Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 4.djvu/625

 PABMBK3 NAT. BANK OF GBeENVILLE, 0., P. «ÏBEBN. 611 �between a plaintiff, as one of the number of distributees, and an executer, for an account, an account is had and confirmed by the court, it would, as a matter of course, bind ail the leg- atees or distributees, and no one could afterwards bring a suit, and ask to bave an accounting in bis own favor, upon the ground that he was merely made a party defendant, and took no active part in the suit. �The jurisdiction of the probate court in this particular is as broad as that of a chancery court. In law persons are compelled to take definite positions either as plaintiffs or defendants, but in equity they may be assigned to any posi- tion. There may be 10 or 20 interested in the prosecution of a suit, but only one of them willing to assume the responsibil- ity bî commencing an action. He cannot force those who are interested in common with him to become parties plaintiff, and he is compelled, if they refuse to become parties plain- tiff, to make them parties defendant, which he does, and brings them before the court, and they, being parties before the court, have a right to take exception to the finding of the court, and take the ordinary remedy for reviewing and re- versing. �The statute of Ohio, relating to the sale of real estate for the payment of debts and distribution of prooeeds, provides : "The probate court, or court of common pleas, in which such action may be pending, shall bave fuU power to determine the equities between the parties, and the priorities of lien of the several lienholders on said real estate, and to order a distribution of the money arising from the sale of such real estate, aecording to the respective equities and priorities of lien, as found by the court." Ohio Eev. St. 1880, § 6145. �This statute gives the probate court the same power which a court of chancery would bave, and the plaintiff, the admin- istratrix of the estate, had a right to have the court ascertain the amount due upon the note, and to bave that fixed and adjudicated; and the court having power to decide and deter- mine ail the equities between the parties, and to determine the priorities of liens, the judgment of the probate court in thàt case finding that there was only a balance of $748.49 due upoin' ����