Bank of America, N.A. v. Freier

56 Va. Cir. 15, 2001 Va. Cir. LEXIS 158
CourtFairfax County Circuit Court
DecidedJanuary 16, 2001
DocketCase No. (Chancery) 168056
StatusPublished

This text of 56 Va. Cir. 15 (Bank of America, N.A. v. Freier) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Fairfax County Circuit Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bank of America, N.A. v. Freier, 56 Va. Cir. 15, 2001 Va. Cir. LEXIS 158 (Va. Super. Ct. 2001).

Opinion

By Judge Leslie M. Alden

This case is before the Court on two motions by Respondent Amy Freier (Mrs. Freier). The first is Mrs. Freier’s Demurrer and Plea in Bar to Complainant, Bank of America’s (“the Personal Representative”) Bill of Complaint for Aid and Direction. The second is Mrs. Freier’s Demurrer and Plea in Bar to Respondent Susan Freier Caine and Jonathan Freier’s (“the Children”) Cross-Bill of Complaint. Both the Personal Representative and the Children have filed opposition briefs to Mrs. Freier’s motions.

The issues under advisement relate to the timeliness with which this issue has been brought before the court, the enforceability of a partially executed Marital Agreement and the existence of a binding oral agreement. The Court must determine:

(1) Whether the Bank and Children are barred by the doctrine of res judicata from litigating the enforceability of the Marital Agreement signed by Mrs. Freier; and

[16]*16(2) Whether the Marital Agreement signed by Mrs. Freier is enforceable as a matter of law or whether the oral communications between Dr. and Mrs. Freier as to Dr. Freier’s general estate plan are enforceable against Mrs. Freier as a matter of law.

For the reasons set forth herein, the Court finds that the enforceability of the Marital Agreement was an issue belonging before the court in the prior litigation between the Respondents in this suit. To allow the parties to that prior litigation, or the Personal Representative, a privy to the parties, to litigate the Agreement’s enforceability would amount to claim-splitting; thus, res judicata acts as a bar to raising this issue within the Personal Representative’s Bill for Aid and Direction and the Children’s Cross-Bill. If the Court, however, were to determine that res judicata does not apply, the Court finds the Marital Agreement to be unenforceable both under Section 20-149 of the Code of Virginia and under familiar principles of contract law. Additionally, the Court finds the facts show that the parties contemplated a written agreement and that no oral contract was entered into governing the distribution of Dr. Freier’s estate.

I. Factual Background

In this case, the Complainant, Bank of America, in its role as Personal Representative, seeks the Court’s aid and direction in distributing the estate of Dr. Andrew Freier who died testate on January 27, 1998. At the center of this controversy is the question of whether a Marital Agreement executed only by Amy Freier, Dr. Freier’s wife at the time of his death, should be given any effect in the distribution of the estate. A summary of the Marital Agreement’s preparation, execution, and the litigation regarding the estate of Dr. Andrew Freier follows.

In November and December of 1997, Dr. Freier was hospitalized due to medical problems associated with congestive heart disease. Upon his release from the hospital, discussions ensued between Dr. Freier, Mrs. Freier, and their separate attorneys. These discussions were designed to effectuate a change to Dr. Freier’s then current estate plan. Under the provisions of his previous will, drafted prior to his marriage to Amy Freier, Dr. Freier’s entire estate was left to the Children.

Part of Dr. Freier’s estate consisted of three IRAs, two of which named the Children as beneficiaries, the third naming Dr. Freier’s estate as beneficiary. The first change to his estate plan was executed on January 21, 1998, when Dr. Freier signed the proper documentation to make Mrs. Freier the sole beneficiary of his three IRAs. On January 22, 1998, a draft Marital [17]*17Agreement was prepared by Dr. Freier’s attorney to implement additional changes to Dr. Freier’s estate plan. Mrs. Freier’s attorney added an additional provision to the Agreement and a final copy of the Agreement was prepared by Dr. Freier’s attorney for signature on January 24, 1998. The Agreement was brought to the Freier home on January 24,1998, and Mrs. Freier executed it. That same day, Dr. Freier’s attorney was prepared to present Dr. Freier with the Agreement and a newly prepared Will; however, Dr. Freier was unable to communicate with his attorney due to his deteriorating health. Dr. Freier died on January 27,1998, without ever signing the Marital Agreement or his new Will.

On September 11, 1998, the Children filed an action in Fairfax Circuit Court against Mrs. Freier, Caine v. Freier, Chancery No. 156967, to void the designation of Mrs. Freier as beneficiary on two of the IRAs. The Bill of Complaint in that case alleged forgery of the signatures on the IRA beneficiary forms, lack of capacity by Dr. Freier to execute the change of beneficiary forms, and fraud and undue influence by Mrs. Freier. It also sought to impose a constructive trust on the IRA assets. The Personal Representative of Dr. Freier’s estate was not a named party in that litigation.

Prior to trial in June 1999, the Children learned that Mrs. Freier had executed the Marital Agreement that was discussed as part of Dr. Freier’s estate plan prior to his death. The Personal Representative of Dr. Freier’s estate also became aware prior to trial that the Marital Agreement was executed by Mrs. Freier but not signed by Dr. Freier. During the trial of the case, the Children did not pursue the issue of the Marital Agreement’s enforceability, though the Court sua sponte raised this issue with the parties during trial.

At the close of the Children’s case, the Court granted Mrs. Freier’s motion to strike the counts regarding lack of capacity and undue influence. Later, at the close of Mrs. Freier’s evidence, the court granted the motion to strike as to the remaining counts. The Children then moved, post-trial, for leave to amend their Bill of Complaint so as to argue that the Marital Agreement signed by Mrs. Freier was enforceable. The Court accepted briefs and oral argument on the motion, but denied the motion as injecting a new theory of the case that was offered “simply too late.” The Children appealed the Court’s decision to the Virginia Supreme Court. The petition for appeal was denied on April 25, 2000.

On August 8,2000, the Personal Representative filed this Bill for Aid and Direction to assist in its distribution of the assets remaining in Dr. Freier’s estate. The Personal Representative identified seven different issues for the Court to address. Issue one in that Bill, whether the Marital Agreement [18]*18executed by Mrs. Freier is fully or partially enforceable by Dr. Freier’s estate, is the subject of the Demurrer and Plea in Bar filed by Mrs. Freier on October 10, 2000.

Additionally, on September 19, 2000, the Children filed a Cross-Bill of Complaint against the Personal Representative. This Bill seeks additional aid and direction by the Court on issues the Children deem necessary to the appropriate administration of the Estate’s proceeds. The Court shall assume without deciding, for the purpose of this opinion, that the Children indeed have standing to bring a Cross-Bill in this action. Mrs. Freier filed a Demurrer and Plea in Bar to this Cross-Bill on October 16, 2000.

The Court heard oral argument on Mrs. Freier’s Demurrer and Plea in Bar to both the Bill for Aid and Direction and the Cross-Bill filed by the Children on November 3, 2000.

II. Plea in Bar

Within her Plea in Bar, Mrs. Freier argues that the Personal Representative and Children are barred by the doctrine of res judicata

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
56 Va. Cir. 15, 2001 Va. Cir. LEXIS 158, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bank-of-america-na-v-freier-vaccfairfax-2001.