HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-22-05
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
IN RE ESTATE OF
ROBERT M. MUMMA,
ORPHAN'S COURT DIVISION
Deceased.
No.: 21-86-398
MOTION TO COMPEL INSPECTION OF ALL BOOKS AND RECORDS
AND NOW comes Robert M. Mumma II, a beneficiary of The Estate of
Robert M. Mumma and an Objector to the accounting of The Estate, and'by and:
through his counsel files this Motion to Compel Discovery and in support there?f'
avers:
1. Robert M. Mumma died on April 12, 1986.
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2. Lisa M. Morgan and Barbara McK. Mumma were appointed as executrixes
of The Estate on June 5, 1986.
3. The Will for Robert M. Mumma made Lisa M. Morgan and Barbara McK.
Mumma the Trustees of two trusts created under the Will.
4. Robert M. Mumma II is a beneficiary of The Estate and of the two
testamentary trusts created under The Will of Robert M. Mumma.
5. In a letter dated April 4, 2005, attached as Exhibit A, Robert M. Mumma II
exercised his rights under Pennsylvania law to review all books and
records of the Estate and Trusts.
6. There is no question that Robert M. Mumma II has a right to review all
books and records of the Estate and Trusts. See Follansbee v. Gerlach,
56 Pa. D. & C. 4th 483 (Allegheny County 2002) (Stating that the attorney-
client privilege cannot be asserted by a trustee against a beneficiary when
the trustee sought legal advice in his or her fiduciary capacity regarding
trust administration.). See also In re Rosenblum, 459 Pa. 201, 328 A.2d
158 (1974) (beneficiary's right to inspect books is greater than the normal
right conferred by discovery due to the beneficiary's independent property
rights in the estate or trust.)
7. This doctrine established by these cases should apply equally to
executors of estates as they are in the same fiduciary position as trustees.
8. The Estate, Trusts, Executrixes, Trustees, and their counsel did not
respond and have not responded to the request for inspection.
9. The Estate, Trusts, Executrixes, Trustees, and their counsel have
essentially ignored the request for inspection.
WHEREFORE Robert M. Mumma II respectfully requests that this Honorable
Court Order the Estate, Trusts, Executrixes, and Trustees to comply with Robert
M. Mumma II's requests for discovery.
Respectfully Submitted,
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Robert M. Mumma II
Box 58
Bowmansdale, PA 17008
6880 SE Harbor Circle
Stuart, FL 34996
(717) 612-9720
Robert M. Mumma II
Box 58
Bowmansdale, PA 17008
April 4, 2005
Ivo V. Otto, III, Esquire
Martson Deardorff Williams & Otto
Ten East High Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
Re: Estate of Robert M. Mumma and the Trusts Under the Will of Robert
M. Mumma
Dear Mr. Otto:
I am hereby exercising my right to review records as a beneficiary of the
Estate of my father and as a beneficiary of the trusts created under his will.
Please make available for my inspection all books, records, memoranda, legal
opinions, legal research, files, and all other documents or items relating to the
Estate, the trusts, and any entities owned or controlled by the Estate or trusts.
Just so there is no miscommunication, I want to review everything, and I
believe that my status as a beneficiary entitles me to review absolutely
everything in the Estate and trusts.
Please contact me as soon as possible, so we can begin to schedule
when and where you will make the various items available to me. If you do not
intend to cooperate with this request, let me know immediately so I can file the
appropriate motions with the court.
Sincerely,
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Robert M. Mumma II
cc
Ralph A. Jacobs, Esquire
Brady L. Green, Esquire
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I served the above-captioned Motion
to Compel Inspection of All Books and Records upon all parties of record by
sending a true and correct copy of same via first-class, postage-prepaid, US Mail
to:
Ivo V. Otto, III, Esquire
Martson Deardorff Williams & Otto
Ten East High Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
Joseph A. O'Connor, Jr., Esquire
Brady L. Green, Esquire
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP
1701 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2921
Ralph A. Jacobs, Esquire
Ralph A. Jacobs & Associates LLC
215 S. Broad Street, 10th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
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