold that the statute of limitations continued to run in appellees favor and against the estate while he was executor. Appellant takes serious issue with this ruling. We are inclined to agree with appellant. The general rule is found in 33 C.J.S., Executors and Administrators, § 182, p. 1156, where it is stated:
*609 Although no Kansas cases are cited in the briefs touching directly on the question and our limited search has disclosed none, we have no hesitancy in placing our approval on the general rule as above stated. It follows that the statute of limitations was tolled as to the claim against the executor during the time he served in such representative capacity and such time must be deducted from the period controlling the statute of limitations.
Before considering appellant's main contention there are a few additional facts that should receive attention.
The claim is styled by the petition as "appropriated" monies and as an "indebtedness" of appellee. It appears clear that the question was presented to the district court as a debt based on an oral contract which would make the three year statute of limitations applicable.
It may also be stated that it is not controverted that the appellee received the funds from his mother on which the claim and collateral agreement is based during the period of June to October, 1952.
If we omit the months of June through September and start with October 31, 1952, as the latest date when the alleged claim accrued and extend the time to September 29, 1964, when the action was filed we have a total period of approximately twelve years from the time the claim accrued until the action was commenced. If we deduct the period during which appellant was executor (August 20, 1955, to October 1, 1962), we have a period of four years and ten months from the time the claim accrued during which the action could have been commenced. The three year statute of limitations would have run.
The appellant relies on the collateral agreement attached to the answer as Exhibit A to remove the bar of the statute or as a new written obligation. The instrument will be of no assistance unless presented in its entirety. It reads:
"COLLATERAL AGREEMENT
"Subject: NORMAN LEWIS, Transferee
"Docket No. 51094
"Transferee Liability
The instrument, as attached to the answer, was not signed or dated. However, for the purpose of the motion for summary judgment it must be assumed that the exhibit was a copy and that the original had been signed as indicated. The date does not appear to be material on the issues now before us but it would appear the instrument was dated the latter part of the year 1958.
The trial court considered the allegations of plaintiff's petition as an action on a loan to appellee by his mother, and stated:
We must agree with the conclusion of the trial court. The provisions of K.S.A. 60-520 providing for acknowledgment of liability as extending the time for bringing an action anticipates a voluntary new promise to pay the debt. The new promise must be made to the creditor or his representative. An acknowledgement to another creditor will not suffice. In Burdue v. Lamb, 120 Kan. 502, 503, 243 Pac. 1029, we stated:
The appellant raises, but does not appear to have briefed, the contention that listing the claimed indebtedness in a supplemental inventory of the decedent's estate was a sufficient acknowledgment of the indebtedness. The suggestion has no merit. The representative of the estate is chargeable for his own debts to the estate unless they are uncollectible. It is the representative's duty to list the indebtedness so that the court can determine whether it is collectible and the representative may raise such defenses as he may have including the statute of limitations.
The appellant now contends that the collateral agreement was "a new written promise to pay his mother's estate $12,000 in settlement of the litigation then pending" with the Internal Revenue Service, and was not "a mere acknowledgment of the original debt." He states: "It is a formal promise in writing and is a specific obligation."
The trial court did not pass on this question. Whether or not it was presented to the court below is not disclosed by the record. Regardless, the difficulty with this belated contention is that the appellant did not sue on the collateral agreement.
The action was brought by the representative of the estate on an indebtedness which the appellee owed his mother before her death. Had the action been brought on the collateral agreement many different questions might well have arisen. We would then have had before us an agreement made between the appellee and the Internal Revenue Service for the benefit of the federal government with the government's right to sue on the agreement and a much different question would have arisen as to the statute of limitations.
The pleadings had been filed for over a year before the pretrial conference. At no time during the pretrial and the argument on the motion for summary judgment did the appellant suggest an amendment to his petition changing the cause of action to one on the collateral agreement. At no time prior to the trial court's final determination did the appellant suggest a change in its theory of the case.
*612 The case went to final judgment on the issue presented in the petition and it was too late thereafter for appellant to mend his hold.
The trial court must try the case on the issues framed by the pleadings or defined at the pretrial conference. Although the pleadings do not have the importance under the new code that they did formerly, they still serve the very important purpose of informing the adverse party of the nature of the claim or defense asserted. The simplified pleading permitted by K.S.A. 60-208 is possible because the issues can be defined at the pretrial conference. Once the issues are defined and the court proceeds to render final judgment the parties are bound thereby. The trial court has jurisdiction to decide only such issues as are raised by the pleadings or defined at the pretrial conference with the limited exception of new issues raised by evidence to which there is no objection. (Green v. Kensinger, 193 Kan. 33, 392 P.2d 122; Shriver v. Board of County Commissioners, 189 Kan. 548, 370 P.2d 124.)
Those wishing to research further the question of limiting issues may see 1A Federal Practice and Procedure, Barron and Holtzoff, §§ 242, 252 and 471.
What has just been said also applies to appellant's objection to the trial court's refusal to set aside the order for summary judgment and permit an amended petition and additional evidence.
We find no merit in appellant's contention that the appellee was estopped to deny the collateral agreement with the internal revenue department. The indebtedness of appellee to his mother, not the collateral agreement, was the basic claim put in issue.
Although we have not agreed with all the conclusions of the trial court, a carful examination of the record forces the conclusion that the claim was barred by the statute of limitations and defendant was properly granted a summary judgment.
The judgment is affirmed.
APPROVED BY THE COURT.