Blizzard v. Penley

186 F. Supp. 746, 3 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 371, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4727
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedSeptember 6, 1960
DocketCiv. No. 6467
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 186 F. Supp. 746 (Blizzard v. Penley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Blizzard v. Penley, 186 F. Supp. 746, 3 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 371, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4727 (D. Colo. 1960).

Opinion

CHILSON, District Judge.

The complaint alleges that one George Blizzard, a resident of Colorado, died intestate on July 25, 1957, leaving as his sole and only heirs at law the plaintiff, Helen Blizzard, the defendant, Lois V. Penley, and one Mary Margaret Maltby, the latter being the administratrix of the estate.

The complaint also alleges that on July 11,1957, the defendant, Penley, by fraud, coercion, and undue influence, caused the deceased, while mentally incompetent, to transfer to her certain real and personal property, and as a result of said transfers, the administratrix has in her hands no assets, all thereof having been appropriated and converted by the defendant, Penley, to her own use.

Upon these allegations the complaint bases five statements of claim, which may briefly be described as follows:

First: That the deed conveying the real property from the deceased to the defendant, Penley, is void, and the plaintiff prays for a cancellation of that deed and a decree declaring the property to be vested in the three heirs at law, namely: the plaintiff, the defendant, Penley, and Mary Margaret Maltby, in undivided one-third interest each, and for a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant for such sums as may be claimed as liens against the interest of the plaintiff for state and federal taxes occasioned by the default of the defendant, Penley, and for exemplary damages.

[749]*749Second: That defendant, Penley, has received the rents, issues and profits from the real estate since the decedent’s death on July 25, 1957, and prays for an accounting to the plaintiff for one-third thereof and for exemplary damages.

Third: That a bill of sale executed by the deceased to Penley on July 11, 1957, transferring to the defendant certain chattels, was void for the reasons heretofore stated; that Penley has sold the property and has deposited the proceeds in her name in the First National Bank of Lamar, and plaintiff prays for a decree impressing a trust in favor of the plaintiff on the funds of defendant, Pen-ley, in said bank, to the extent of the value of the property wrongfully converted, and for judgment in favor of plaintiff and against the defendant, Pen-ley, for the value of plaintiff’s alleged one-third interest therein.

Fourth: That the deceased, on July 11, 1957, executed his signature on a blank check drawn on the First National Bank of Lamar, Colorado, and that defendant, Penley, used said check to transfer the deceased’s bank account to the defendant, Penley, and that the check and transaction are void; on July 10, 1957, the defendant, Penley, obtained possession of the deceased’s strong box in- the First National Bank of Lamar and the contents thereof, and that said contents are now in a safety deposit box in said bank in the name of the defendant, Pen-ley, and prays the Court to declare the transfer of the checking account and strong box to Penley null and void; to declare the property so conveyed to be vested in the three heirs; to impress a trust in favor of the plaintiff upon the funds of Penley in said bank and upon the contents of the safety deposit box; and for an accounting by Penley for the property and exemplary damages.

Fifth: That defendant, Penley, embezzled or alienated the monies, goods, chattels, or effects of the deceased prior to the granting of letters of administration to Mary Margaret Maltby, and prays judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against defendants, Penley and the Bank, in the amount of one-third of the value thereof.

The defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint is based upon two grounds:

1. That the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted;

2. That Mary Margaret Maltby is a necessary party plaintiff and that with Mary Margaret Maltby as a plaintiff, there is no diversity of citizenship and this Court lacks jurisdiction.

In Colorado, upon the death of a person intestate, the title to real property vests immediately in the heirs at law, subject, however, to the right of the administratrix to cause the real estate to be sold for the payment of debts. McMillen v. Bliley, 115 Colo. 575, 177 P.2d 547; Fastenau v. Engel, 129 Colo. 440, 270 P.2d 1019. The title to personal property of an intestate deceased passes to the administratrix, as does also the right to receive the rents, issues and profits of the real estate during the period of administration. McKee v. Howe, 17 Colo. 538, 31 P. 115; Adams v. Slattery, 36 Colo. 35, 82 P. 87.

The Court concludes that, an administratrix having been appointed, the administratrix and only the administratrix may maintain the second, third, fourth, and fifth statements of claim, and that the same cannot be maintained by the plaintiff as an heir at law. Therefore, the second, third, fourth and fifth statements of claim do not state claims upon which relief can be granted.

It Is Therefore Ordered that the second, third, fourth, and fifth statements of claim be and the same are hereby dismissed.

The first statement of claim alleges that the deed from the deceased to Pen-ley is void. If proven, the deceased was the owner of the real estate at the time of his death. Upon his death, the title to the real estate vested immediately in his heirs at law.

If the allegations of the first statement of claim are sustained by proof, the plaintiff is entitled to relief [750]*750as one of the owners of the lands involved. The Court concludes that the first statement of claim states a claim upon which relief may be granted.

It Is Therefore Ordered that the motion to dismiss the first statement of claim on the ground that the same does not state a claim upon which relief can be granted, be and the same is hereby denied.

The Court next considers the second ground of the motion to dismiss, which in substance is that Mary Margaret Maltby is an indispensable party to the proceeding, and that her joinder would destroy the diversity of citizenship upon which this Court’s jurisdiction of the action is based.

Rule 19 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A. provides:

“(a) Necessary Joinder. Subject to the provisions of Rule 23 and of subdivision (b) of this rule, persons having a joint interest shall be made parties and be joined on the same side as plaintiffs or defendants. When a person who should, join as a plaintiff refuses to do so, he may be made a defendant or, in proper cases, an involuntary plaintiff.
“(b) Effect of Failure to Join. When persons who are not indispensable, but who ought to be parties if complete relief is to be accorded between those already parties, have not been made parties and are subject to the jurisdiction of the court as to both service of process and venue and can be made parties without depriving the court of jurisdiction of the parties before it, the court shall order them summoned to appear in the action.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cassidy v. Millers Cas. Ins. Co. of Texas
1 F. Supp. 2d 1200 (D. Colorado, 1998)
Lorenzo Gonzalez v. Ferrer
4 T.C.A. 82 (Tribunal De Apelaciones De Puerto Rico/Court of Appeals of Puerto Rico, 1998)
Stone v. Chapels for Meditation, Inc.
519 P.2d 1233 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1974)
Imperial Appliance Corp. v. Hamilton Manufacturing Co.
263 F. Supp. 1015 (E.D. Wisconsin, 1967)
Rippey v. Denver United States National Bank
260 F. Supp. 704 (D. Colorado, 1966)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
186 F. Supp. 746, 3 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 371, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4727, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blizzard-v-penley-cod-1960.