Bank of America Nat. Trust & Savings Ass'n v. Brown

66 So. 2d 74, 259 Ala. 262, 1953 Ala. LEXIS 201
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedJune 18, 1953
Docket1 Div. 512
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 66 So. 2d 74 (Bank of America Nat. Trust & Savings Ass'n v. Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bank of America Nat. Trust & Savings Ass'n v. Brown, 66 So. 2d 74, 259 Ala. 262, 1953 Ala. LEXIS 201 (Ala. 1953).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal by complainant from a decree in the circuit court in equity sustaining a demurrer to an original bill. The complainant is a national bank in California- and sues as executor of the estate of Amelia Weiss, deceased. The respondents are Leo M. Brown, his wife and mother-in-law. The relief sought is primarily against Leo M. Brown and against the others secondarily-

The purpose of the bill is to bring Leo M. Brown to an accounting for funds and assets of the estate of Jacob W. Weiss, Josephine Weiss, Katie Weiss and of Amelia Weiss received during her lifetime. It is alleged that Jacob W. Weiss died in Mobile on May 5, 1913, and left an estate of approximately $210,000, which was disposed of by will, naming his three sisters, Josephine Weiss, Katie Weiss and Amelia Weiss, his principal beneficiaries. Josephine Weiss died in Mobile on August 15, 1925, leaving a will in which her principal beneficiaries were her two sisters, Katie and Amelia Weiss. The value of her estate was not given. Katie Weiss died June 20, 1932, leaving a will admitted to probate in -Mobile -County, in which her princi[264]*264pal beneficiary was Amelia Weiss who died in the state of California on the 2d day of December 1950; and it is for the benefit of her estate that this suit is prosecuted. The theory being that the said Amelia Weiss succeeded to the interests of her two sisters and brother who had previously died, and she was the sole beneficiary of Katie Weiss, thereby obtaining the balance of the three estates left after administration. The two sisters and brother having left wills, presumptively there was an administration on each of their estates, and it was so alleged as to Jacob W. Weiss.

The bill alleges that Leo M: Brown, the principal respondent in this case and an attorney-at-law in Mobile, drafted the will of Jacob W. Weiss who died in 1913. It does not allege that he drafted the will of either of the three sisters.

The will of Jacob W. Weiss made two of his sisters, Josephine and Katie Weiss, executrices, and the bill alleges that Leo M. Brown represented them as their attorney and continued to represent them until they died, respectively, and continued to represent the executors and legatees of their respective estates. Leo M. Brown was not a trustee or executor named in the will of any of them, except a coexecutor of Katie Weiss. The death of the last one (Katie) before that of Amelia was in 1932. So that, from 1932 until 1950 whatever interest he managed was for Amelia while living. After her death he has had nothing to do with her estate. That as a result of his long and continued representation, he acquired and maintained the complete trust and confidence of the three sisters and brother; that he was their attorney and financial adviser and obtained authority from each of them to act at his own discretion for them as their trustee, agent and attorney in fact. It is not alleged that those appointments were in writing or, if so, the substance of their contents was not disclosed, nor the date or other data; that the said Leo M. Brown secured and enjoyed the complete trust and confidence of each of the four from 1913 until they died, respectively, and obtained checks from each of them in regard to investments, disposition of assets and acquisition of new assets. No further details are given with respect to such power. That as the fiduciary representative of said three sisters of Jacob W. Weiss, he grossly mismanaged their funds and other assets which came into his hands from their estate and the estate of Jacob W. Weiss, and he succeeded in acquiring for himself personally and for his wife and mother-in-law the entire assets of all of said estates, except a small pittance which he doled out to the residuary legatee sisters of the estate of Jacob W. Weiss during their respective lives and so mismanaged and wasted their estate and the estate of Jacob W. Weiss that the assets of the estates were depleted from a value of approximately $210,000 in 1913 to $19,000 in 1950 when said Amelia Weiss died.

No allegation is made with respect to a completion of the administrations of the estates of Jacob W. Weiss, Josephine Weiss and Katie Weiss; or whether there has been a final settlement of said estates or into whose custody the assets of each were awarded so far as here material. It is only vaguely stated as to the said Leo M. Brown receiving the assets of said estates without giving figures, dates or details. No allegation is made that those details are unknown to complainant, and are known only to the respondent Leo M. Brown, and a discovery is not sought. Wynn v. Tallapoosa County Bank, 168 Ala. 469, 484, 53 So. 228. Any such supposed defect in the bill is not insisted upon in this case as a reason why the demurrer was properly sustained.

The principal questions submitted on this appeal relate to the effect of two agreements made between Leo M. Brown and Amelia Weiss in her lifetime with respect to a settlement and discharge of said Leo M. Brown of all claim and liability which she may have had against him with respect to the management of said funds and the matters complained of in the bill.

The first of those agreements was dated the 3rd day of October, 1939, a copy of which is attached to the bill as exhibit G thereof and was executed by Leo M. [265]*265Brown, his wife and mother-in-law and Amelia Weiss. It has attached to it a statement of an account between him as her agent and her, in which it was agreed that in consideration of the payment of $18,187.03 in cash by Leo M. Brown, and the further sum of $12,500 in cash by the said Leo M. Brown, his wife and mother-in-law, that she, the said Amelia Weiss, releases them all from other and further liability on account of certain annuity contracts with them and releases the said Leo M. Brown from all claims, indebtedness or obligations to her of every kind and character, said sum being accepted in full satisfaction and settlement of said contract. With respect to that release the bill of complaint alleged that it was what purported to be a partial accounting, but not so in terms.

The bill of complaint also alleged that in July 1946 the said Leo M. Brown in an attempt to further protect himself from action, which he anticipated from the said Amelia Weiss, drafted another instrument, which is purportedly a release, wherein he acknowledged that Amelia Weiss had suffered monetary loss due to his handling of her moneys and wherein in order to obtain her signature to said purported release he again agreed to pay her an additional sum of $21,700, — a copy of said instrument being attached to and made an exhibit to the bill. That neither of said releases was approved by any court. So that, he had paid her the sum of $52,387.03, which was only a small fraction of the money and securities belonging to her.

After the demurrer to the bill as originally filed had been sustained, an amendment was filed particularly with reference to said agreements. The amendment alleged that at the time of the execution of the agreement of October 3, 1939 the relationship, as theretofore set out in the original bill, continued and was existing,— the bill having set out the existence of facts showing confidential relations existing between the said Leo M. Brown and the three sisters and brother up until that time or until they had died, respectively. That the said Leo M. Brown had not advised said Amelia Weiss of the true status of her account with him, nor did he render to her any true or complete account nor advise her that he had converted her property to his own use; that the same relationship between Leo M.

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66 So. 2d 74, 259 Ala. 262, 1953 Ala. LEXIS 201, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bank-of-america-nat-trust-savings-assn-v-brown-ala-1953.