HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-27-12~FCa~r~~~ ~~~;~
Ronald L. Finck, Esquire
Sup. Ct. I.D. No. 89985
METTE, EVANS & WOODSIDE
3401 North Front Street
P.O. Box 5950
Harrisburg, PA 17110-0950
(717) 232-5000
rlfinck@mette.com
1N RE:
WILLIAM I. EVANS WILL
DANNY B. EVANS,
Petitioner
v.
IRMA DAVENPORT,
Respondent
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1N THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION
ORPHANS' COURT N0.21-08-0979
CONCISE STATEMENT OF MATTERS
COMPLAINED OF ON APPEAL
The Appellant, Danny B. Evans ("Appellant") files this Concise Statement of Matters
Complained of on Appeal, as follows:
1. This matter arises out of the Court's Orders dated September 30, 2011 and
December 6, 2011 in which the Court dismissed the Petitioner's Appeal from Decree of Probate
without an opinion. The basis for the dismissal is not readily discernable and therefore this
concise statement of matters complained of on appeal is filed in general terms as contemplated
by Pa. R.C.P. No. 1925(b)(4)(vi).
2. The Decedent, William I. Evans ("Decedent"), died on September 26, 2008 and
on October 1, 2008, Appellee, Irma Davenport ("Appellee"), the Decedent's sister, filed a
Petition for Probate of a Will dated April 17, 2006 (the "2006 Will").
3. Appellee is the sole beneficiary of the 2006 Will.
4. The 2006 Will purports to revoke a prior Will created approximately eight (8)
months eazlier in which the Decedent left the entirety of his estate to his son, the Appellant.
5. By Decree dated October 1, 2008, the Register of Wills admitted the 2006 Will to
probate as the Last Will and Testament of the Decedent and Letters Testamentary were issued to
the Appellee.
6. After a series of hearings before the Honorable J. Wesley Oler, Jr. beginning on
Mazch 22, 2011 and concluding on September 29, 2011, the Court dismissed the Appellant's
Appeal from Decree of Probate.
7. The Court's refusal to grant Appellant's Appeal from Decree of Probate was in
error because the Appellee failed to establish her initial burden of proving that the formalities of
execution had been followed with respect to the execution of the 2006 Will.
8. The Court erred in denying Appellant's Appeal from Decree of Probate because
the evidence presented established that the Decedent lacked testamentary capacity.
9. The Court erred in denying Appellant's Appeal from Decree of Probate because
the evidence presented established that the 2006 Will was the product of undue influence
exercised by Appellee.
10. The Court erred in granting the Appellee's Motion to Amend her Pleadings after
the record was closed and after a Notice of Appeal was filed in violation of Pa. R.A.P. No. 1701.
11. The Court's Order permitting the Appellee to amend her pleadings by rescinding
admissions of fact after hearing is violative of the Appellant's due process of rights.
Respectfully submitted,
METTE, EVANS & WOODSIDE
Ronald L. Finck, Esquire
Sup, Ct. I.D. No. 89985
3401 North Front Street
P,O. Box 5950
Harrisburg, PA 17110-0950
(717) 232-5000 -Phone
(717) 236-1$16 -Fax
Date: January 26, 2012. Attorneys for Appellant, Danny B. Evans
PROOF OF SERVICE
I aver that I am this day serving a copy of the Appellant's Concise Statement of Matters
Complained of on Appeal in the above-captioned matter upon the following persons by
depositing a copy of same in the United States Mail at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with first-class
postage, prepaid, addressed as follows:
The Honorable Thomas A. Placey
Cumberland County Courthouse
One Courthouse Square
Cazlisle, PA 17013-3387
The Honorable J. Wesley Oler, Jr.
Cumberland County Courthouse
One Courthouse Square
Cazlisle, PA 17013-3387
Mazk Mateya, Esquire
Mateya Law Firm
55 West Church Avenue
Cazlisle, PA 17013
Attorney for Appellee,
Irma Davenport
Respectfully submitted,
METTE, EVANS &. WOODSIDE
Date: January 26, 2012
Ronald L. Finck, Esquire
Sup. Ct. I.D. No. 89985
3401 North Front Street
P.O. Box 5950
Harrisburg, PA 17110-0950
(717) 232-5000 -Phone
(717) 236-1816 -Fax
Attorneys for Appellant, Danny B. Evans
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