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) IN THE COURT OF COMMON
) PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND
IN RE: ) COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
ESTHER E. CATTS )
) CIVIL ACTION- LAW
)
) ORPHANS COURT DIVISION
)
) NO. 21-13-0034
ANSWER TO PETITION FOR HEARING AND
REOUEST FOR ENLARGEMENT OF TIME
AND NOW comes Thomas W. Catts, by his attorney, Samuel L. Andes, and makes the
following Answer to Petitioner's Petition for Hearing and request an enlargement of time, based
upon the following:
1. Thomas W. Catts (hereinafter"Thomas") admits that Stephen W. Catts and Barbara
E. Rice, filed a Petition on or about 10 January 2013. He denies that the Petition was caused by
any"questionable"handling of the assets of Esther E. Catts.
2. Admitted.
3. Admitted.
4. Admitted. By way of further answer, however, Thomas incorporates herein,by
reference, the averments made in his New Matter.
HEARING REQUEST
5. The answers set forth above are incorporated herein.
6. Denied. Thomas left almost all of the financial records of his mother at the home
when he was summarily excluded from the house. Most of the financial records he created for
his mother were left at the house and are in the possession of Stephen and Barbara.
7. Denied as stated. Stephen and Barbara obta.ined copies of bank account sta.tements
for the accounts held for Esther Catts and later engaged an accountant to do a review of all of the
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, � .
records. Thomas denies, however, that they were compelled to "reconstruct the entire history of
several different accounts."
8. It is admitted that Stephen and Barbara had to obta.in some tax returns from the IRS
but,by way of further answer, Thomas states that he provided copies to them of the tax returns
in his possession.
9. Denied as stated. Thomas was able to remove some records from the house but the
vast majority of the fmancial records were left at the house and not removed by Thomas.
10. Denied as stated. The parties agreed, through their counsel,to engage the services
of a certified public accountant to review the various business transactions. That was done with
the consent of all parties.
11. It is admitted that the accountant's report included the information listed in this
paragraph but denied that that information, or the conclusions of the accountant, are accurate.
The accountant overlooked several transactions in which funds were moved from one account
but deposited into another. The accountant noted the removal of funds but failed to note their
redeposit into other accounts or their use to purchase financial investments.
12. Admitted.
13. Admitted. By way of further answer, Thomas incorporates herein,by reference,the
averments set out in his New Matter. �
14. By way of further answer, Thomas incorporates herein, by reference, the averments
set out in his New Matter.
15. Denied for the reasons set forth in Thomas' New Matter, which is incorporated
herein by reference.
WHEREFORE,Thomas prays this court to dismiss the Petition for Hearing or, in the
alternative, grant him additional time to prepare and file an accounting.
,
NEW MATTER
By way of further response to this Petition, Thomas sets forth the following New Matter:
16. The averments set forth in the foregoing Answer are incorporated herein by
reference.
17. Thomas has not been able to completely reconstruct the financial transactions he
undertook for his mother because many of the records, including cash receipts and the like, are
not available to him. Thomas believes those records were left at the home of Esther Catts and
are, therefore, or were, in the possession of Stephen and Barbara.
18. When Thomas received the report of the accountant hired by Stephen and Barbara,
he reviewed it and had difficulty understanding it. Notwithstanding that problem, he was able to
see several errors and defects in the report.
19. After meeting with his attorney, Thomas deternlined that the only way to respond
effectively to the report of the accountant retained by Stephen and Barbara was to obtain an
analysis of the matter from another accountant.
20. Thomas has engaged an accountant to review the report of the accountant used by
Stephen and Barbara and to assist him in preparing an accounting.
21. Because the accountant retained by Thomas is very busy with income tax season, it
is not possible for that accountant to finish his assignment and file an accounting by the date set
by the court, 15 Apri12014.
22. Thomas believes that, with an additional thirty(30) days, the accountant he has
retained will be able to properly review the report submitted by the accountant hired by Stephen
and Barbara and assist Thomas in preparing a response to that report and an accounting to the
court.
23. Without the additional time Thomas requests, he believes that he will not be able to
prepare and file a proper accounting with the court.
24. Stephen and Barbara will not be unreasonably prejudiced by waiting an additional
thirty(30) days to obtain the report of the accountant reta.ined by Thomas.
25. Prior orders in this matter have been entered by the Honorable Thomas A. Placey,
Judge.
26. R. Mark Thomas, Esquire, counsel for the Petitioners, does not concur in this request
for an enlargement of time.
WHEREFORE,Respondent Thomas W. Catts prays this court to extend the time for him
to file an accounting until 15 May 2014.
Samuel L. Andes
Attorney for Respondent
Supreme Court ID # 17225
525 North 12�` Street
P.O. Box 168
Lemoyne, PA 17043
(717) 761-5361
.
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that I served an original of the foregoing document upon counsel for the
Petitioners herein by regular mail,postage prepaid, addressed as follows:
R. Mark Thomas, Esquire
101 South Market Street
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
_
Date: 12 March 2014 �
y M. Harkins
Secretary for Samuel L. Andes