In re the Public Administrator of the County of New York

The sole issue raised by the bank on this appeal is whether the Surrogate’s Court has jurisdiction to compel the depository to pay the balance of the account to the administrator of its deceased depositor.

The bank has a right to decide whether it will insist on compliance with the legal proprieties or act on the basis of business judgment. “ Nevertheless, when the jurisdiction of an important court is the main issue, our duty is plain. The public interest and the interest of jurisprudence might be endangered by permitting this issue to go unchallenged ’ ’ (Matter of Miller, 257 N. Y. 349,…