Estate of Williams Appeal of: Hawkins

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
ESTATE OF ASHLYN V. WILLIAMS, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
DECEASED PENNSYLVANIA
APPEAL OF: ROBERT HAWKINS AND No. 165 EDA 2013
ASHLYN V. SAUNDERS-HAWKINS, III
Appeal from the Order entered December 11, 2012,
in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Orphans’
Court, at No(s): 372 AP of 2010
BEFORE: GANTMAN, WECHT, and JENKINS, JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY JENKINS, J.: FILED NOVEMBER 17, 2014
Appellants Robert Hawkins (“Robert”) and Ashlyn V. Saunders-
Hawkins, III (“Ashlyn”) (collectively “Appellants”) appeal pro se from the
December 11, 2012 order of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia
County, Orphans’ Court Division, denying their request for damages as
averred in their Emergency Motion for Extraordinary Relief. After careful
review, we affirm.
This matter is the continuation of a protracted underlying dispute
between Roxanne Lloyd (“Roxanne”) and Appellants. Ashlyn is Roxanne’s
sister, and Robert is Ashlyn’s husband and Roxanne’s brother-in-law. While
the underlying matter involves multiple claims of wrongdoing in the probate
of Ashlyn and Roxanne’s mother’s will, the instant appeal involves only the
value of personal property Ashlyn claims she left in real property granted to
Roxanne by their mother’s will.
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We summarize the factual and procedural histories of the matter as
follows. Ashlyn Williams (“Decedent”), Roxanne’s and Ashlyn’s mother,
passed away on May 30, 2009. Decedent’s will, executed on May 12, 2009,
left her entire estate to Roxanne and appointed Roxanne as executrix.
When Decedent died, the Estate consisted of no personal property but three
pieces of real property in West Philadelphia, two of which were contiguous.1
Ashlyn resided in the contiguous properties.2
In February 2010, Roxanne offered the May 12, 2009 will for probate
with the Philadelphia County Register of Wills. On February 25, 2010, the
Register of Wills admitted the will to probate and granted Roxanne letters
testamentary. Ashlyn unsuccessfully challenged the probate of the will.3
1
1217 Greylock Street, 600 South 51st Street, and 602 South 51st Street.
2
600-602 South 51st Street.
3
Ashlyn filed an appeal from the decree of probate and a “Petition To
Revoke The Grant Of Letters Of Administration, And For An Accounting Of All
Activity Related To The Estate” (“Petition to Revoke”) on March 8, 2010.
The Petition to Revoke alleged Decedent lacked testamentary capacity to
execute the will, and that the will was procured through undue influence
exerted by Roxanne. The trial court conducted a hearing on these claims on
April 28, 2011, and denied Ashlyn’s claims by decree filed on June 7, 2011.
After filing exceptions that the lower court denied, Ashlyn appealed to this
Court, which dismissed the appeal based on Ashlyn’s complete failure to
comply with the briefing/reproduced record requirements outlined in the
Rules. See Estate of Ashlyn V. Williams, Deceased, Appeal of: Ashlyn
V. Saunders-Hawkins, III, 2953 EDA 2011 (unpublished memorandum).
The instant case is not, however, an appeal of the lower court’s rulings
regarding the validity of the will or the distributions thereunder. Instead, it
is an appeal from a collateral ruling concerning personal property in one of
the properties acquired by Roxanne under the terms of the will, as discussed
infra.
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Meanwhile, the estate deeded the real property to Roxanne, and
Roxanne began eviction proceedings against Ashlyn and the other occupants
of the properties.4 Following a hearing on May 12, 2010, the Philadelphia
Municipal Court entered a judgment against Ashlyn and all occupants of 600-
602 South 51st Street. Ashlyn was evicted from the premises on August 5,
2010.
Following the eviction, Ashlyn filed a Petition to Restore Possession,
which the Municipal Court denied following a hearing on August 13, 2010.5
The Municipal Court ordered Ashlyn to remove her property from the
premises on August 14th and 15th, 2010, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5
p.m.
On May 26, 2011, Ashlyn filed a motion entitled “Emergency Motion
For Extraordinary Relief” (“Emergency Motion”) alleging that Roxanne had
violated the court’s August 13, 2010 order that allowed Ashlyn to enter and
take her personal possessions from 600-602 South 51st Streets following her
eviction. The Emergency Motion alleged Roxanne had stolen all of Ashlyn’s
4
Ashlyn filed a pro se petition for an injunction to prevent Roxanne from
taking any action with regard to the premises, including selling, collecting
rents, and/or evicting tenants. After a hearing, the Orphans’ Court denied
Ashlyn’s request for an injunction on April 15, 2010.
5
After the hearing on the Petition to Restore Possession, also on August 13,
2010, Roxanne obtained a temporary Protection From Abuse order against
Ashlyn in the Family Court Division of the Philadelphia County Court of
Common Pleas.
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personal property contained within the property, including appliances,
jewelry, heirlooms, furniture, clothing, and tools and equipment used in the
conduct of her business. Roxanne did not file an answer to the Emergency
Motion, and the trial court entered judgment against Roxanne on May 26,
2011.
On July 27, 2012, the Orphans’ Court held a damages hearing on the
judgment entered against Roxanne. At that hearing, Ashlyn claimed
Roxanne stole appliances, machines, and tools that Ashlyn and Robert
intended to use for a business. Ashlyn estimated the value of these missing
items/tools/etc. at somewhere between $75,000 and $500,000 but provided
no documentation, receipts, or other proofs to substantiate her estimate.
The court denied Ashlyn any damages by order dated December 11,
2012. The court later explained:
Upon consideration of the Record made at the Hearing held on
June 27, 2012, I found that Ashlyn was not a credible or
convincing witness; that I could not make an award of damages,
for loss of personal property, without engaging in sheer
speculation, guesswork, and conjecture; and, that, under the
circumstances in this case, the conduct of Roxanne was not
outrageous.
1925(a) Opinion, p. 20. Appellants timely appealed.
Appellants raise the following claim for review:
Did not the lower court err in refusing to hear any evidence of
testimony regarding the state of New Jersey, considering the fact
that the will was produced, procured, and initially probated in
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the State of New Jersey, and it was unequivacally [sic] proven
that Mrs. Lloyd perjured herself in her initial filing there?
Appellants’ Brief, p. 2 (all caps removed, page number supplied). In
essence, Appellants present a question regarding the trial court’s
determination as to the admission of certain evidence. They claim the court
erred by failing to admit evidence regarding their allegations of Roxanne’s
wrongful effort to probate Decedent’s will in New Jersey prior to probating it
in Pennsylvania. They are incorrect.
“[T]he admission of evidence is within the sound discretion of the trial
court and will be reversed only upon a showing that the trial court clearly
abused its discretion.” Smith v. Morrison, 47 A.3d 131, 137
(Pa.Super.2012).
Admissibility depends on relevance and probative value.
Evidence is relevant if it logically tends to establish a material
fact in the case, tends to make a fact at issue more or less
probable or supports a reasonable inference or presumption
regarding a material fact. Evidence, even if relevant, may be
excluded if its probative value is outweighed by the potential
prejudice.
Id.; see also Commonwealth v. Minerd, 752 A.2d 225, 230 (Pa.2000)
(“Evidence is relevant if it logically tends to establish a material fact in the
case, tends to make a fact at issue more or less probable, or supports a
reasonable inference or presumption regarding the existence of a material
fact.”).
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Here, the sole issue at the damages hearing was to determine the
value of the property Appellants claimed Roxanne stole. Any evidence
regarding Roxanne’s alleged misdeeds attempting to probate the will in New
Jersey was completely irrelevant to the single damages issue before the
court and was properly precluded as irrelevant. See Smith, supra.In fact, Appellants put forth no evidence whatsoever to support their
claims that Roxanne retained property valued at between $75,000 and
$500,000. As the trial court explained:
Ashlyn and Robert[] produced no receipts or appraisal[s]
to support the values which they placed on their lost personal
property. They made no insurance claims for their losses. I
could only engage in sheer speculation, guesswork and
conjecture to make an award of damages for the loss of tools
and equipment which have been used in a business conducted
by disabled persons who receive Social Security Disability
Benefits but did not file income tax returns to report their
receipts from the business. I could only engage in sheer
speculation, guesswork and conjecture to make an award of
damages for the loss of heirlooms, furniture, jewelry, appliances,
clothing, shoes and other property lost by Ashlyn and Robert. I
was not convinced by Ashlyn’s testimony[6] as to [the] value [of
6
The trial court assessed Ashlyn’s testimony thusly:
Ashlyn was highly agitated, screaming, ranting and raving, in a
manner bordering on hysteria, during much of her time on the
witness stand at the [h]earing on June 27, 2012. As a finder of
fact, I found Ashlyn was not a credible or convincing witness
because her observations, recollections and testimony were
clearly influenced by her palpable antipathy for Roxanne. Ashlyn
sees Roxanne as a liar and a criminal who must be punished for
victimizing Ashlyn. The testimony of Ashlyn’s [d]aughter, as
(footnote continued on following page)
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the property,] which was based on trips to Home Depot and a
[j]ewelry [s]tore to gaze at the items on display. I could only
engage in sheer speculation, guesswork and conjecture to make
an award of [d]amages for the loss of the ashes of Robert’s
mother.
Upon consideration of the [r]ecord made at the [h]earing
held on June 27, 2012, I held that I could not make an award of
damages, for loss of personal property, without engaging in
sheer speculation, guesswork and conjecture.
1925(a) Opinion, pp. 22-23.
Simply put, Appellants failed to put forth any credible evidence to
support their claims of loss at the damages hearing. Any testimony about
alleged misdeeds in prior New Jersey probate proceedings would not have
changed this fact. Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by
excluding this irrelevant evidence.
Order affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 11/17/2014
well as Ashlyn’s own demeanor on the witness stand, convinced
me that Ashlyn and Roxanne cannot be in the same room
without some dispute erupting.
1925(a) Opinion, pp. 20-21.
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