Brychczynski, D. v. Robbins, S.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 29, 2016
Docket306 MDA 2015
StatusUnpublished

This text of Brychczynski, D. v. Robbins, S. (Brychczynski, D. v. Robbins, S.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brychczynski, D. v. Robbins, S., (Pa. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

J-A34020-15

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

DONALD BRYCHCZYNSKI IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

v.

SUSAN ROBBINS, PATRICK JANOSKO, EILEEN JANOSKO, PATRICK J. BARRETT

APPEAL OF: PATRICK J. BARRETT

No. 306 MDA 2015

Appeal from the Order Entered October 29, 2014 In the Court of Common Pleas of Bradford County Orphans' Court at No(s): 0813-0250

BEFORE: PANELLA, J., OTT, J., and JENKINS, J.

MEMORANDUM BY OTT, J.: FILED FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Patrick J. Barrett brings this interlocutory appeal by permission 1 from

the order entered on October 29, 2014, in the Court of Common Pleas of

Bradford County, that sustained in part, and denied in part, Barrett’s 2 preliminary objections to the complaint filed by Donald Brychczynski. In ____________________________________________

1 See 42 Pa.C.S. § 702(b); Pa.R.A.P. 1311(b). 2 On November 12, 2014, Barrett filed a Motion for Partial Reconsideration of the Court’s Order, dated October 21, 2014, and entered October 29, 2014. Also on November 12, 2014, Barrett filed a Motion to Amend the October 21, 2014 Order to Certify for Purposes of Taking an Interlocutory Appeal. The trial court, on November 19, 2014, granted the motion for partial reconsideration, scheduled argument for December 10, 2014, and ordered that Barrett’s motion to amend was scheduled for argument, if required, at the December 10, 2014, proceeding. On December 8, 2014, the trial court (Footnote Continued Next Page) J-A34020-15

this appeal, Barrett’s sole contention is that “the trial court committed an

error of law in failing to dismiss all claims against [Barrett], on grounds that

[Brychczynski], as a residual beneficiary of an inter vivos revocable trust,

lacks the requisite standing to pursue a professional liability action against

[Barrett].”3 Brief of Barrett at 5. Based upon the following, we reverse the

order of the trial court only insofar as it overruled Barrett’s preliminary _______________________ (Footnote Continued)

entered an order re-scheduling the hearing on Barrett’s motion for reconsideration for January 9, 2015. On December 12, 2014, the trial court entered an order certifying its Order for purposes of taking an interlocutory appeal. The trial court never issued an order or opinion regarding Barrett’s Motion for Reconsideration. On January 9, 2015, Barrett submitted a Petition for Permission to Appeal with this Court. On February 19, 2015, this Court entered a Per Curiam Order granting Barrett permission to appeal from the trial court’s order entered October 29, 2014. 3 A “revocable trust” is defined in Pennsylvania’s Uniform Trust Act as follows:

"Revocable trust." --A trust is revocable to the extent the settlor, immediately before the time as of which the determination is made, had the power, acting without the consent of the trustee or any person holding an interest adverse to revocation, to prevent the transfer of the trust property at the settlor’s death by revocation or amendment of or withdrawal of property from the trust.

20 Pa.C.S. § 7703.

Here, the Trust provided, at Paragraph 5, that “The trust is revocable by Edwin A. Bright. At any time during his lifetime Edwin A. Bright, may withdraw, the assets placed in the trust and the income derived from the trust, or change beneficiaries, terms or trustees.” Modification of the Edwin A. Bright Trust of June 1, 2005, 2/22/2011, at ¶5 (emphasis added).

-2- J-A34020-15

objection alleging the count for breach of fiduciary duty should be dismissed

because Brychczynski has no standing, and we sustain Barrett’s preliminary

objection to that count; otherwise, we affirm.

The trial court has aptly summarized the background of this case:

Procedural History

[Brychczynski] filed a complaint against original Defendants who included, at the time of filing, the above-named individuals and one Russell Bancroft who was released as a Defendant by court order on 20 August 2014. The complaint was filed in the Bradford County Court of Common Pleas on, or about, 24 March 2014, and set out counts of Undue Influence, Tortious Interference with Expectation of Inheritance, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Conversion, and Civil Conspiracy against Defendants either jointly or severally; the complaint also contained a demand for an equitable accounting by Defendants Barrett, Robbins, E. Janoski, and P. Janoski of certain funds allegedly received by them. Defendants filed preliminary objections to the counts identified in the complaint and the matter came on for hearing upon those preliminary objections on 20 August 2014 before the Honorable David E. Grine, Senior Judge, Specially Presiding. At the hearing of 20 August 2014, in addition to entertaining the objections advanced by Defendants, the Court considered motions entered by Defendants seeking transfer of the case to Orphan’s Court, compulsory arbitration, and an order compelling Plaintiff to file a certificate of merit for malpractice.

Background

Edwin A. Bright (hereinafter referred to as “the Decedent”), who died on 4 August 2013, created and funded a trust account bearing his name on 1 June 2005. The Bright Trust (referred to below as “the Trust”) was of the inter vivos variety with a transfer on death provision; the corpus of the trust, a Morgan Stanley brokerage account, was administered by original Defendant Bancroft, a Morgan Stanley employee but the Trust itself was under the direct control of the decedent. Named as residual beneficiaries of the Trust were [Brychczynski], Defendants Robbins (Decedent’s full-time caregiver), E. Janosko

-3- J-A34020-15

(Decedent’s niece), and P. Janosko (Decedent’s nephew-in-law); or the survivor(s) of those persons. Defendant Barrett was the Decedent’s attorney for approximately eight years and served in that capacity during the lifetime of the Trust, i.e., from the time of its creation until the Decedent’s passing on, or about, 27 July 2013. Approximately eight days prior to the death of the Decedent, Defendants Robbins, E. Janosko, P. Janosko, and Barrett received gifts from Decedent, which gifts totaled $2,050,000.00, an amount representing approximately two thirds of the total value of the Trust Account. [Brychczynski] complaining that Defendants, by means of fraud, undue influence, misrepresentation, and/or breach of professional responsibility took advantage of the Decedent’s alleged ill health and alleged diminished mental capacity, and induced the Decedent to make these gifts, seeks to have the gifts set aside and the total amount of the gifts returned to the Trust Account.

Trial Court Opinion, 10/29/2014, at 1–2.

The trial court, by order dated October 21, 2014, and entered October

29, 2014, dismissed the claims against Barrett, except for undue influence,

breach of fiduciary duty, and conversion.4 This appeal followed.

____________________________________________

4 The trial court ordered:

1. The motion to transfer the case to the Orphans’ Court Division of the Bradford County Court of Common Pleas is granted.

2. The motion for Plaintiff to be directed to file a certificate of merit for malpractice against Defendant Barrett is granted.

3. The motion for dismissal of the count of Equitable Accounting is granted for all Defendants.

4. The motion for compulsory arbitration is denied.

5. The motion for Plaintiff to be directed to provide all of the Decedent's medical records is denied.

(Footnote Continued Next Page)

-4- J-A34020-15

Our scope and standard of review is well settled:

A preliminary objection in the nature of a demurrer is properly granted where the contested pleading is legally insufficient.

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Bluebook (online)
Brychczynski, D. v. Robbins, S., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brychczynski-d-v-robbins-s-pasuperct-2016.