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Home My WebLink About06-26-08~\ F:\FILES\ClientsU~fumma 5844.1 (estaze) 8747 (Kim)~5844.1.Mumma Fstate\5844.1.motion to compel addresses.doc (seorge B. Faller, Jr., Esquire LD. No. 49813 No V. Otto, III, Esquire LD. No. 27763 MARTSON DEARDORFF WILLIAMS OTTO GILROY & FALLER MARTSON LAW OFFICES 10 East High Street Carlisle, PA 17013 (717) 243-3341 Attorneys for Barbara McK. Mumma and Lisa M. Morgan t'-. l~ ~ c~ .~ . _ _, r--. . 1-7._ f V ~~ c-, ~~_ i` =., ~ IN RE: Estate of Robert M. Mumma, Deceased. : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA NO. 21-86-398 ORPHANS' COURT DNISION MOTION OF BARBARA McK. MUMMA AND LISA M. MORGAN TO COMPEL DISCLOSURE Barbara McK. Mumma and Lisa M. Morgan move as follows for an order compelling compliance by Robert M. Mumma, II with the Auditor's request for information regarding Mr. Mumma, II's children: 1. A qualified disclaimer of Mr. Mumma, II's interest under Robert M. Mumma's wi3.1 was filed with the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County, Orphans' Court Division on 3anuary 12, 1987. 2. Mr. Mumma, II subsequently filed a petition to revoke his disclaimer, and President Judge Sheely ruled on November 17, 1989 that Mr. Mumma, II could revoke his disclaimer over the objection of Robert M. Frey, who had been appointed guardian ad litem of 1 Mr. Mumma, II's children. Judge Sheely entered a final order on March 21, 1991, and overruled Mr. Frey's exceptions to that final order on July 21, 1993. 3. The Superior Court dismissed Mr. Frey's appeal on July 18, 1994 because he "lack[ed] standing to appeal the decision to revoke [Mr. Mumma, II]'s disclaimer." 4. The effect of the Superior Court's July 18, 1994 decision was to render the proceedings before Judge Sheely, insofar as they would bind or foreclose later challenge by Mr. Mumma, II's children, a nullity. 5. The Auditor has recognized that the validity of Mr. Mumma, II's attempt to revoke his disclaimer is a significant unresolved issue in these proceedings: Since our last meeting I have also received a letter from counsel for the ExecutriceslTrustees regarding the revocation of the disclaimer by Robert M. Mumma, II. I believe there is support for their concern that the validity of the revocation has not been finally litigated. Letter of Taylor P. Andrews, Esquire, September 26, 2005. 6. Similarly, the Superior Court has recognized the significance of the revocation issue: We note that there is some dispute over whether [Mr. Mumma, II] actually possesses a legitimate property interest in decedent's Estate. As the trial court noted, one threshold question is whether [Mr. Mumma, II] remains a beneficiary in light of his January 6, 1987 filing of an irrevocable disclaimer of his interest under the dededent's will. Irr. re Estate of Robert M. Mumma, No. 856 MDA 2005, Memorandum at 12 n.l (Pa. Super. Mar. 7, 2006). 7. In light of the significance of the issue, the Auditor "ask[ed] that Mr. Mumma provide me with the name, address, and birth date of each of his children." See Exhibit "A." 2 8. To date, Mr. Mumma, II has not complied with the request of the Auditor nor has he offered any explanation for his failure to do so. WHEREFORE, Mrs. Mumma and Mrs. Morgan request that the Court enter an order requiring that Mr. Mumma, II provide to the Auditor the names, addresses and birthdates of each of his children within ten (10} days. Respectfully submitted, By: ~ George .Faller, ., Esquire I.D. No. 49813 No V. Otto, III, Esquire I.D. No. 27763 MARTSON DEARDORFF WILLIAMS OTTO GILROY & FALLER MARTSON LAW OFFICES 10 East High Street Carlisle, PA 17013 (717} 243-3341 Brady L. Green, Esquire MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP 1701 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19103-2921 (215) 963-5079 Date: June 25, 2008 Attorneys for the Estate and Executrices 3 ANDREWS & JOHNSON Attorneys at Law 78 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, PA 17013-3216 TAYLOR P. ANDREWS RONALD E. JOHNSON September 26, 2005 No V. Otto, III, Esquire 10 East High Street Carlisle, PA 17013 Joseph A. O'Connor, Jr., Esquire and Brady L. Green, Esquire 1701 Mazket Street Philadelphia, PA 17103-2921 RE: Estate of Robert M. Mumma -Auditor proceedings Discovery and Disclaimer issue Gentlemen: Telephone (717) 243-0123 Telefax (717) 243-0061 Robert M. Mumma II P.O. Box 58 Bowmansdale, PA 17008 Ralph A. Jacobs, Esquire 215 South Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 This letter is to follow up on the conference that was scheduled but not conducted in my office on September 21, 2005. The conference was scheduled when we last met on May 13, 2005. Unfortunately, I did not confirm the date in writing after our conference. Therefore, though all other counsel appeazed, I do not fault Mr. Mumma for not having this on his calendar. Due to the events that have transpired since our last conference, and the discovery that has or has not taken place since the discovery order of May 19, 2005, I intended to use the scheduled conference to review the status of discovery and to make directions so that necessary discovery could take place before a hearing was scheduled. I will recite in this letter the status of discovery as I understand it, and I will also express my directions regarding further discovery. I will seek an order from Judge Oler for the directions, but I suggest that efforts begin immediately to comply with my directions so that the time schedule may be complied with. On June 13, 2005 Mr. Mumma filed a 67 page document seeking discovery. This was apparently a compilation of many prior requests as well as a fresh request. This was not in common form. Exhibit "A" Letter to Counsel September 26, 2005 Page 2 On July 13, 2005 counsel for the Executrices/Trustees filed a written 9 page response to Mr. Mumma's discovery filing. The response had an attached 2 page schedule that purported to list the discovery that had been provided to Robert M. Mumma II in other litigation. Objections to Mr. Mumma's discovery were expressed in general terms rather in response to specific requests. Furthermore, the schedule of past discovery from other litigation did not give sufficient information about the past discovery for me to determine whether the discovery met the requests of Mr. Mumma. This response also listed [on page 3] numerous documents that would be made available to Mr. Mumma. By letter dated July 28, 2005, counsel for the Executrices/Trustees gave notice that the documents that were being made available for discovery were collected at the Philadelphia office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. Instructions were provided as to how the documents could be inspected and how copies could be requested. The contents of these materials were not described with specificity so I cannot determine the extent to which the items available for inspection and copying meet the requests of Mr. Mumma. In late August Mr. Mumma sent me a three page Brief In Support Of The Requested Discovery. Like the objections that had been expressed in general terms, Mr. Mumma expressed his entitlement to discovery in general terms. Unfortunately, the filings by all parties to this point make it impossible to determine what has and what has not been provided, what is or is not objected to, or what is or is not existing. This means that further work is needed in this discovery process. Though Mr. Mumma's filing may have been in uncommon form, it could be broken down into its parts and each part responded to with the requested discovery or an objection that was specific to the request. I enclose my own breakdown of Mr. Mumma's discovery request into particular and specific requests. Counsel for the Executrices/Trustees may use this or their own analysis, provided that they make specific responses to the specific requests. If the response is that the requested discovery has been previously provided, there should be information as to when and in what context the prior delivery occurred. Letter to Counsel September 26, 2005 Page 3 The response described above on behalf of the ExectriceslTrustees shall be filed with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court before November 7, 2005 with copies to all counsel. Each objection shall be supported by legal authority. All discovery that is made available shall be made available by November 7, 2005 and shall be inspected and copied by December 12, 2005. Mr. Mumma's response to the discovery objections shall be filed with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court by December 12, 2005 with copies to all counsel. The response shall be specific to each objection, and shall include legal authorities. Since our last meeting I have also received a letter from counsel for the ExecutriceslTrustees regarding the revocation of the disclaimer by Robert M. Mumma II. I believe there is support for their concern that the validity of the revocation has not been finally litigated. I will be evaluating this further. In the meantime, I ask that Mr. Mumma provide me with the name, address, and birth date of each of his children. I am also interested to know if there should be an agreement by all that it would be desirable to have a final review of this issue before a final adjudication in this audit. I am very hopeful that we can complete the needed discovery by the end of the year, and that we can meet again in January to plan for hearings. Very J P. Andrews, Esq., Auditor TPA as Encl. cc: Lion. J. Wesley Oler, Jr. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Melissa A. Scholly, an authorized agent of Martson Law Offices hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing Motion of Barbara McK. Mumma and Lisa M. Morgan to Compel Disclosure was served this date by depositing same in the Post Office at Carlisle, PA, first class mail, postage prepaid, addressed as follows: Mr. Robert M. Mumma, II Box 58 Bowmansdale, PA 17008 Mr. Robert M. Mumma, II 6880 S.E. Harbor Circle Stuart, FL 34996-1968 Mr. Robert M. Mumma, II 840 Market Street, Suite 164 Lemoyne, PA 17043 Ralph A. Jacobs, Esquire JACOBS & SINGER, LLC 1515 Market Street, Suite 705 Philadelphia, PA 19102 (Attorney for Barbara Mann Mumma) Brady L. Green, Esquire MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP 1701 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19103-2921 (Attorney for Estate and Executrixes) Ms. Linda Mumma Roth P.O. Box 480 Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 Taylor P. Andrews, Esquire ANDREWS & JOHNSON 78 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, PA 17013 (Court-Appointed Auditor) MARTSON LAW FFI ES Bye- ~~~ ,~" Cam. ~ C~_~(1C Melissa A. Scholly J 10 East High Street Carlisle, PA 17013 Date: June 25, 2008 (717) 243-3341 4