Mayo v. Whedon
Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
ITuauing on an appeal by the exceptants from an order of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia sitting as a probate court, overruling exceptions to a report of a Special l\ 1 aster. The CoxntT in the opinion stated the facts as follows: The appellants, Amy X. Mayo, John L. Girdler, and ITclen Girdler, claim under the following clause of a will: “Seventh.
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ITuauing on an appeal by the exceptants from an order of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia sitting as a probate court, overruling exceptions to a report of a Special l\ 1 aster. The CoxntT in the opinion stated the facts as follows: The appellants, Amy X. Mayo, John L. Girdler, and ITclen Girdler, claim under the following clause of a will: “Seventh. I give, devise, and bequeath to Urn three children of my half brother, Samuel 'K. Girdler, now deceased, as follows: To Amy X. .Mayo, of Los Angeles, Cal., one railroad bond of the face value of one thousand ($1,000) dollars; to John…
1Opinion of the CourtChief Justice Smyth
We are invited to an examination of what constitutes specific, general, and demonstrative legacies; hut we must decline, because the doctrine of such legacies is resorted to only where the meaning of the testator is obscure, and that is not the, case here. If words taken according to their plain significance *140lead to no absurd consequences, they must be presumed to have been used in that sense. The necessity for judicial construction never arises until uncertainty is encountered. Benner v. Mauer, 133 Wis. 325—329, 113 N. W. 663; Burroughs v. Jamieson, 62 N. J. Eq. 651—655, 53 Atl. 688. About…
2Cases cited7 opinions
- Travers v. ReinhardtSupreme Court of the United States · 1907
- Village of Fort Edward v. . FishNew York Court of Appeals · 1898
- Benner v. MauerWisconsin Supreme Court · 1907
- Evans v. TillmanSupreme Court of South Carolina · 1893
- Olson v. TannerWisconsin Supreme Court · 1903
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3Cited by2 opinions
- Evans v. OckershausenCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · 1938
- Evans v. OckershausenCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · 1938