The appeal concerned whether an action commenced by a trust company in its corporate capacity against itself in its representative capacity as executor and trustee of an estate was a nullity or merely an irregularity.
The majority held that while the trust company could not sue itself, the defect was procedural and was cured when the executors were removed and the Public Trustee was appointed in their place.
The Court further held that the doctrines of merger and retainer did not extinguish the trust company's unliquidated claims against the estate upon acceptance of probate or issuance of the writ.
The appeal was dismissed, with a dissent concluding that the writ was fundamentally void.
