Opinion ID: 1919258
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: whether the chancellor abused his discretion by entering a judgment against a removed executrix for misappropriation of estate funds when the executrix distributed funds according to an order of a former chancellor.

Text: ¶ 31. Frazier argues that Chancellor Grist's Order of November 28, 1995, was final in character and, as such, bound Chancellor Roberts to his findings in the absence of an independent action alleging fraud on the court and seeking specific relief pursuant to Miss. R. Civ. P. 60. Accordingly, Frazier maintains that such an action is required to properly set aside Chancellor Grist's order closing the estate, and she asserts that the language of Rule 60 prevents one chancellor from setting aside the order of another. ¶ 32. While Rule 60 is indeed the proper means in which to collaterally attack an effective final order, such an order does not exist in this case. In entering the order to close the estate, bar future claims of creditors and discharge the executrix, Chancellor Grist relied on representations made to him by Frazier and provided the following contingent language in his order: It further appears to the court that, after the payment of all fees and costs in this cause, the remaining assets of the Estate should be disbursed to the devisees and legatees of the Decedent as directed by her Last Will and Testament.  (emphasis added). In the same order, Chancellor Grist reiterated the above-noted language and cemented the contingent nature of Frazier's duty to both the chancery court and to the estate by ordering: That, after the payment of all fees and costs of this proceeding and the disbursement of the remaining funds of said Estate to the devisees and legatees of the Decedent as directed by her Last Will and Testament, the Executrix, Mary Helen Robbins Frazier, is hereby relieved and discharged from further duties and liabilities in connection with said Estate and the Estate of Grace Carter shall then be considered terminated and the Estate is hereby ordered closed upon compliance with the conditions and requirements hereof. (emphasis added). ¶ 33. Finally, in his order approving the report of the executrix, Chancellor Grist once again incorporated express contingency language into this separate, later order that would have served to discharge Frazier upon her forthright compliance: That the Executrix shall be fully and finally discharged from her duties and obligations as Executrix upon her compliance with this Order and the filing with the Court of copies of the negotiated instruments evidencing the making of distributions approved herein and the payment of fees and expenses approved herein. (emphasis added). ¶ 34. In executing her duties as outlined in Carter's will and echoed by the very language contained in Chancellor Grist's orders, which included the fundamental responsibility of making final disbursements to the devisees and legatees as directed by the will, Frazier was governed by the explicit rules of the chancery court. Elemental to the Mississippi Uniform Chancery Court Rules governing fiduciaries, is the mandate that there be a proper and expedient disposition of estate assets to beneficiaries. Specifically, UCCR 6.02 contemplates this basic tenet: Every fiduciary and his attorney must be diligent in the performance of his duties. They must see to it that publication for creditors is promptly made, that inventories, appraisements, accounts and all other reports and proceedings are made, done, filed and presented within the time required by law, and that the estates of decedents are completed and assets distributed as speedily as may be possible ... Failure to observe this rule without just cause shall constitute contempt for which the Chancellor will impose appropriate penalties. ¶ 35. Frazier's argument is premised on the fact that Chancellor Grist's order in this matter was final. In support of this argument, Frazier alludes to case law as holding that a successor judge does not have the power to vacate an initial judge's order. In Amiker v. Drugs For Less, Inc., 796 So.2d 942 (Miss.2000), a case relied on by Frazier, we held that where the presiding trial judge grants a new trial, not specifically and solely based on a particular legal error such that we can say that the judge's view of the credibility of the witnesses played no part in the decision, a successor judge is in no position to review and change that order. Id. at 947. We focused on the position of the successor judge and stated: In Mauck, in upholding the successor chancellor's authority to vacate the initial chancellor's pretrial order denying motions to dismiss or, alternatively, for summary judgment, we stated that [a]s a general rule, a successor judge is precluded from correcting errors of law made by his predecessor or changing the latter's judgment or order on the merits, but this rule does not apply where the order or judgment is not of a final character. Mauck, 741 So.2d at 268 (quoting 48A C.J.S. Judges § 68, at 654 (1981)) (emphasis added). We went on to state that Chancellor Colom not only had the authority to vacate Chancellor's Brand ruling but was also duty bound to apply the law to the record then before the court, regardless of any prior ruling.... Mauck, 741 So.2d at 268-69.[ [6] ] Amiker, 796 So.2d at 946. Focusing on a presiding judge's advantage in the consideration of evidence, as he is the one who heard the witnesses live and observed their demeanor, we refused to allow a successor judge to change a decision granting a new trial. Id. at 947-48 (citing Gavin v. State, 473 So.2d 952, 955 (Miss.1985)). ¶ 36. Today's case is easily distinguishable from Amiker. We do not have a final and conclusive judgment, and we have a successor chancellor who has had the opportunity to fully participate in the crucial part of these proceedings by entertaining the exact same witnesses and considering the exact same, if not more, evidence as considered by any preceding chancellor sitting on this case. It follows that Chancellor Roberts, under the Amiker logic, was fully equipped and wholly empowered to render judgment in this ongoing litigation. ¶ 37. In reviewing the perpetuation of this litigation it becomes clear that this case has never been concluded inasmuch as Frazier has never fulfilled her duties as an executrix. Moreover, not only did she fail to distribute the assets of the estate to the devisees and legatees and additionally consume three years before finally completing a simple $5,500 distribution pursuant to Chancellor Grist's Order of March 22, 1996, she failed to provide evidence of these disbursements and, in the process, concealed the clear intent of the will she was charged with executing. Moreover, she misrepresented the intentions of the decedent and attempted to slight the various charities she was charged with funding. Finally, Frazier violated her fiduciary duty to disclose since, except for the information which resulted in the chancellor allowing her credit thereby reducing the amount of the initial judgment, she never properly accounted for or substantiated any of her alleged expenditures. ¶ 38. The chancellor unquestionably had the power and authority to examine this estate matter due to the fact that Frazier, in her fiduciary capacity as executor of the estate, never completely fulfilled her duties as prescribed by the chancery court, Mississippi law and Carter's will. This case was never concluded, and the estate was never closed, a fact evidenced by the very necessity of a motion filed by a devisee requesting the chancery court to order distribution consistent with the provisions of Carter's will. Moreover, estate funds were never distributed in accordance with Chancellor Grist's order, and Frazier, as executrix, was never relieved of the fiduciary duties imposed upon her by the provisions of Carter's will and by statute. It follows that until the administration of Carter's estate was completed as instructed by the specific terms of Carter's will and the orders of the chancery court, the estate was still open, and the chancery court, blessed with great remedial powers in equity, was availed of an opportunity to discover fraud and properly administer the estate. Compare In Re Conservatorship of Bardwell, 849 So.2d 1240, 1248 (Miss. 2003). ¶ 39. For these reasons, we find that Chancellor Roberts's decision to hold Frazier accountable for her duty to properly distribute the assets of Carter's estate, as originally ordered by Chancellor Grist, and Frazier's duty to disclose and account for the whereabouts of depleted assets, as ordered by the chancellors, was issued to enforce (and not to preclude or override) the prior decisions of the chancellors In entering his final order, Chancellor Roberts was merely reenforcing the chancery court's prior orders directing Frazier to account for her mass expenditure of estate money and to finally discharge the duties she owed as an officer of the court. Thus, there is no merit in this assignment of error.