Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-30-11~ r.~ ~~r r l - ' d - tw._~ "~ ~-~CE O F F.\FILES`,Clients\7259 M & T'~.Trust\7259.8 Chapman Jones\7259.8.response ` " ~ ~' ~-~~--!J tr,. . .., ~ . flit '-~ ~1' ~ ~, i v` v No V. Otto III, Esquire ~' ,. I.D. No. 27763 ORP~LEi~rC CURT N-, Seth T. Mosebey, Esquire ~~~1~~SE~It:,,^~~n ~~, aA I.D. No. 203046 MARTSON DEARDORFF WILLIAMS OTTO GILROY & FALLER MARTSON LAW OFFICES 10 East High Street Carlisle, PA 17013 (717) 243-3341 IN RE: ESTATE OF IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF SARAH McCREA CHAPMAN JONES :CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA LATE OF LOWER MIFFLIN TWP., :ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PA., DECEASED, NO. 2009 - 329 RESPONSE TO PETITION FOR RULE TO SHOW CAUSE AND NOW, comes Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company by and through its attorneys, MARTSON LAW OFFICES, and hereby responds to the Petition for Rule to Show cause as follows: 1. Admitted. 2. Admitted. 3. Admitted, as more fully described in the Will attached as Exhibit "A" to the Petition for Rule to Show Cause. 4. Denied. The Will is a document which speaks for itself. Any inference attributed to the Will is denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure: 5. Denied. The Will is a document which speaks for itself. Any inference attributed to the Will is denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. 6. Admitted. 7. Denied, the Will is a document which speaks for itself. Any inference attributed to the Will is denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. By way of further answer, the children described in this paragraph only obtain their life estates in the Chapman Lodge either upon Alfred McCrea Chapman's death or upon a finding or determination that Alfred McCrea Chapman no longer had any need for it. 8. Admitted in part and denied in part. The Will is a document which speaks for itself. Any inference attributed to the Will is denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. It is admitted that M&T is the successor to Farmers Trust Company. 9. Admitted, as more fully described by the First and Final Account filed by M&T. 10. Admitted. 11. Denied. The Will is a document which speaks for itself. Any inference attributed to the Will is denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. 12. Denied. The Will is a document which speaks for itself. Any inference attributed to the Will is denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. 13. Denied. The Will is a document which speaks for itself. Any inference attributed to the Will is denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. 14. Denied. The Will is a document which speaks for itself. Any inference attributed to the Will is denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. 15. Denied. The Will is a document which speaks for itself. Any inference attributed to the Will is denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure and any legal inference is denied as a conclusion of law. 16. Denied. The Will is a document which speaks for itself. Any inference attributed to the Will is denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. 17. Admitted, with clarification. The First and Partial Account for the Chapman Lodge Trust covered the period from November 3, 1978, to May 27, 2009. 18. It is admitted that Petitioner believes that Alfred McCrea Chapman has not visited the Chapman Lodge and its adjacent land since his mother's death. It is also admitted that the Trustees paid real estate taxes for 2003, 2004, and 2005. With regard to the remainder of the Paragraph, M&T is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of this averment. 19. The First Codicil is a document which speaks for itself. Any legal inference attributed thereto is denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. 20. It is admitted that the Will and First Codicil were dated September 8, 1976, and that they were both drafted by John McCrea, III. The remainder of this paragraph is denied as the Will and First Codicil are documents which speak for themselves. 21. Denied. The correspondence dated February 11, 1988, from George L. Ebener is a document which speaks for itself. 22. Denied. The correspondence dated April 11, 1986, from Dennis C. Caverly, is a document which speaks for itself. 23. Denied. The correspondence from Henry L. Chapman dated April 7, 1989, is a document which speaks for itself. 24. Admitted. 25. Denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. 26. Denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. 27. Denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. 28. Denied. The correspondence from John McCrea, III, dated April 24, 2009, is a document which speaks for itself. 29. Admitted. 30. After reasonable investigation, M&T is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the averment and the same is therefore denied and strict proof demanded at trial. 31. After reasonable investigation, M&T is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the averment and the same is therefore denied and strict proof demanded at trial. 32. Admitted. 33. Admitted. 34. Denied. M&T acted reasonably with regard to the Charitable Remainder Trust investments and is not responsible for any local, national, or global economic recession which may have reduced the market value of the Trust. 35. Denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. 36. Denied. The correspondence from Jane F. Burke dated January 12, 2011, is a document which speaks for itself. 37. Admitted in part and denied in part. It is admitted that Alfred McCrea Chapman is a patient at Friends Hospital. The invoice from Friends Hospital is a document which speaks for itself and is therefore denied. 3 8. After reasonable investigation, M&T is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the averment and the same is therefore denied and strict proof demanded at trial. 39. After reasonable investigation, M&T is without information or knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the averment and the same is therefore denied and strict proof demanded at trial. 40 41. Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. WHEREFORE, Manufacturers & Traders Trust Company requests that this Honorable Court deny the Petition of Henry L. Chapman, Guardian of Alfred McCrea Chapman, Henry L. Chapman, Karen E. Chapman, and Katherine Chapman to pay the legitimate and court ordered expenses of the Guardian of Alfred M. Chapman from the Charitable Remainder Trust. MARTSON LAW OFFICES Denied. The 2000 year-end deficit summary is a document which speaks for itself. Denied as a conclusion of law to which no response is required under the By:. ,' No V. Otto III, Esquire I.D. No. 27763 Seth T. Mosebey, Esquire I.D. No. 203046 10 East High Street Carlisle, PA 17013 (717) 243-3341 Date: S/3 f )1 Attorneys for Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company VERIFICATION I, Jane F. Burke, V ice President, of Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, acknowledge I have the authority to execute this Verification on behalf of Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company and certify the foregoing Response to Petition is based upon information which has been gathered by my counsel in the preparation of the Response to Petition. The language of this Response to Petition is that of counsel and not my own. I have read the document and to the extent the Response to Petition is based upon information which I have given to my counsel, it is true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief. To the extent the content of the Petition is that of counsel, I have relied upon counsel in making this Verification. This statement and Verification are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. § 4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities, which provides that if I knowingly make false averments, I may be subject to criminal penalties. Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company By ~,.. ~LL J e F. Burke, Vice President Dated: ~~3~~~ CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Mary M. Price, an authorized agent for Martson Deardorff Williams Otto Gilroy & Faller, hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing Response to Petition was served this date by depositing same in the Post Office at Carlisle, PA, first class mail, postage prepaid, addressed as follows: Jeffrey R. Boswell, Esquire BOSWELL TINTNER & PICCOLA 315 North Front Street P.O. Box 741 Harrisburg, PA 17108 John McCrea, III P.O. Box 341 Newville, PA 17241 Michael T. Foerster, Esquire Office of the Attorney General Charitable Trusts & Organizations Section 14`" Floor -Strawberry Square Harrisburg, PA 17120 James D. Flower, Jr., Esquire FLOWER & FLOWER 10 West High Street Carlisle, PA 17013 Dana Scaduto, Esquire Dickinson College P.O. Box 1773 Carlisle, PA 17013 MARTSON LAW OFFICES By: ~ 1 ~ Ma rice Ten Eas igh Street Carlisle, PA 17013 (717) 243-3341 Dated: SJ/:3~1~