Webb v. Updike-Kennedy Co., Inc.

Webb, the complainant, was appointed administrator of the estate of William J. Roessler, deceased, by the surrogate of Mercer county. His bond was for $15,000. The sole beneficiary under the will predeceased Roessler. Roessler died intestate, possessed of little personal property and seized of considerable real estate; he was a builder and had a number of houses in the course of construction when he died. Webb assumed that the estate was solvent; it later turned out that debts far exceeded the personal estate. Webb thought, as so many laymen think, it was his duty as well to administer the…