Court Opinion

ID: 9949401
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-11 16:11:37.275587+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:25:48.860384
License: Public Domain

J-S02018-24

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

  IN RE: G.A.T., AN ALLEGED                    :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
  INCAPACITATED PERSON                         :        PENNSYLVANIA
                                               :
                                               :
  APPEAL OF: E.D.T. AND T.T. A                 :
  MINOR                                        :
                                               :
                                               :
                                               :   No. 146 EDA 2023

              Appeal from the Order Entered December 6, 2022
   In the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County Civil Division at No(s):
                                1516-0786

BEFORE:      LAZARUS, P.J., MURRAY, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.*

MEMORANDUM BY MURRAY, J.:                               FILED MARCH 11, 2024

       E.D.T. and T.T., a minor (collectively, Appellants), appeal from the

orphans’ court’s order (a) granting the petition for allowance of counsel fees

filed by Diane M. Cloud (Cloud) and Donald K. Kohler, Esquire (Attorney

Kohler) (collectively, Petitioners); and (b) denying Appellants’ opposition to

the petition (Opposition), in this action involving the guardianship estate (“the

estate” or “G.’s estate”) of G.A.T. (G.).          We quash the appeal based on

Appellants’ lack of standing.

       The orphans’ court summarized the relevant history underlying this

appeal:

       [Cloud] is Guardian of [G.’s estate] pursuant to the order entered
       September 27, 2016[,] by the Honorable John L. Hall.[FN1]
       [Attorney Kohler] is [Cloud’s] attorney. On July 15, 2022,
____________________________________________

* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.
J-S02018-24

     Petitioners filed their Petition for the Allowance of Attorneys’ Fees
     alleging that the [e]state’s current and outstanding obligations
     have been paid and that the balance of the two (2) accounts in
     the [e]state totals $859,725.01. Petition, 7/15/2022, 11-12.
     Petitioners sought from the [e]state legal fees and costs totaling
     $23,621.00 for the period from October 20, 2020[,] to June 28,
     2022.[FN2] Petition, 7/15/2022, 14.

     [FN1] Ms. Cloud is not guardian of [G.’s] person. [G.] was not

     adjudicated to be incapacitated as to his person, only as to
     his estate.

     [FN2] [Attorney] Kohler billed 76.60 hours at first at $300.00 per

     hour[,] and then at $375.00 per hour[,] for a total of
     $23,317.50[.]    [Attorney] Kohler claimed costs of $275.00.
     Petition, 7/15/2022, Exhibit A. See also Affidavit, 12/5/2022, ¶ 4
     ([Attorney] Kohler’s hourly rate increased from $300 per hour to
     $375 per hour effective January 1, 2022).

            [On July 21, 2022, the orphans’ court issued a rule to show
     cause why relief on the petition should not be granted.] On
     August 17, 2022, [Appellants] filed their Opposition ….
     [Appellants] are the sons of Jerry [T.,] who is [G.’s] brother[,] and
     thus [Appellants] are [G.’s] nephews. [Appellants] asked [the
     orphans’] court to deny the Petition in its entirety because
     “[Attorney] Kohler represents Cloud personally and not [G.]”
     Opposition, 8/17/2022. See also Opposition, 8/17/22, ¶¶ 48-49
     (“[Attorney] Kohler’s fee arrangement has the inherent risk of
     dividing [Attorney] Kohler’s loyalty between the guardian and the
     ward who will pay for the services.”); p. 62 (“[Attorney] Kohler’s
     fee petition should be disallowed on the ground that [Attorney]
     Kohler opposes the ward’s interest.”). [Appellants] alleged three
     (3) instances where that alleged conflict-of-interest became
     manifest: (1) [Attorney] Kohler filed for [] Cloud a petition for
     permission to transfer funds after the funds were already
     transferred; (2) [Attorney] Kohler on behalf of [] Cloud opposed
     filing a bond; and (3) [Attorney] Kohler filed for [] Cloud a petition
     for permission to make her daughter a beneficiary of accounts
     owned by the [e]state.

                                     -2-
J-S02018-24

Orphans’ Court Opinion, 3/20/23, at 1-2 (emphasis added, some footnotes

omitted).

     On August 17, 2022, the orphans’ court entered an interim order

authorizing Cloud, as G.’s guardian, to pay expenses and certain debt on G.’s

behalf. Orphans’ Court Order, 8/17/22. The court additionally scheduled a

review hearing for December 6, 2022.       That same day, Petitioners filed a

response to Appellants’ Opposition, claiming Appellants lack standing to

oppose the petition. Response, 8/17/22, at 2-3 (unnumbered).

     The orphans’ court described what next transpired:

           On December 1, 2022, Petitioners filed a second Petition for
     the Allowance of Attorneys’ Fees which updated the one filed July
     15, 2022. Petitioners requested an additional $7,872.50 for
     [Attorney] Kohler’s legal services and costs from July 1, 2022 to
     December 5, 2022.[FN4]

     [FN4] Mr. Kohler billed 20.62 hours at $375 per hour for a total of

     $7,732.50 and Mr. Kohler claimed costs of $140.00.          Petition,
     12/1/2022, Exhibit A.

            On December 6, 2022, [the orphans’] court held a hearing
     on the Petitions and the Opposition and entered the order
     presently under appeal. That order did two (2) things. First, it
     dismissed the Opposition filed by [Appellants] on August 17, 2022
     “for lack of standing and in the alternative pursuant to the doctrine
     of res judicata.” Order, 12/6/2022, p. 1. Second, it granted
     [Petitioners] relief and authorized the [e]state to “compensate
     [Attorney Kohler] for reasonable counsel fees and costs in the
     amount of $31,465.00.” Order, 12/6/2022, p. 1.

                                     -3-
J-S02018-24

Orphans’ Court Opinion, 3/20/23, at 1-2 (some footnotes omitted).1

Appellants timely appealed. The orphans’ court did not order Appellants to

file a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) concise statement of errors complained of on appeal.

However, the court filed an opinion on March 20, 2023.

       Appellants, G.’s nephews, present the following issues for our review:

       1. Did [Appellants petitioning] for guardianship review have
          standing to raise the issue of opposing counsel’s conflicting
          interests?

       2. Did the [orphans’] court sufficiently protect an incapacitated
          ward from self-dealing fiduciaries?

       3. Where an attorney in a prior representation learned of a former
          client’s incapacity, and the attorney reappeared in the same
          case but representing a different person, and the attorney filed
          substantially related petitions to transfer the estate of the
          incapacitated person to a third person, did the [orphans’] court
          misread the law or abuse its discretion by approving the
          attorney’s representation of conflicting interests and granting
          fees from the [e]state of the incapacitated person whom the
          attorney did not represent?

       4. Did the [orphans’] court commit an error of law or an abuse of
          discretion by approving a fee arrangement whereby the
          incapacitated ward paid for the legal services intended to
          benefit only the guardian personally at the expense of the
          ward?

____________________________________________

1 The orphans’ court conducted a review hearing on March 15, 2023.    At that
time, with G.’s express consent, the court appointed Kristen Matthews,
Esquire, as co-trustee of G.’s estate. N.T., 3/15/23, at 4. The orphans’ court
directed Attorney Matthews to review the estate’s financial plan and make
certain the plan “will preserve the most assets for [G.]” Id. at 39. The
orphans’ court further directed Attorney Matthews to review prior filings for
an accounting of the estate’s assets. Id. An appeal of that order is pending
before this Court at 962 EDA 2023.

                                           -4-
J-S02018-24

      5. Did the [orphans’] court commit an error of law or an abuse of
         discretion by granting fees for futile petitions to incur
         unnecessary taxes, and to transfer the legacy of an
         incapacitated ward into an account for the benefit of the
         guardian’s family member?

Appellants’ Brief at 16-17 (issues renumbered).

      Appellants first challenge the orphans’ court’s determination that they

lacked standing to oppose the petition for attorneys’ fees.         Id. at 44.

Appellants claim standing by virtue of their status as beneficiaries of a will

filed by G.’s deceased mother, Marion T. (Marion). Id. at 46. They argue,

      [t]he Will of [Marion] gave to [G.] and [Appellants] 25% interests
      in her residuary estate. [G.] and [Appellants] shared identical
      25% interests. If [Appellants] could cooperate with [G.], they
      would strengthen their case [involving Marion’s estate].

Id. Appellants claim that 20 Pa.C.S.A. § 5512.2(a) vests them, as interested

parties, with standing to petition for guardianship review. Id. at 48.

      Petitioners dispute Appellants’ claim of standing. Appellees’ Brief at 14.

They acknowledge Section 5512.2(a) grants the authority to conduct a review

hearing upon the petition of an “interested” party. Id. Petitioners argue that

to have standing, Appellants’ interest must be “real and concrete.”         Id.

According to Petitioners, Appellants “have no such interest in this matter.” Id.

      “Threshold issues of standing are questions of law; thus, our standard

of review is de novo and our scope of review is plenary.” Johnson v. Am.

Std., 8 A.3d 318, 326 (Pa. 2010).

      In Pennsylvania,

                                     -5-
J-S02018-24

     the doctrine of standing ... is a prudential, judicially created
     principle designed to winnow out litigants who have no direct
     interest in a judicial matter. For standing to exist, the underlying
     controversy must be real and concrete, such that the party
     initiating the legal action has, in fact, been aggrieved. ... A party
     is aggrieved for purposes of establishing standing when the party
     has a substantial, direct[,] and immediate interest in the outcome
     of litigation. A party’s interest is substantial when it surpasses the
     interest of all citizens in procuring obedience to the law; it is direct
     when the asserted violation shares a causal connection with the
     alleged harm; finally, a party’s interest is immediate when the
     causal connection with the alleged harm is neither remote nor
     speculative.

Commonwealth v. Donahue, 98 A.3d 1223, 1229 (Pa. 2014) (citations and

quotation marks omitted).

     In its opinion, the orphans’ court addressed and rejected Appellants’

claim of standing in the underlying proceedings:

     Here, [Appellants] advanced three (3) grounds why they had
     standing to oppose the Petition for Allowance of Attorneys’
     Fees.[FN] First, they argued they have the right, the same as any
     interested person, to file a petition seeking a review hearing
     pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S. [§] 5512.2[,] which means they have
     standing to oppose a petition for attorneys’ fees since “[a] petition
     for guardianship review and opposition to [a guardian’s] petitions
     are inextricably entwined.” Motion, 2/2/2022, 59. See also
     Motion, 2/2/2022, 58 (citing In re: Mark A Howard, an
     Incapacitated Person, 1428 MDA 2016 (Pa. Super. 2017)).

     [FN] [Appellants] set forth their grounds for standing in their Motion

     to Dismiss the Second Amended Petition to Utilize the Funds at
     Vanguard and to Terminate the Guardianship of Cloud filed
     February 2, 2022.

           Second, [Appellants] argued they have standing because
     [G.] told Jerry [T.,] Appellants’ father and G.’s brother,] in
     November of 2020 he wanted to make [Appellant] T.T. the sole

                                      -6-
J-S02018-24

     beneficiary of his will[,] and because [G.] told Jerry [T.] on
     January 6, 2022 he plans to give [Appellant E.D.T.] all his books
     when he dies. Motion, 2/2/2022, 60.

           Third, [Appellants] argued they have standing because the
     Guardian filed a Second Amended Petition to Utilize Funds Held at
     Vanguard on May 25, 2021[,] proposing to name them as
     alternate beneficiaries of two (2) accounts owned by the [e]state.
     Motion, 2/2/2022, 61.

           [The orphans’] court rejected all three (3) grounds. First,
     [Appellants’] reliance on 20 Pa.C.S. § 5512.2 was misplaced. The
     statute provides that “[t]he court shall conduct a review hearing
     promptly if the incapacitated person, guardian or any interested
     party petitions the court for a hearing for reason of a significant
     change in the person’s capacity, a change in the need for
     guardianship services or the guardian’s failure to perform his
     duties in accordance with the law or to act in the best interest of
     the incapacitated person.” 20 Pa.C.S. [§] 5512.2(a). [Appellants]
     argued a non sequitur when they argued the right to request a
     review hearing must lead to the right to oppose a petition for
     attorneys’ fees. More than that, [Appellants] employed the term
     “interested party” as if it means “anyone who cares[,]” which
     would … do away with the requirement of standing altogether.

          Second, [Appellants’] argument they might someday
     be named as heirs or beneficiaries admitted they are not
     named as heirs or beneficiaries. Speculation as to the
     rights they might someday possess fell far short of
     evidence upon which this court could have found that they
     are aggrieved and that their interest in the grant or denial
     of the Petition for Allowance of Attorneys’ Fees is
     “substantial, direct and immediate.” [Donahue, 98 A.3d at
     1229.]

Orphans’ Court Opinion, 3/20/23, at 5-6 (emphasis, citation and paragraph

breaks added, one footnote omitted).

     We agree with the orphans’ court’s reasoning and its conclusion is

sound.   See id.   Appellants’ claim of standing in the orphans’ court’s

proceedings lacks merit. See id.

                                    -7-
J-S02018-24

      Based on the foregoing reasoning, we conclude Appellants lack standing

to pursue the instant appeal. Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 501

provides as follows:

      Rule 501. Any Aggrieved Party May Appeal

      Except where the right of appeal is enlarged by statute, any party
      who is aggrieved by an appealable order, or a fiduciary whose
      estate or trust is so aggrieved, may appeal therefrom.

Pa.R.A.P. 501.   “Whether ... a party is aggrieved by the action below is a

substantive question determined by the effect of the action on the party, etc.”

Pa.R.A.P. 501, note.

      The Appellate Rules do not define the term “party.” However, the
      note following the definitional rule, Pa.R.A.P. 102, states that
      [the] rule is based on 42 Pa.C.S. § 102, which defines “party” as
      “a person who commences or against whom relief is sought in a
      matter.”

In re Brown, 507 A.2d 418, 420 (Pa. Super. 1986) (citation omitted);

accord In re Est. of A.J.M., 2024 PA Super 4, 2024 Pa. Super. LEXIS 5, *10

(filed January 11, 2024). “[A]n appeal by one who was not a party to a

proceeding in the trial court must be quashed.” Brown, 507 A.2d at 420

(citation omitted).

      Presently, Appellants were not aggrieved by the award of attorneys’ fees

from G.’s estate. As the orphans’ court observed in its opinion,

      [G.] is without issue, and his parents are deceased, but his brother
      Jerry [T.] is alive. That meant that Jerry [T.’s] issue, [Appellants],
      had no right to a share of [G.’s] intestate estate. 20 Pa.C.S. §§
      2103(3) (“Brothers, sisters, or their issue.-- If no parent survives
      the decedent, then to the issue of each of the decedent’s

                                      -8-
J-S02018-24

       parents.”) (emphasis omitted); 20 Pa.C.S. § 2104 (Rule of
       Succession)….

Orphans’ Court Opinion, 3/20/23, at 4 (citation omitted). Because Appellants

established no interest in G.’s estate, they were not aggrieved by the estate’s

payment of attorneys’ fees. Consequently, they lack standing to appeal the

orphans’ court’s order granting the payment of attorneys’ fees. See Brown,

507 A.2d at 420.

       Because we agree Appellants lacked standing to oppose the petition for

attorneys’ fees, and further lack standing to pursue this appeal, we quash

their appeal.2 See id.

       Appeal quashed.

Date: 3/11/2024

____________________________________________

2 Because we conclude Appellants lack standing to appeal, we need not
address their remaining issues.

                                           -9-