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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-16-09 (5)'APR ' ~ ~!?~`~ ~ IN RE: ESTATE OF ROBERT M. 1VIUMMA, deceased IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION NO. 21-86-398 ORDER AND NOW, this l ~ day of April, 2009, upon the recommendation of the Auditor in this case it is hereby ordered that the Emergency Motion to Compel Compliance with Court Order, :Motion for Disclosure of Warehoused Estate Files and Records and Motion for Sanctions filed by Robert M. Mumma, II, pro se, are hereby denied. ~ Joseph D. Buckley, Esquire, Auditor Clerk of Orphan's Court Robert M. Mumma, II George B. Faller, Jr., Esquire Brady Green, Esquire Ralph Jacobs, Esquire Linda Mumma Roth tl N ~ G O ..rte - r<. :T> ~.._ _ ,~ ~ -~ i _i,l C ~_, ~ ° :, aG ~. ~1 BY THE COURT IN RE: ESTATE OF ROBERT M. : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF MUMMA, deceased :CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION NO. 21-86-398 N © _ ~' ~ ,-~ AUDITOR'S INTERIM REPORT, Apri113, 2009 AND REQUEST FO~'ER~ - .'4 ~v~~: To the Honorable J. Wesley Oler, Jr.: ~~~`~ -4 ;~, ~ _. N ~ ..:; Your Honor has appointed me Auditor in the above captioned matter a~ chargec}~e -.~ with reviewing the existing file and a multitude of prehearing issues raised by the parties. A three clay hearing has been scheduled in this matter for April 21-23, 2009. Your Honor has issued various orders, the one relevant to the current Motions was issued February 26, 2009. On March 24, 2009, one of the Objectors, Robert M. Mumma, II (hereinafter "Mr. Mumma") filed An Emergency Motion to Compel Compliance with Court Order, a Motion for Disclosure of Warehoused Estate Files and Records and a Motion for Sanctions. On March 30, 2009, Your Honor issued Rule upon all interested parties to show cause why the relief requested by Mr. Mumma should or should not be granted. Your Honor's Rule was returnable within seven (7) days of your order. On April 6, 2009 Barabara McK. Mumma and Lisa M. Morgan, the executrices/trustees of the Estate of Robert A. Mumma, through counsel, filed an Answer to Mr. Mumma's Motions. Thereafter, on April 7, 2009, Mr. Mumma filed a Motion to Stay Auditor's Hearing scheduled for April 21-23, 2009 and on April 9. 2009, Your Honor issued a Rule upon all interested parties to show cause why the relief requested by Mr. Mumma should or should not be granted. Your Honor's Rule was returnable within seven (7) days of your order. No Answer has been filed to date. _,~ As Your Honor is aware, this matter has been pending for many years. Your Honor appointed the undersigned as Auditor and requested that the matter be moved to a conclusion as soon as scheduling permitted. On October 28, 2008 I did conduct apre-hearing conference to introduce myself, to review outstanding issues with the parties which included outstanding discovery matters. A transcript of that meeting was presented to Your Honor with my February '?009 interim report. As stated in my this former report and recommendation to Your Honor, I recommended that the Executrices/ Trustees provide Mr. Mumma with copies of certain corporate records over which they had control or which they had custody, and permit Mr. Mumma to review any and all warehoused estate files and records. Your Honor's Order dated February 26, 2009 did direct the executrices/trustees to provide "all corporate minutes, by-laws, stock ledgers, and any other official corporate record generated by and held in the custody of the corporate secretary for any corporation over which the Estate and/or Trust has control or which the Estate and/or Trust has custody ... within thirty (30) days of this order." (emphasis mine) Your Honor's Order also provided Mr. Mumma and others the `"opportunity to review any warehoused estate files and records ... from the date of this Order until thirty (30) days hence." (emphasis mine) Mr. Mumma claims that the Executrices/Trustees have failed to comply with your order and request sanctions be imposed for their failure. The Executrices/Trustees have previously made available to Mr. Mumma more than 90 boxes of files and records which are associated with their administration of the Estate and Testamentary Trusts. These records were accumulated and brought to a location in Philadelphia. In addition the accountant for the Estate, the Trusts and several of the associated companies made its records available at its Buffalo, New York office. Following the issuance of your February 2009 order, the Executrices made available an 2 additional five boxes of documents. The Executrices/Trustees answer that there are no other warehoused records which relate to their administration of the estate. Mr. Mumma claims that the order provides him the right to visit and review any warehoused files to determine whether all the estate/trust files or records have been provided. The Executrices/Trustees admit that there are additional records or files at various locations, but these are personal records or old corporate operational files which are beyond the scope of your order and also not relevant or incident to the administration of the Estate/Trusts. During the pre-hearing conference held in October 2008, Mr. Mumma advised the undersigned that he believed he was entitled to obtain and review every document which his father had possessed or produced in his personal and business life. (See Transcript Page 53, Lines 23-25, Page 54, Line 1). Mr. Mumma has initiated a civil action in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (Robert M. Mumma, II v. Bobali Corporation, et. al., No. 1:08-cv-1965) and in this action Mr. Mumma is seeking the former corporate operational files of current and former corporations in which Mr. Mumma may have or had an interest. Mr. Mumma believes that these files may lead him to evidence which may support the issues he has raised. The Executrices/Trustees have amassed approximately 100 boxes of documents for the C-bjectors, Mr. Mumma being one. Rather than grant Mr. Mumma access to warehoused files, the Executrices/Trustees have produced and had the same transported to a central location here in Pennsylvania in an apparent attempt to accommodate Mr. Mumma. During the pre-hearing conference and in my previous recommendation to Your Honor, the extent of files was unknown and assuming that the files may be too voluminous to copy and/or transport, I had recommended Ntr. Mumma be permitted to travel to the locations and review any estate file. However, because 3 the "warehoused estate files" are currently now centralized and were made available for review by the Objectors, Your Honor's Order has not been violated. Rather the Estate has made it easier for Mr. Mumma to review the requested records. He need only travel to one location. It appears that Mr. Mumma may be attempting to discover certain operational corporate records through a separate action in federal district court. If Mr. Mumma discovers evidence through that action which would change or support any of the issues he is raising in the matter before Your Honor, Mr. Mumma could, at a later time, seek to introduce such newly discovered information or evidence through the appropriate procedure. I recommend that if your Honor agrees with my recommendations, you enter an Order accordingly and I have attached a recommended order to accomplish the same. Respectfully submitted, supreme Court ID# 38444 1237 Holly Pike Carlisle, PA 17013 (717) 249-2448 JoeBLaw cr,aoLcom 4 ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF In Re: ROBERT M MUMMA, DECEASED CUMBERLAND COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA NO. 21-86-0398 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE OF ORDER ORDER DATE: 04-16-09 JUDGE'S INITIALS: JWO TIME STAMP DATE: 04-16-09 IN RE: ORDER SERVICE TO: JOSEPH BUCKLEY ESQ METHOD OF MAILING: ^ USPS ^ RRR ® HAND DELIVERED ^ OTHER MAILED: 04-17-09 SERVICE TO: ENVELOPES PROVIDED BY: ^ PETITIONER ^ JUDGE ® CLERK OF ORPHANS COURT METHOD OF MAILING: ^ USPS ^ RRR ^ HAND DELIVERED ^ OTHER MAILED: ENVELOPES PROVIDED BY: ^ PETITIONER ^ JUDGE ^ CLERK OF ORPHANS COURT Depu Clerk of Orphans' Court ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF In Re: ESTATE OF ROBERT M UMMA, DECEASED CUMBERLAND COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA NO. 21-86-0398 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE OF ORDER ORDER DATE: 4/16/09 JUDGE'S INITIALS: JWO TIME STAMP DATE: 04/16/09 IN RE: ORDER SERVICE TO: ROBERT M MUMMA II (3) RALPH JACOBS GEORGE B FALLER JR LINDA MUMMA ROTH BRADY GREEN METHOD OF MAILING: ENVELOPES PROVIDED BY: ® LISPS ^ RRR ^ HAND DELIVERED ^ OTHER MAILED: 4/ 17/09 SERVICE TO: ^ PETITIONER ^ JUDGE ® CLERK OF ORPHANS COURT METHOD OF MAILING: ^ LISPS ^ RRR ^ HAND DELIVERED ^ OTHER MAILED: ENVELOPES PROVIDED BY: ^ PETITIONER ^ JUDGE ^ CLERK OF ORPHANS COURT ~~~ Deputy Clerk of Orphans' Court