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c. lnabiUty \:0 ll,1ko cllre of. her. personftl neeq\:q
d. Unusual behavior il) as much au lOhe ia continul\lly
ohanging hAr clothes,
e. Llnable to mal1!lgo her property and'is liable to
'~]eElipate il: or bopolTlc'the \,IicHr1\ of /;\ deai~ning
person, and
f. Lack sutrj,cient: capacity to make or communicatE!
reepqnaiblll decisions.
10. That no other court has ~VDr assumed Jurisdiction
in <lny proceedinc;1 to clotermino tho oompCltency 01:tl1e alledgEl.d
Inoompeten t/Hespondent.
11. That ~llogod Indompetent/Roapondont haa no guardian
already appointed.
12. That this Petition i~ boin~ presented to aid
and penefit tho Incompetent/Respondent.
13. Thdt the Commonwealth National UanK locat~d in
Mechanicaburg, Pennsylvania agrees to act ae the GUardian
over the esthte of Sadie D. Pete~man if she iaadjudged
indompetent. Said prOposed Guardian i~ an independen~
banking institut10nand bal" no family or financial relation
t.o the alleged Incompetent. add Conaont of COl11l11onwealth
National Bank is incoporat:ed he.roin by ref.eranee ae Exhibtt
flAil .
WHEREFORB, the Petitioner. prays the Court directs to
the alleged Intompetent/Re~pondent, with notioe thereof t6
her next of kin and t.osuch Qther petlnons as the Court may
direct, to show cause why ahe shOuld not be adjudged aa
Incompetent and a Guardian of her ~Btate appointed.
Respectfully submitted,
(~) &:I~. ,d/A
, ;;~ LZ'#~b..
~ Daniel F. WolfB~n, Rsquire
Gtl~
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BOOK 108 rACt
IN ~HE ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION OF CUWPERLAND COUNTY
PlllNNSYLVANIA
WI.LLIAM J. PETERMAN, Petitioner I No.
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vs. I
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SADIE Ill. PETERMAN, Respondent
CON S III N T
The COMMONWEALTH NATIONAL BANl<, located in Meohanios);lIlrg,
Pennsylvania hereby agrees to aot as the proposed guardian
over the ESTATE OF SADIE E. PETERMAN if she isadjudioated
incompetent by the orphans' Court Division of Cumberland
County.
I hereby give ocnsent to aot as guardian for the ~state
of Sadie E. Petorman upon her adjudioation of inoompetenoy.
COMMONWEALTH NATIONAL BANK
,Date I
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PIg, 191'1
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May 28. 196L ". ;.~:,
Daniel ,F. Wolfson. Csquire
Wolfson Bnd Woodbul:'y
29 East 1'rin0611a Street ,
'io, r1<. Pennsylvania 171101.
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Rei Sadie 8. J?etel:'man
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Delll:' Mr. Wolfson"
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I write you again in my ollpaoity as Attornuy for SAdie B.
1'etof'l1lan
Hrs. Peterman advist!s that youx" olient. \~illillt1\,J. ret\H'man.
hils variouS funds I,'h:l,oh belong to her. Demand is hlll'eby made for
an aOQounting thereof and the. il1lmediata return of thOGll funds to
~lrs. Patet'l11al'l via our offioe. "
Very truly yours,
Riohard C,SnetbaKar
Rcs/n
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July lS, 1981
Diln:lul F,\\'olfpon, EaQuire
Wolfson nn~ Woodbury
29 East Prinoess Street
)'ork,.Polmsylvanla lNOl .
itS! Sadie B. ,.l'ehrman
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Dear Mr. Wolfsonl
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~oo~osedill aoopy ofa httor sont to )'our o11ent,
WnUam". Petorman, tranamittiTlS a dul)' exeouted Revooation
of l'ower of Attorney. 1 aloo ono10ss herewith an oriijinal
qU\1ntllr~nI't of adddoournent \~h~ch we aOI've upon yoU in ,your
oapaoity as 1\ttoI'noy for'Ml'. l'etet'ITmn. .
At th;lapoiot, it is our. ppinion tha.t your olillnt has'00
furthar legal right to. hold any property 'on behl'llf of Mr8.
Peterman. In additiontohor household ~olXls not yet 1;'oturnel1,
the f.undB whioh your oUent holds are being held unlllwfullY,
We are llurprisedat theoontent of your, letter of JUIlQ 18. .198l,
in. ,~hl0h )'ou advised that by aomo uns[l\!oified means your ol1Emt
is exeroising a olaim over those funds.
, '
Before taking appropl'iate/:lOtion, ,~a maka this final dl.lmand
upon ,you and your olient' to return all of the pro[lot'ty ovmed by
Hr8. Petel'man.
Very t~uly yours.
RiohaI'd c. BnelbskUI'
Resin
EnOlollure~
eX1I11IJ'r "r't
L.AW 0,.'1011
8NI~DAKIR,
M.OA~ID " 'LICKER
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"
NO I 456 ORPII1\NS. 1901
th~ commonwea~,th NatJ.onal Bunk nhoulc1 noe po appoil1ted a/1 guardial~
01 her ~state,' 1\ hearing was sot for 1\ugust 31, 1DBl.
OnJ\ugust 5, 1901, petitioner, William J. Peterman, pursUant
to Aot of Deoember 10, 1974, P,T", ___, Ilfl'amendod, 20 Pa.C.S. 55511(0'),
requested the oourt to appoint a physioian to examine Sadie )?eterml;\l1
and to submit a report based on the findings thereof. On 1\uguat 213,
1981, the petitioner's r~quest was oont.inu0d until OQtober 23, 1981.
On September 1, 1981, Sadie Peterman filed a !?.E.!:1.tiOI1 to
Dismiss the )?'otition for 1\djudication~t Insompetency. on September
2, 1981, a rule was issued upon William J,Pciterman to show oause why
his r,etition for an 1\djudidation ot..1nE.ompetenoy should not be
dismissed, why he should not account for and pay over to Sadie 1'eter-
man her funds in hiscontt'ol, and why he should not pay Sadie Peter-
man's oounsel fees, prOfessional examination .fees and other expenses,
i~curred ~y Sadie Peterman as a result of his petition. 1\ hearing
on this petitibn was soheduled .for October 23, 1981.
On September 25, 1981, the court refused William J.. Peterman's
petition to l:\ppoint a doctor, pending 'qevelopments at'the hearing.
"j
By letter of october 6, 1\>81, the petitioner'I,l"attorney,
D. F. Wolfson, advised Riohard C. Snelbaker, attorney for th~ r,spon-
dent, that a psychologist who oxamlned Mrs,' Peterman at hia reqUest
fo.und her competent to make financial and other deoisions. lie stated
he waa advising the petitioner to withdraw hia petition and return
-2M
NO. 456 ORPIIT\NS J,9Bl
,'L"sterman statoc;l thj:\t she prefer!:'oc;l not to remain any longer in
Meohal1ioslJurg. (N.'l'. 71, 11B, 119, 142).
lli Snc;lia Peterman !:'eoeived treatment from Dr. zit;tle,
an csteopllthio phYSician. (N.'l'. 10, 30, 77, 97,90,100).
12. Sadio Peterman's physioal oondition improved while she
was f3tayin~ with the William J. Petermans. (N.'I', 107, 111, la, 129,
135, 1'43).
13. After Sadie Peterman moved in with the wil1illm J.
L"etermans, she made Cll1egatlons that t,he Owenses and thelr attorney,
Riohard Snelbaker, msq~ire, were worklng together to take her house
away from her. (N,T.127, 120).
14. Sadla Peterman also ma4e varlous allegCltidl1S against
her grandson, a son of Gladys apd Joseph Owens,ahd a list of items
that this grandson had alleg~dlY stolen from SadIe Peterman WIIS
comp,iled, (N.T. 102, 111, 121, 122, 132-134 I William J. ,Peterman's
Exhibit no. 1).
15. Although Sadie Peterman had a strong attaohment to ry~r
house, she expressed hO desire to return to her house durillg the
first six months she!' stayed with tlw William J. Petermans. (N.rr;. 115).
16.' Evehtually, Sadie Peterman began to eXpress desires
to return to her own home in Meohaniosburg. lIer requests to move
her back to her own home w.re originally rafusedby the William J.
-5-
NO. 456 ORHPANS 1901
Petermana. In February of 1981, approximately six months aftar
she had moved in with tho WJlliam ;r. I'etormans, ahe bogan 1;0 exhlbit
various forms of aberan\: and Qccentric behavior. (N,'l'. 72, 77-78,
80'.82, 109, 114-H6, 129, 136, 138, l4F45, 149).
17. On April 30, 1981, the William J. I'etermans took
Sadie Peterman back to tho Mochuniosburg area. (N.T.07, 80).
18. William J. ~et.rmnn and other family members, including
at least his son, Larry Peterman, and his brother Ralph Peterman,
discussed Sadie Peterman's behavior and condition. After cOllsidering
her aberant and eccent~ic behavior, thoy cume to the conclusion that
an incompetency petition for a guardian would be fbr Sadie Peterman's
own. good and would protect her fromdeaigning persons. (N.T. 102,
110, 113, 130).
19. William J. Peterman subsequently signed the petition
for incompetency on May 27, 1901, but did no'\: file it until July 22,
1981, although Sadie Peterman hud left nearly three mbnth~ previously.
(N.T. 10, H, 45).
20. Dr. Zittla had also given Sadie Peterman a comprehensiVe
examination. It is his ourrent opinion that she is not suffering
from any infirmity whioh would make her prey to designing persons
who might try to victimize her. (N.T. 10, 11, ~l, 22, 25, 30, 311 39).
-6-
NO. 4r,G OlWII^NS 1901
21.. Sudlo l'otonnan has oxpOnaoFl of: $100.00 ull70lldy pRld
to Dr. .1tt10 for a spacial oxaminatlon ho made of her and for
oOlisultac1ons, both in propal'att.on flPocH.J,o/llly for thls 01'1130.
(N.T. 26, 44/ Sadie peterman's Rxhiblt no. 10).
22. SacHa PetGrman also has additlonal. expenses owlng to
Or. Zi tHe for hls te,s dmony In the Haroh 5 , 1902 he~lling of $lJ.2,5.0,
of Fllxty oents for '!'urnplke tallo, and of: $22,50 for a n1net.y mile
~dp at'25 centa par mUe. (N.'r. 41., Badlo l'eter,man's Exhibit no. 22).
23. Sadie Peterman ulso haa paid $175.00 to Or. 'Stanleym.
SOhneider for psycholo~io~l tosting and oonsultation in oonneotion
with thea1.lt'lged incompetenoy lWar ing. (N. T. 46, 47, Sadie Peterman I s
mxhibit no. 19).
24. Sadia Petorman also has exponsoB of $19.50 which she
owes to her, Flon-in-law, 30seph b. Owans, This exp.nae includes a
mileage allowanoe for tr'ansporting her to the oonsultations
neoessary to dafand herself against tho allegation of inoompetenoy
and for time Owens loat from work. of the $19.50,$10,00 of thiii'
amount is for time Owens lost from work and the'remain:\.l'ig $9.59
is for travel expenses. (N,T. 47-52, Sadie poterman1s Exhibit no. 20).
25, Sadie Potermanfaoea gene~al attorney rel~ted expenses
of ~1,007.14 (this figul:b al.)par.entlyJno1.udes some filing faes, eto.)
for servioes rendered and expenses inourred in the preparation of
her defenAe against the allegations of incompetency, (N.T. 52-53,
1...7-
NO.' 456 OlUIP1\NS 19B1
and this is the general nIl\) adoptod in courts of equity . . .3
Dan. Ch, Pro 1515." 1 Bouvier's Law Dictionary 690 (1914),
In oonsideration of tho tlbove rules and prH\diplea, thosl1l
standard oost.s and offioer's foes that are found in the Clerk of
Orphans I Court ahd Sheriff' a fee \)i Hs arc to be the respona.Lbility
of the petitioner. 1\dditional questions remain, however, as to those
,
costs olaimed by Sadie Peterman which are not. listed upon the fee
bills.
u'.
Sadie 1'aterman oontends that she ahould be awarded her
dounsel feas experided in hpr.defense against the petition, 1\l~o,
she asks for, the additional counsel fees she was forced to l]lltpend ih
ass~rtina her claim to thgsa counsel fees already expended in her
defense. 1\t thi a point we only addresS that portion of tha ,oounsel
fees eltpended in Sadie 1'eterman's"defen~e.
1\13 a general rulel eaoh party to litigation must pay his
own counsel fees. The 1'enriaylvania S\.1prema Court, in Shapiro v.
Ma9/iziner, A18 Pa, 278, 210 1\.2d. 890 ,(1%5), sets forth a number
of principlea"
over a,'\d over agl\in we have deoided thell:e
oan be horeobvery for oO,unsel .f<,!eS from the
adverse party to a cause, in the absenoe Of
eltpresa atatutory dl10wances of the same. . .
Smith v. Equitable '!'rust compan1., 215 1'a, 4l3,
-9-
NO. 4S6 OIU'II1\NS 19B1
Tall1elm, lB o. &C. 3d 631 (1~rank1in 19110) (a wi.fe dalil1arat.aly defied
--
a t.hen reol,1nt: oourt order and forosd her husband'to sue, her), and
"
Bogley, Harting & Reese, Ino. v. ~.!!art, 27 Cheat, 396 (1979) (a
matter of pUblio record WaB gensrally den,tsd in the pleading) deter"
mined that ths oonduct. ilwolved was vexadoua. In thosl;! ihatemces
the vexatioUI!i c<;>nduot was ):'eadily appart;!nt;. In the instant cast;!
there is no such readily apparent" vexatious conduct. Therefore,'
we must turn. to Pennsylvania case law and apply it to this case.
Sadie Peterman left the home of William J. Peterman on
April 30, 19B1. The petition, however, was not filed until July 22,
19B1. Al\:.hbugh this petition was filed after a conff!rel1Ce with
some of the pett;!rman family members, WillialTI J. Pt;!terman did not
speaK to Or confer with Sadie Peterman's then attending physio~an,
Dr. Zittle,r before filing the petition ,although Dr. Zittle had been
sel1ling her on an approximatelY monthly basis. Nor is'there any
evidenoe in the record that he relied upon anytoing but her behaviour
prior to h.er leaving his hom/;! on April 30, 19B1. TOe record diS<;lloses
no effort on the part of William,J. Peterman to oontact other relatives
or those in aPositio~to obSt;!rve and report on Sadie Peterman's
behavior after she feft his home on 1\pril 30, 1981.
We would poiilt OUt tl1at mere aberant or eacentriO behavior,
even if it had contit1ued after Sadie Peterman had been grartted her
wish of returning to Mechanlcsburg, would not, in aild of itself,
"12~
NO, -456 O~PUl\N8 198J,
dismir;sed.
William J, Peterman's approBo~ to an ~ttorney ~ade the
hardships Upon Sadie Pet(~rman no less' burc:tensoma I nor (,lid ~ t
furniflh, him with ahy oompetent evidenoe that would justify such
prooeedings. WhUe obtdning tl\e advioe of an attorney on a
question of law before making a oomplaint .to t:he poliqe may
oonstitute a good' faithdefens. in a malioious prOseoution aotion
in reoognition of a, publio polioy to enoourage bringing wrongdoers
to justioe, a party oontemplating bringing a petition for imoon\pe-
tenoy Bhould oonsider more than the technioalities of the law.
'"
He should alao oonsider tha rights af a person who is not being,
aooUSl!ld of being a wrongdoer ,Glnd the. burdens that defendlng againati
sUo~a petitlo~ impose upon suoh a Person.
William J. Peterman I s institution of this aotion oOl1stituties
"
a wanton di.sregEll;,d of Sadie Peterm"n' a rights and also shows a reolt-
leas" elisregard of,. Sadie Petel'man' s rights /lnd also shows a reokless
disregard of the oorisequenoesof institutin9 suoh an ,aptiem, 'rhe
netresuljl was an i'mposJtion of, a' or\.lel and unjuathardship upc>!)
Sadie Peterman~ 1\11 of these oifcumstatioes oonsidered t0gether
support a finding of malioe in the legalse~Be /lnd justif~ an
aWilrd of those hir and just OOlmsaJ. fees expended in her defense,
The next question is what oonstitutes a fair and just award
-14-
NO, 45(i ORPIUlNI3 1991.
l\ttot'n~ya 5235 et aeq, (1980).
l\ftet due oonsideration of the above stated faotor~, and
the testimony of Sadie Peterman's attorney, as w~ll as the bills
he SUbmitted, wedetermino that Sad.i.<!J p~torman i8 entitled to~969.86
foroounsel fees expended in praparing her defense.
III.
The neKt queation presented .i.i whether Sadie Petet'manshoUld
be gra"ted the eKpenses incurred in omploy.i.ng eKper~~ to pt'ove her
competent and to prepare for her defense. Thiel portion of het'
expenses includea $100.00 owed to'Or. MiohaelZittle for a special
examination he made of her and fOr oonsultations I both done in
preparation speoifically for ~his base. In addition,. she ha~ expense_
of $175.00 whioh have already. been pa.i.d to Dr, Stanley m. Schneidet'
fQj:' psychological testing and oonsultation in connecti.on with the
alleged incompetency,
Thera: are a variety of premises that might possibly suppqrt
i ,an award' of theseexpenaeEl to Sadie Peterman. Both of the aboVa-
named experts were contacted \'Ii th th~ intentiQn of having them
testify in response to William J. peterman's Petition. They did not
- -
testify beoause William J; Peterman's L'etition was dismissed, There"
fdrea 10g16al starting point i~ whether they are, under Pennsylvania
law, 'witnellSeEl in the sense that would allow Sadie Petermtln to be
gtanted an award of their expenses.
"'16-
NO, 456 ORPHANI 1981
Under pr!()): law, the Tlot of July n, .1941, p,!,. 425, 28 "
P,6.5416,9, expert witness fees were not taxable as ooats. KlinS
Appeal,A33 1.'1\,'110, 1n,249T1,2C\ 552 (1969). 1\ similar Plipvision
is now f,ound, in 42 Va.C.S.TI. 55903 (a) (1), We reoognize the im(Jrn'tanoe
of the two Witnesses engaged by Mrs. Peterman to assist in her
defense of the oharge of inoQmlJetenoy. In ,faot, it was Dr,. Sohneider'lI
report and proposed' testimQny wnJ,ch mainly oonvinoedthe other side
to c'll!op thlOl prQoEjedings, We beli.eve fait:'nesswol\ld diotate that slle
be reimbursed for these oosts. However, we can find no authority'
for awardin~ her these Ejxpert witness oosts and her request for
the~e expenses is denied.
IV.
SacliePeterman hali also requested an award of the expenses
inourred by Josepl\ C, Owens on her behalf. These inolude time' he
lost from work and the expense oJ transporting Sadie Peterman for
oonsul.tations in 'qonneotion with her .defense.
We have already eXplained in seotion I that statutory
authorization is neoealiary .for an award of suoh oostsor ,expenSeS.
W~. have found no statutes whioh wOl\1d authorize an aw'ardof these
expenses'as ooats, Therefore, the request for these items is depied.
V,
The next SeH<!lB of questions deal with whether Sadie Pe'terman'
-17-
.
.
. SADID'I3, PI!l'l'ml~MI\N
.
.
.
.
I
I
I
IN 'rlllll c6UR'j1 au' COMMON Pt,ll11\B Ol~
ClJM1!IDHT,J\ND COUNTY, I?JnNNflYINI\NIi\
OIWll1\NA I COUR'r DIVISION
45(j ORPll1\NS I 19 e 1
tN IUD.
SI\DIm m. VErrmRM1\N
alsQ known as
'l'RI\NBC IU 1'1- OF PROCEEDINGS
DEFORE I
HONOR1\BLEU1\ROLD E. SHEELY
P1\~JJ:1
PLACEI
Friday, .Marcl'\ 5, 19B2
Courtroonl No. 2
Cumberland County Cburthouse
~arlis1e, Pennsylvania
COUNSlllJ, PRESENT I
RICHARD C. SNELBI\KER, Esquire
For - Petitioner
DANIEL F. NOLFSON, Esquire
For - Respondent
f) ~
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....
',INDEX OF Wt!'NlnaSrnS
MAroh 5, 1982
FOR TUIn PLT\IN~'IFD'
Miohael Zittle, M,O.
JOlileph a, OWens
Riohard c. Sne1bakel'/ Jnlilq.
!2~Rtnc:! cRoaS RlijbIMC'l'
.8, 19 15, 2'7 41
45 49 51
52 57
F.OR TIm' DIllFENOT\NT
William J. Peterman
Continued on page 84
"
69
..2-
r.
.
.
- ~---
Q what residenoies or internships have you partioipatld
in?
11 I interned at Memorial osteopathic Hospj,tal in York,
Pennsylvania. And I am Doard eligible in family praqtioe,
o How long have, you been praotioing at you!:' present
address ?
1\ Present address I four (:\no a half years.
Q Is thi~ a full-time prOfession 'for you?
A Yes,it.is.
Q Do you know Sadie Pete!:'man?
A Yes I I do,
o Can you identify her her.e today?,
A She is sitting dire9t1y behind you, the lady with
the oane to your left.
How long have you known her, Doctor?
My initial oontact with Mrs. Peterman was September 11,
0
A
1980.
0
wilrh her? I
A
,,,
0
J'
Do you have with you your records of your oonsultations
'yes, I, do.
Would you reoite just in ohronologioa1 order the
times and dates Whenever you saw Mrs. Peterman beginning at that
time?
,\,
...9.;.
~
.....
o Did you during that period of your ~ractice deal
with the elderly and those persons who might bo classified as
geriatrio patients?
^ This is a one hundred percent geriatrio faoility.
The average being in the high seventies.
o Did your training inoludedeal!ng with the various
indioations of mental disoase, mental illnos8?
^ My formal training iho1uded this, even though I
am not Board oertified Or residenoy trained in Psyohiatry. I
do have psyohiatrio training.
o Will you deal with that, please, as far as what
your baokground was and your training involved there? Explain
to the court what that oonsisted of, Dootor?
^ Basic medical courses in Psychiatry ~s well ~s
psyohiatric rotation during my senio.r year and internship following
graduation from college.
o Did you Bee people in various states of mental
disorder and mental illness?
^ Very muoh so.
0 Were y?u'called upon to evaluate disease and to
learn about. what the oausations of these various ailments were?
1\, Very much so, to make judgments and to treat it.
o O\.lring the oourse of your practice have you dealt
withpeopla who have baan in your j\1dgment other than normal mentally?
-13-
.
.
,
o And tha't same rf;lvolvin<;t internship oould be justified
for a physiohn lnvoJ,vect wit:h nothing but X~ray teohnology or
internal medioine or ortholied!os, is that oorreot?
A If it: were aV,dJ.able. to them.
o You alsoindioCltad that you hClve testified in
York qounty, is that oorrect?
A That's oorreot.
o In regard t,o oompetenoy hearinc;rfl ,il3 that oorreot?
A That is oorreot.
Q WoUld you indioate to the oourt, to myself and to
Mr. Snelbaker apeoifloally what oases you testified to and what
you. testifieQ' about?
A Wi thout' rewords in front of me, I oannot give.dates,
oase numbers, names. I am not prepa,red to do this,.
o Qid Mr., Sne1baker everindioate to you that he felt
that ybu were so q.ualified to c;l.etermine onli!!ls compe1lenoy or incom-
petenoy at least from the geriatrio level that he wMted you to
speoifioallY write a repol't as to Mrs, Sadie peter'man?
A Did he ask me for a report as to her competenoy?
o ,Xes, ric;rht.
,.A ! believe somewhere during tha' tWQ-year period and
mostdefinit~ly around May to ,Tuly of 19B1 I was aaked to do such.
o You were asked to do what in July of 19B1?
"
A'Tb -- to basioal1y assess,her mental 6ondition.
-16-
..
,.
;'
1\ J, think sha w~s, 1 t;.h.!.nk aile wua a vi,ctim of suoh,
Q W~s her mental atata such sa that she oould beco~o,
was sho inoompetent by' roasbn of that?
1\ I ~m a little bit oonfused, ah, befar~ May of 1981 --
THE COURT' Exouse mo. 1 am going to take a reaess.
'iou o~n go OV(3r with him the stnndal"ds that <1re r.aquired for.
oqmpatenoyqr incompetenoy. I do not,want unyaonfusion here
as to his knowledge-~
MR. SNmLB~KER, I thirtk that his confusiort is
beoause of the ohaHo,nge made to the degree of hiB qualifications.
TIm COURT' Well,:t am going to take a reoess. You
oan go ove;rwith him the standards for oompetency or inoompetenoy
so that th(3re is no oonfusion. And 'We will go from t.here. so
W(3 will take a reoess.
MR. WOLFSON, 'lour Honor, before you take uhat recess,
,1 am not sur(3 t,hat th(3 pur.poae of this hearing is to determine
whether or not she is competent or. inoompetent.
't'IlE COUnT, I agre(3 with that. I 'agr(3e with that,
but ,I think that the r.easonllbleness of. tl'te peti Hon can be baS(3d
"somewhat on what he says. That is thE! only purpose' for admitting
Hi" But rath(3r than having bim testify to things I ,~o not thinK
in my own mind he is sur.e now what tho stundards really ure, so
that W(3 may have his oorraqt t(3S l:.imony, we wl U taka a recess. !\nd
Mr. snalbak(3i, you lnform hlm of. what the standards are.
-20-
.
.
I',
(Whereupon, ~ brief reoeas.was t~ken.)
J\F'l'IilR HI~CIilSS
BY M~. SNELBAKIilRI
o Did she suffer from any condition from which ahe
would be deemed to be unable to m~n~ge -- or she would be una~le
to man~ge her property?
A No, she did not.
0 was she suffering frqm any oondition as a. result
of Which ahe would be linble to dissipate her property?
A No. She would never dispose of it.
~2l~
.
.
1\ Multiple medioal prcblems.,
MR. WOLFSON I PardQn p'lil, Dootor. Your. Honor, I
WOUld Hke, on the record a oootinuing objeotion to this testimony .
+t was nlY ,understanding that the court ru;I.ed that thl1l !:'lootor oould
give an opinion but not a medioal opinion as to .her oompetenoe. It
appearl\l from the Hne cf question.ing of Mr. Snelbaker that the
Doctor, even though he"indioat~s he has no psyohiatrio ~r psycho-
logical train,ing, 1.s giving opinions and oonclusions thC\l are of
a medical nature.
TI,lElCQURTI Ara you saying that he may not give an
opinion as to medioal condit[ons1
MR. WOLFSON I I am not saying that. I am saying
that he doesl)'t haVe the quC\lifioations to. 9ive these opinions.
And the, opinions that I beHave the court indicatiild, and oorrect,
"me if I am wroh9 ,the oourt said thC\t he oan oertail1ly give oertain
opinions. But whether or not they have any va~idity other, than
his position as a treating physician. I am not trying to put
. words in the oourt's mouth. I was under the' impreasion, the oour.t
didn't oonstrue this, man as an 'expert to give.these kinds 61:
oO,nclus16na about Mrs. Peterman,
THE CQURTl l'Ihat I said was that he could not,
,when he is all said and done, giVe' an "pinion that she was
inoompetent, I think the court would have to determine that
from theevidenoepresented; I think he can c'ertainly testify
-23-
..
~
l:e11in9 mt'! at thls Hmo thot I;hey wore tryin9 to take everything
aWIlY from hor.. lIer house, hor fur.nl turlJ, overy thing that sho
OWned. 8ho went J.nto speoifio dotails about all. qf this. And
this was the only time that I saw arty kind of so-oalled psyohiatrio
problem. And this was I think inflioted on her.
o Doctor, after May of 1981 and throughout the time
sinoe then, has there been any ohange in her mental oondition'
A I don't think thore has beon any ohango! physicallY
there ,has been. 'rhere has be~n some deterioration. Hentally, no.
o When did you last Beo hor, OootOr.?
A Wo last saw her on Januar.y lB, 1982.
o Would your jUdgments' and obseryations and opinions,
hold true for -- based upon ~hat,observation as they did and the
observations through May 27, 1981, conoerning her mental aouity ,
and ability to handle the elements of ,the definition of oompetenoy?
'A Very muoh so.
o lIave you at any time be~n oonsulted by William J.
Peterman oonoerning his mother's oondition?
A I don't beHave so. I don't have any notation
throughout her ohart of a telephqne oonvorsation or any type
of communioation.
Q Did you at any time cr were you, requosted at any
tim,e to provide II report to oi ther Mr. Peterman, Mr. Wolfson or
-25-
':'"'\
,-..
BY MR. WOLFSON,
Q lIave you ever seen Mrs. W.\lliam Peterman aver.
bring ~...
,
THill COUR'l', EXduse me. Fer. my identifioatien,
Ralph Peterman, 1s that a senef Sadie?
MR. WOL1'SON,
'rllm CQURT I
MR, WOI,FSON I
THE COURT I
t-lH. WOLFSON,
Son.
The next lady weuld be u daughter~in-law?
Ollughter-in-l.f'ow.
And the next If'ody?
Daughter.
13Y MR. WOLFSON'
Q Hf'oVe you eVEJr seen Mrs. wilUl.\m Petermf'on --
A The llldy in the middl.l;l, the daught:er-in~law?
Q Yes. How many times has she brought: Mrs. Sadie
Peterman in .te Y9ur effioe?
A A few more times than the Owense's', spedifio numbers..
lean' t. . .
/'
Q 1lJ.v$):,y .tim$ that Mrs. Petej:'mM, Sadie PeCe):'man, was
breught in t.e the offioe, were you aWare of whe brought her and
who did not pring her? .Were yeu aware that either Mrs. Owens
brought her Dr Mrs. Peterman brough,\:. her? Or ware YDU just
aware an selaotiye times when Y9U happened te be,in the outer
office?
.,29~
"
....
,-.
'1'HIil COURT I Elxollse me,' The ques tien Is whether or
net yeu intend to submit a b:i11 fer testify:ing here today,
THE WITNESS I If Mra, Peterman has t9 pay fer it
l1\lIreell1, no., I w:ill net ..:- the elderly Mre. Peterman.
MR. WOLFSON I Thank yeu.
RmDIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. SNELBARERI
Q If Mre. Peterman ie not required to. pay the bill,
Peoter, what would yeur fee be?
A Considering my t:ime, my drive from York, I would
eay -- and my drivebaok, approx:imately $100.00.
Q Would that; be the bill? i,l
A I believe so., yelil.
q Going baok to. Septembel' of 1981, the matter that we
talked about. yeu indioated that. ehe was depressed about the trial, ,
I think yeu indioated these were eome nctes that yeu had written?
A That's oorrect.
Q Dc You, knew what trial was being referred te?
A I think the cne that I am sitting in now that
" f:ina:Uy oame to. oourt.
Q Th:is is the inoompet:enoymatter, ie that oorreot?
A That'e oorreot.
Q Did yeu determ:ine at that time that she was aware
..41..
.:.
..
/I /It thllt thlo It was, air. I was wOl:king for ~5.00
an hour.
Q Where is Dr. Sohl\e.l.der's ofUoe?
/I Modioal Arts BuUdil19 at the Hcly Sp,1.dt. Hospital.
Q Whero is your housCJ in relationship tc thatcffioe?
11 About three mile, four mile away_
Q So it was about an hour and a qual:ter. of ycur .time,
is that what ycu are saying?
11 That's ocrroct,
MR. WOLfSON I Thank you.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. SNELBAKERI
Q Did ycl.1 provide your own motor vehicle to tr.ansport
her?
A Yes, sir,
MR, SNELBAKERI That's all.
BY THE COURT I
Q Can you tell me how muoh of this total bill, like
,
the $7.50 tc Dr. Schneider, how much of that. reprosents YOl.1r time
and how mUoh of it represents travel expense?
A Well, about $5.00 fcr the time and $2.50 for travel.
Q And tc Dr. Zittle, $12.00, .how mUClh of that. did you
charge for time and how much for travel?
"51"
.
,.
time, bothll) prepst'ation for thl~ headhC) t;hh mot'nin~, as well
as the headng -- or the preparation ,.of the pde!: lIndtho ser'vlng
of the notioe of this hearing, obtaining the oertifled ooples
thereOf, mailing, them, and arranginC) for. the witnesses to be
present today.
Our hourly rate is ourr.ently at $60.00 per hour,
We have'oaloulated that sinoe Oecembet' 2nd we have inourred',
members army staff have inoun'ed time to perform legal services
at approximately twenty-seven and three quarter hours, far an
additi.onal fee Of $1,665.00 plus cests of additiona~ mailing
of $(1.10. We have already submitted t.o yeu the bilHngs fer
the Clerk .of Coul;'ta, a6me of which we have adVarlOed, Pl\t in any
event, ,wauld be inoluded as items' for costin this oase.
I have with me a oopy Of the bUling whioh was
oomputed as of Deoember 2, 1981, which I Will have 'marked as
,
Plaintiff's Exhibit 21, being a oopy of the same bill Whioh
Isen\: te Attorney W.olfson on .or abeut the 2nd Of Oeoember.
The billings whioh have beensubmi Hed did net
include any ,.of the time; \~hioh was oonsumed prier t.o ,the matter
,of reoeiving the inoampetenoy petition and cur initiaticn of
servioes in that regard.
In cur judgment, all .of the work which was done
was neoessary in .order tc properly proteot Mrsj Peterman, after
,a meeting with her, deter~ining and ~atisfying .ourselves aste
-54-
Q When it waa propared,how long iti took?
'A Yesi air.
o What is your apeoificreoollelJtibn with regar.d
with meeting with ?lientB to revJ.ew the petition to dismiss?
When was that? HoW long did i.t take?
A I spent an hour. wJ. th Mr.a. Peterml'\n. At the time
that she signed it I'\nd thcidate that she sighed it will be on the
Petition itaeH, whioh I think you will .find would have been a
TUesday. 'September 1st, ~ thl,nk, waa probably a Tuesday.
Q May I asaume, Mr. Snelbl'\ker, you have the same
billing polioy based on speoifio reoolleotion 1n re~ard to all
of your olients?
A Not neoesaari1y, Mr. Wolfeon.
o Well, Mr. Snelbaker, if 1'\ client oomes up to you
and saYs I Wl'\nt to know a speoHio breqkdown of el\aotlY whl'\t. yol.\
dld, how muoh time it took, et oeterl'\, you will say, wall, as, I
reoal1 it was on a saturday and was on this time or that time,
is that oorreot? Or do you show them ,the actual reoords that
you write down and say frol11 1100 to. 3100, on a Saturday I apent
on this petition?
A Mr. wolfson, we keep very aoourate timereoords
Ii
where we are engaged on a time basis. Where it is based upon a
speoifio hourly rate when we arG engaged, we have an honest policy
where allbf that is kept. \~e could give you exaot l11il1utes if
-62'"
ne'oeseary on thostll part:loulat' Hems. 'l'hia waa ,not sl,loh a oase.
This is in the nature of a quantum merJ.ttype of olaim., This
is~ased upon what is the fair value of our servioes. And we
attel11ptedt,o equate it, not to r.esults produoed or. efforts
exerted, but 'time OOnsl,lmed. Thet'efore, we wqnt baok and
teo9J1st.ruoted wh<\t Out exaot time W/,1B for eaoh of the items
for whioh we rendered servioes. We did not intend to bill
on an. hourly basis when we ent.~red thia matter, beoause we
were simply. engaged to go ahead, and defend the mattar.
Q If you weren't going to biLl on an hourly basis,
how were you going to bill? How did you intend to bill if your
original intentioti was not ~o bill on an hourly basis?
A Chanoes are we would have billed 'on that matter
at that rate, had WliJ be,en speoifioally engaged to do so. We
Were,siJ11plytold, to produoe a defenae.- to oarry forward a
defen/!lEl of Mrs. Petet"man. We did so to the best of O\.lr ,ability
with the resOurcaaavailable and the time involved. ~nd Wli did
so based 'upon a ohrOnolo<;lioal review' of the file and the time,
speoifioally. allooatel'l. to ,eaoh of the i terris.
o Mr. Snalbaker, you said that in your. offioe .you
have reoords that YOI,I oan identify to the se~ond, I believe, or
the minUtE!, I am sorry. But obviously, no records are produoed
in oourtthat Identi Ues to the minute in this matter. And then
your statement is that this was a quantum merit matter, Md that
.63~
.'')
you didn't bill hourly, and now you are billing hourly. Maybe
I don't underatand that, but why don't you olarify that?
A :r. think you do understand. Tlnd 1: think you are
tr~'ing to be pretent.toua wlth me about it, beoause Vlhat I am
saying very simply waa that we were not ongaged on an hourly
basia. We did not have a contr.act to be paid pet hour at a
.
given rate. We weru asked to do a job by a pereon'who is at thaI;
tim~ in extreme need of getting legal services. Tlnd-.
o Now, did you quote a figure .-
A Let me finish. We hatl no idea what We were <;letting
into. We had had oonversatiol1s. lVe'had had problems in the past,
as you know, from our oorteapondenoe. We had no idea where we
were headed until after the matter got into the aotual filing
of the petition. And WI;! began to realize that this lady was
going to need services.
We are entitled .in my judgment to the fair value
oJ! the servioes that were rendered. In an effort to try and
determine what, the fair value of those service,S are or is,' I
have attempted to determine the amount of time whioh was oonsUmed
in rend~ring those services.
Now, if I were bqingasked as to what the value
of those servioes might be independent of my time, you might be
shooked by what we might say would bEi that value as r.endered to
Mrs. Peterman, based simply upon efforts, results and other
-64-
'~ ~
THm COURT, I will aireot then that oounsel prepare
stloha dooument IInd submit after, the proceedin~Js have been oonoluded.
Mr. Snelbaker, YOl.\r next witness.
MR. SNIilLI3AKIilR, I would :Uke to have tile oourt take
notioe, if you will please, of the'reoor.d in this oaae. 'I know
that this is probably not necossary, but I would like to have it
on the reoord at this point. 'rhat q pe~ition for the appointment
of a physioian was submitted on behalf of William J, Petorman to
this oourt through Mr. Wolfson's office on Dr. about August 5, 1981,
based upon a letter from Mr. Wolfson to tho Clerk of Courts.
That a seoond oommunioation with the court .- 'or
the second communioation to the court, dated August 10, 1981, fr.om
Mr. WOlfson, noting a oopy only to Mr.. Peterman, IHlliam Peterman,
reoommending the appointment of Dr. Robert Stahl of Mechanioaburg
to be the physioian to examine Mrs. Peterman, apparently in regard
to' the, earlier motion or petition. ~ndl:his court' a order of
Septomber, 25, 1981, refusing the examination request.
THE COURTI All of those things are part of the
reoord. I can certainly take notice of them.
MR. WOLFSON, The last and finaldool,lment that I
would submit is the dooument to which Mr. Wolfson made r,eference,
whioh is tho report of Dr. Sohneider,' dated August 21, 1981. The
original of which I have here.
TilE COURT' I do not think the report of Dr. Schneider
-67~
f+-~"
,
A No. Thia WB/il long be fore thi's it was goj,ng on.
Q Now, specifioally, Mr. Peterman, whli'n did your
mother make the decision or decide tei oome and live wj.th you?
A Well, about: u lt was from April until' Septembar,
after, my dad d.ted, that she was reallyln a bad state of mind.
"J: mean, she was really sick.
I'
MR. SNELBAKERI ! am going to objeot to the opinion
of mental state.
THE COURT 1 There again, ! think he ban say what
1'-. .,
speoifioallY the problems were.
BY MR; WOLFSON,
Q Speoifical1y, what was ~he problem?
A Well, she had trol\plewith things getting out of toe
house anc.'l stuff over there. And, well, she just oouldn't cope with
it.. Soon ,the Satul;'day that we went over there, we took her over
to IIi 11 's shopping. And when we oome baok, why she askec.'ltny wife
whether she oould OOl11e over and live with us. And 'she wM telling
my wife all this.' But ! didn't hear. all of it until we ~ot home.
Q The Saturday you went over there, now, what saturday
was it and what month Wa~ it, approximately? You don't haVe to
giVe the exact time?
A It was ]Jabor Day weekend.
o Now, you talkElc.'l about,her'mental state, Mr. PetElrman.
..71-
r"~
....'"
A Right, 213 must Looust.
o And in observing this house , you indioated that
"
food ..:.- there waa no food in the house, is that oorreot?
A
Q
A
0
A
Q
A.
0
A
Q
A
Q
your mother
That's corredt.
Where did you look to see if tharewas food?
Ybu aay when did I "look?
No, where did you lbbk?,
We~l, we looked around in the oupboards.
What did you' aee when you looked in the oupboar.ds?
Nothing.
Did you look in the refrigerator?
Nothing.
Did you look in the fr.ee2er?
Nothing.
Did Mrs. Peterman at that time tell yo~why she had.~
, '
tell you Why she had no food in the house? Did' she.
fu~ke a statement to you?
A Yes.
0 What did she Sf\Y?
A I3he said it was took out.
Q Did ahe say who took it out?
A Yes.
0 Who did she say took it out?
A Joseph Owens and his wife.
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~o_..
,
Q We don I t wan\; to know whul~sl1G sald. Why dld you
taka her home is mY question, booul,Ise of: t.he llJ:gument:, 18 that,
,
it?
A Yeli\.
Q Now, you took hor to phy1Ua Dlilhart's (phonetlo)
hoUli\ei i~ that oorreot?
Right.
Wh$rti does Phyll1a Dehart live?
She lives out in Meohaniosburg.
She lives on Konhaua Road in Sllver Spdl)9 Townshlp,
A
0
A
Q
i~ that right?
A
Q
A
0
A
, '
In there somewheb~. I a.in! t aoquainted oVer there.
Did you take her there?
, Yes, I did.
What' did you take with her when you' took her, thera?
Well, a11 she had was a sorub buoket. And she had
13\\t first of all, I went for
detergent in the' buoket and her dog.
I;jrooet;ief\' that night.
Q I am jl,l$t aSkihg you what did you take with your
mother when YOI,l took her to Phyllj,s Dehart's?
A That was it.
Q Did you take !lny o'lothi ng for her?,
A No, but I d1d later.
Q Did you take any of her furniture?
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iiIIIlI
. ,....
llanovel! I Pennsy lval1ia, And that the 11Umbl'lt:' of. that aOfJ,Clunt J.s
5"01520-2?
A That'a ,right.
o Am r also ootreot that you hold soma personal
'property that belongll to your mother?
,A That's not true.
o 00 you have anything that ,belongs to her other
than t~at money?
A Well, I have her furni ture over there, if that's
wh!\t yo\.! mean.
Q That's what I meant.
Yeah.
00 you krow your mother has been living ather ,home
A
Q
s;l.noe Apri 1 of.
A
0
" A
0
A
0
"
l~Bl, right?
And that's not trl,le.
Where 'was, ahe living?
She was living with Joe and my aister there.
\~as shE! living there the entireti!\1e?
Ves, shewaa, until jUllt here late.
If I were to telL you tMt I phYllioal1y observed
her in her own home, woUld you d,eny that?
AVes, I would,beoause she had no furniture in the'
, ,
house. And there wouldn't be no way possible that she oouldhdv.
liveq there.
f,
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~
,.....,
o ':{ou went down there 'aometimo t1boul; J.abor Day.
When did you t.ake her to ' the dootol~?
A Well, J.t was a oouple days af.ter that. We had
to get he!;' an a~)pointment Bet up.
o After you took your. mother to your home, d.id you
ever take her to any dootOl~ other than Pro Z!ttle?
A No, we didn't.
Mn. SNmr.,aAKrnn I ,That's all I have. I have nO other
qUes~iona.
nEpIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. WOLFSON,
/.
Cl
Mr. Peterman, 'with regard to the two saVings accounts
that you testified to, one of whioh is -- I believe theY are both
. in the Farmera Bank and Trust?
A Right.
o One has approximately $2,00,0.0,0, and one has approxi-
mat!'lly $3'00.00 then, ia .that oorreot?
A Ye~.
Q HaVe you ever at anY time used, that money for your
own purposes?
A Never.
o When you obtained that money did you put that mOney
direotly into an interest-bearing savings account?
A The. .sal11e night I got the oheok~
"98-
',ii
~
f""\
but just what you observed, from \:he'timo you saw her. until tho.
period of,timo that. sha waa living with you~ parenta?
A r am not a doctor~ Prom what I observed ! oouldsee
ahe oould walk muoh better.. She was E;latllig better. lIer just whole
outlook WaS batter., aa far as her...
o "ow, you indicated that your parents, one of which
was your father wh9 juat testifi,ed, I;Ind your mother took your
grandmother shoppJ.ng. Did they take your grandmother any other
ptaoe other than shopping?
1\ They took her to sea relatl ves, took her to see
some of her r.elatives, sisters I guess ,it was.
o Do you whether .or not your family prov.i.ded her
medioal oare 'or saw to H that ahe got s6me medioal care?
A She got medioal attention as soon as they could
make arrangements for a dootor to see her.' Because the d~y she
came down, they called her fam.i.ly phys~oian and he wouldn't aocept
her.
o Mr."l?eterman, after a period of time -- and! dOn't
know ,if you can identi fy the time -- but was there a period when
the happineas that you described that your grandmother haQ or the
oompatibility that she seemed tb haVe with the family, was there
'a period of til11e when that changed?
A Yes. I oould see drastic ohanges in my mother.
It w/;\s around the time -- just'before she ieft.. maybe a month --
\;
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~
~'
aShtl;'aYS. There Was phone oa11s coming through to my grandmother.
NoW, wh~t was ~aing said, ~ don't know. But--
o ~sn' t it true, Mr. l?etermnn, that; you were one of
the, persona who wej:e tryi.l)g to get YOUt' grahdmothl3r ~o give up her.
home in Meohaniosburg?
11' That' a not true.
Q
Isn't it tr.u~ that it was your
that your. gl;'andmother
haC! a strong attaohment \:0 \:hat houaehnd wanted \:0 return to that
hOl,lse?
discuased \:.hal: before we
she made that deoi$ion.
she made that: deoision.
A Yes. She had an attaohment for that house. And we
disoussed about having publio ~ale~ And
In fact, we wai ted a period of time un,l:il
Ml'h SNElLBAKElR I
I am going to ask'that the ooaohing
,. "
from behind me be stopped, the people who ar~ baok \;herebe admonished.
TH/l: COU~TI Any more problems with that, ,we will olear
theoourtroom. And we will hear one witness at a,time.
By MR. SNElLBAKElRI
,
Q Isn,' t' it true that your grMdmother always exprsased '
a desire to retl,lrn to herli ttle hOUli\e in Meohaniosburg?
A For t.he firstsil< 1110ntha that she lived there, n,o.
.il
Q
After six months did she express a desire to return?
A After the phone oalls and pebple doming to, the hO~Se,
yes,.
-115-
from?
.....
1.....\
Q ~nc1 you don't know who thoy worD or wheru they wore
^ All I know is aha Baid they wore relativos. You
wil.l never know. 'rhat' 13 what she t.old us.
Did you ever tallt to your grandmother. about selling
0
her house?
A
0
A
to us that
the house.
0
A
0
to you?
A
0
Did I ever talk to hor?
Yes.
I have never talked to her direotly. She talked
in faot, she insisted that we get somebody to Boll
Did you do that?
No i. we didn't.
Did you ask your grandmother to transfer. the house
No, I didn'!:.
Now, going back to this Labor Day weekend. Do I
understand that you were p13r.sonal.ly present whenever your grandmother
was removed from. the houslil and you went down to your father's homa?
^ My father went over to get my grandl11other. And we
went over the fOllowing weekend to get her olothing and 'everythin'g
$lse.
o So you weren I t, there then to see whether there was
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~
some of their 'family I of which she 16 now lI\okLng similar allegationa
at the prasant.! think .it shuws the attlte of mind cf Mrs. Peterman.
"It ahows her inherent instability and some of the problema. The
direotibn of th.., talltimony :1.13 -- at lea$l; from the respondent IS
o~ a~#enaant's point of view ~-ia that at a time she was fine
and then all of a sudden her ontireperaonaHty ohanges or what
it appears to be at th1a point. We are not indioating that that,
reoora per se is truthful. We are simply inuicating the state
,
of milld of Mt.s. Peterman.
MR. SNELI31\I<ElRI I just heard testimony from a witness
,
that indioated that his grandmothet. was normal at this partioular
til11e ahd waa up thrctjgh a period of six montha, woulci have carried
sOl11stime into the month of Maroh of 1981. Sc her state of mind
at this point ,is oertainly irrl;lle\lant ,as to show, anYthing that
is short ,of normaloy.
MR. WOLFSON, I am not indioatingthat her state of
mind at the p",rtioular time that that was prepared is of oonoern.
It, was her state of mind with t'egard to what ahe thought bf' the
peopll;l in tj1efamily that she was living around prior to'thl;l time
that she got ,to the petermans I and prior to the time that aha got
to the home cf my olients, the Peterl11ans, 111Eaat BerHn.
On one ocoas:l.on, and it is oertainty the thrust
of our oase, on cne OOdlHllon she ohanges back and forth as to
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.
.
morning I. wOl,\ld go baok, I would hear it every morning.
.. was orying oonstantly. I oheoked on her eVery morning.
baok every morning wi th her before I went tb work.
BY MR. WO):;~'SON l,
Q f:lay it the wa~' sh13 said .l.t.
A GranQlna said the dirty bastard SneJ.baker ;\;8 trying
,to 'get it too. She said thay are all working together. EV13ry
She
I was
o Now, Mrs. peter.man, CIa you know whether meals
were provided for Larry's grandmother?
A Yes, I do.
THE COURT, Where?
BY MR. WOLFSON I
o At East Berlin. At East Berlin when she was living
in mast Berlin?
A Yes.
o Who made those meals?, Who provided those meals?
A Larry'a mother made her breakfast. And I would
go baok ,and get her, 1 unoh ready. AXld she .,had a full oooked
supper. Larry's mother made it when she oame hbl11e from work.
o How would you oharaoterize during the first three
or four months, you !mow, the mental attitude or even thephysioa1
oondition of Larry's grandmother when you saw her?
A When Gr,andmCl Hrst came over, she was siok.' But
.,
-12B-
.
.
\:0 hel; normal ,stf\go where ahe \lsed to be.
e Now, would yoU indioate how ahe aOted toward
the latter part of: the 1\prJ.l l~80 per,iod, rJ.~lht bef:qre lilhe
':moved out? What specdf:ioallY she did?
A Well, she waa there ,py her~elf. \:hrough the day, see.
Md she had a ooal firl1l at the time. So when my ~- after! woult:\
get off: of work, 1 would uaually always atop ther.e~. 1\nd 1 would
bring uP the ooal and stuff f:9> her, you knoW, and make sure she
had, enough ooal upstairs so she wouldn't have to walk the oellar
lil,j:.eps to bring it up, and stuff :like that.
o ~ow did ahe aot during that period of: time, toward
the latter pat't of: 19 _~ toward the MarOh, April period of 1980?
1\. Well, ever sinoe my father passed away, she is
never
aha is never the aame.
0 What apecLfioallY would she do?
A 1\11 kind of weird things. She was going to kill
herself and stuff like that, yo~ know; It is reallY sad.
';, '
Q NoW, did yoU hear her say that she was going to
kill herself?'
A yes, I did.
o When did she make that statem~nt?
1\ Shortly after my father passed away.
Q Did she make that statement while shl1l, was at the
l?eterl11an house?
~137-
"
.
.
needs?
A YeS, t was.
Q Nere you supportive of that petition?
A Yes, I was.
Q Would you indicate to the court why?
A Well, for the firat reason the r.e ia mental illness
in the fal11ily. And right off as soon as we, you know, liIhe waS
acting strange like this, why we figured it was f.orher own good.
o ' D~d you think -- did you have any personal knowledge
that she was able .to take oare of her own needs at that point?
Ana I am talking about the ppint of approdmately March, April
of 19,aO?
A No, ahe wl;I,an't.
0 \~hy do you say that?
A She just wasn't fit to.
0 Can you be specific?
A Well, for the first thing she had no way to get
her grooeries there, you kl\O\~, or anything like that, pay het'
~138"
.
.
dead for someti.me pefo,t'o that?
A That'a right.
o At ,least, what, six months, somqthing like that?
A I would say somewho,t'e in that vioinity.
o Just before r,abol:, Day, isn't it tr.ua that yoU1=' mother
had been in tha hospital?
;.,
A 'l'his I don't know.
Q Hadn't she been in for a oataraot operation?
A This I don't know.
Q Do you know'Dr. l<illmore, the ophthalmologist at
Meohaniosburg?
A No, I don't.
Q When waa the last time tnat you'saw your mother,
Mr. Peterman, before she moved down to your brother ~Iilliam's
house?
A It has been gui te somllltime.
o Was that --
A Well, I seen her herein the oourtroom last: time
we were up. That's it.
Q No, yo\.fmi.ssed my queation. Labor Day, 1980, she
moved to your bro~ger, William's house. Do you agree to that?
A Yeah.
Q When was the last time that you saw your mother pefore
that date?
-140-
.
.
o Whathappined t~e last of PebrMary of 'Pl?
11. She just got in weird moods, fUBS, and just: at:art"
about nothing at all.
Q \~hat are some of the things, if you oan be ver.y
speoific to the oourt, some of t,hethings that you J.ndioClted that
her behavior was different?
, A Well,! went in the door and I wouldn't be in there
five l11inutes *nd ahe would growl about her hairout. And I said,
well, Grandma, you oan get a hairout. You told me you were letting
your hair to wear in a bun. It was about things that didn't amount
to,nothing.
Q Now, did she ever do that pr.ior to this time? Did
IIhe ever make thoae' !3tatments to you before this time about her
hair?
A No.
Q Was there anything else that you did or,that she
did, I am sorry, that you though~ was unique or different?
A Well, she got up one night at about 1130 arid looked
in over my 'bed. And I thought I heard her. And I looked. Arid
here ahe was standing. And ! got up and light the light. Ana
I se.id,Grandma, what are you doing up. And she said, well, I
got to go to the bathroom, fully, dressed, bandanna on and evary~
thing. Ana my bathroom is downstairs. So I always took a chamber
buoket up ,for he): . 'BUt she orawled back in bed and never did go.
-144-
.
.
BY MR. SNELBAKERI
o Were thel:e oan~ed goods there that day?
A I didn't look in the basement.
Q You knew that there Was frozen foo~ in the freezer,
right?
A No, it wasn't.
Q You say there wasn't any in the freezer? Therewas
no frozen food in the freezer?
A The Owenses' thingA.
Q The question is ther~ were frozen food itema in the
freezer, oorreot?
A Do you m~an at Grandma's or Owenses'?
Q At Mrs. Sadie Peterman's house?
1\ Nell, at my plaoE) I don't use,other people's thingl3.
Now, there was food in, but it was the Owenses'. Grandma's food
was all took out and theirs put in. That'a the only ~ay loan
answer that question.
Q Did you see frozen food in the freezer in Sadie
Peterman's house on September -- the Labor Day weekend?
A I saw frozen stuff in, but it wasn't Grandma's.
Grandma's was took out. \'
0 You don't know that, do yoU?
A Yes, I know it.
a Did you see it?
..147..,
.
.
you know, thm oanning season and everything.
.0 Old any of it belonlj to Mrll. Peterman?
1\ Oh,. yes.
0 What .precisely occurred whenover William Peterman
and his family came to the house that day with regard to the food?
1\ Well, Pete camo -- well, first of all, Pete dame
over the day before.
Q Who is Pete?
A That's William.
o Is that William?
A Yeah. 'J'hat's William, I am sorry. . lIe came OVer,
and he said .that Sadie was going to go down to their home and
would I get her medication ready, which I did. I got three
envelopes with her medioation. So he left. 1\nd I guess it was
Labor Day he called me from her home, and he said .would. I come
over. So I went over right away. And he said, mom has ~omething
to tell you. And she said she was going to be moving .down with
him. AnCl I told her, that's fine. ' So then basically that's
about all that happened thalt day. But then the following weekend
Pete -- William and Cas they came up. And they sta.r.ted to clean --
they wanted to clean the freezers and refrigerator out. And that's
\
when Cas told me to take this stUff over home.
Q Is Cas Catherine?
A Catherine. 'rhe:re was a case of canned goods which
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