Succession of Welp

Citations

• 120 La. 56
• 44 So. 921
• 1907 La. LEXIS 606

Syllabus

<p>1. Appeal — Jurisdiction — Nature of Controversy — Amount.</p> <p>A husband applied to the court having jurisdiction over a succession to be recognized as: the legal representative of his wife (who had' there prima facie an interest greatly over $2,000) in lieu of an attorney of absent heirs who had been appointed to represent her in the settlement of the estate, and who had qualified and was-acting as such. Coupled with this application was a prayer to have the appointment of the-attorney of absent heirs set aside as having been improvidently made. The attorney of absent heirs having been ruled on the demand to show-cause why it should not be granted, resisted, maintaining the legality of his appointment, and asserting the value of his services. Assuming-the position of plaintiff in reconvention, he-prayed that he have judgment for $1,500 against the husband and his wife. The district court fixed his fee at $1,000, and gave judgment accordingly, and dismissed the husband’s petition.. The latter appealed to the Supreme Court. Counsel for the attorney of absent heirs moved to dismiss the appeal on the ground that the-only issue before the court was the reconven-tional demand made by him for a fee of $1,500.</p> <p>Held. that the motion to dismiss is not well founded. The issue between the parties was as-to the claim of the husband to be recognized as the representative of his wife and to be substituted for the attorney of absent heirs. The-dismissal of the husband’s petition entitled him to appeal to the Supreme Court. The defense-set up by the attorney of absent heirs and his= demand for a fee of $1,500 did not determine the appellate jurisdiction. It was a demand incidentally raised, and under the recent amendment to article 95 of the Constitution it followed •the jurisdiction of the main demand.</p> <p>[Ed. Note. — For cases in point, see Cent. Dig. vol. 2, Appeal and Error, § 179.]</p> <p>2. ABSENTEES — EXECUTOKS — ABSENT IÍEIB — Attorney — Appointment—Validit