Carpenter v. Layne

374 S.W.3d 871, 2010 Ark. App. 364, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 379
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedApril 28, 2010
DocketNo. CA 09-1236
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 374 S.W.3d 871 (Carpenter v. Layne) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carpenter v. Layne, 374 S.W.3d 871, 2010 Ark. App. 364, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 379 (Ark. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

RITA W. GRUBER, Judge.

| Appellant Jimmie Carpenter sued ap-pellees, Rory and Kathy Layne, for conversion and for collection of money he contended that he loaned to appellees. After a hearing, the circuit court found that all payments made to the Laynes were authorized and, therefore, that there was no conversion and that all money loaned by Mr. Carpenter to the Laynes had been repaid in full. We find no clear error and affirm the trial court’s order.

Mr. Carpenter, an eighty-two-year-old man, was married to Mr. Layne’s step-grandmother until she died in 2003. Mr. Carpenter and Mr. Layne did not have much contact, however, until 2001. In 2001, while the Carpenters were living in California and Mr. Layne was living in Arkansas, Mrs. Carpenter called Mr. Layne to ask him if he would come and help her take care of Mr. Carpenter while he was recovering from a broken hip. Mr. Layne spent part of November and December in California. Mr. Layne testified that, 12while he was in California, he told the Carpenters that he would like to be able to buy “his own place” and that they expressed their willingness to help.

Shortly after Mr. Layne returned to Arkansas, he called Mr. Carpenter and told him that he had found some property. Mr. Carpenter gave Mr. Layne $50,604 in January 2002, and Mr. Layne used the money to buy 33.5 acres of land, on which he put a house trailer. Mr. Layne testified that Mr. Carpenter did not mention repayment of the money, and Mr. Layne did not sign a note or mortgage. Several weeks later, the Carpenters told Mr. Layne that they wanted something in writing to ensure that if something happened to him, they would get the $50,000 back. Mr. Layne prepared a will stating that, in the event he predeceased the Carpenters, “I wish to return to them the amount of $50,000 from my estate before any other requests.” He sent the will to the Carpenters, and nothing more was said about the money until this lawsuit.

Mrs. Carpenter passed away in December 2003, and Mr. Carpenter began calling Mr. Layne “crying, complaining, and depressed.” Mr. Layne testified that Mr. Carpenter asked him to move to California. Mr. Layne said that he could not, but he told Mr. Carpenter that he could move to Arkansas and he would help him. In February 2004, Mr. Carpenter had a power of attorney prepared for Mr. Layne and mailed it to him. In April 2004, Mr. Carpenter stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Layne to see if he wanted to move to Arkansas. He decided to move and bought a lot in Greenwood on which to build a house. He returned to California for several months, sold his home, and then lived with the Laynes for four |amonths while his house was being completed.

Both Mr. Carpenter and Mr. Layne testified that, between 2004 and 2006, Mr. Carpenter loaned the Laynes money to pay for various repairs and improvements to Mr. Layne’s property. Mr. Layne also testified that, from 2004 through 2006, he helped Mr. Carpenter with chores around his house. On May 18, 2006, Mr. Carpenter was diagnosed as being legally blind. After he became legally blind, Mr. Carpenter took Mr. Layne to Arvest Bank and had Mr. Layne’s name added to his account. Mr. Layne began helping Mr. Carpenter pay his bills. Mr. Layne also testified that Mr. Carpenter stopped driving and that, if he needed to go anywhere, either he or Mrs. Layne would take him. In March 2007, using his power of attorney, Mr. Layne had his name added to Mr. Carpenter’s account at Farmer’s Bank. The parties dispute whether Mr. Carpenter authorized this action. Up until this point, Mr. Layne had not written any checks on Mr. Carpenter’s account that benefitted him or Mrs. Layne.

Mr. Layne testified that, in May 2007, he spoke with Mr. Carpenter and Bea Stadler, a friend of Mr. Carpenter’s, about Ms. Stadler’s suggestion that Mr. Carpenter be put in a nursing home because he could not take care of himself. Ms. Sta-dler testified that this conversation occurred in May 2006. In any ease, Mr. Layne testified that he offered, instead, to take care of Mr. Carpenter for $25 per hour. Mr. Layne testified that Mr. Carpenter said it was a good idea; Mr. Carpenter testified that Mr. Layne offered to take care of him for $15 per hour and he told Mr. Layne that he wasn’t interested in that. Mr. Layne testified that he |4began taking care of Mr. Carpenter and paying all of his bills in May 2007 under an agreement with Mr. Carpenter that he would pay him $25 per hour. Shortly thereafter, he and Mrs. Layne realized that $25 an hour was too much given the number of hours Mr. Layne was devoting to Mr. Carpenter’s needs and agreed that $2,000 a month was fair. He testified that he and Mr. Carpenter thereafter agreed on the flat rate of $2,000 per month.

Mr. Layne testified that Mr. Carpenter would stack his mail in sorted piles on his kitchen table and that he and Mr. Carpenter would sit down at the table together and pay bills. He testified that he wrote 99% of the checks on both the Arvest and the Farmer’s accounts. Mr. Layne stated that he wrote the $2,000 check each month to his wife because she did most of the banking in his family. He testified that he never discussed making the checks payable to Kathy Layne because Mr. Carpenter never asked. “Everything was on the table and we just paid bills. I would just tell him that I was getting paid.” He also testified that Mr. Carpenter was very careful about watching his business and that he would read the bills and bank statements in his viewer. In addition to the monthly checks to Mrs. Layne for $2,000, there were several checks for other amounts payable to Mr. Layne. Mr. Layne explained a check in the amount of $500 on June 5, 2007, as a gift from Mr. Carpenter because Mr. Layne was not working and was behind on his bills. He explained a check in the amount of $650 as additional money from Mr. Carpenter to pay insurance that was due that Mr. Layne did not have money to pay. A check payable to Mr. Layne in the amount of $2,400 was the monthly $2,000 plus $400 for a pallet of pellets for which Mr. Carpenter 15was reimbursing Mr. Layne. He testified that a check to Barling Boat Sales in the amount of $327.69 was for a GPS for his boat. He said that he and Mr. Carpenter were looking at some things in the boat store and that Mr. Carpenter bought it for him because he liked to fish.

With regard to the alleged loans, Mr. Layne testified that Mr. Carpenter loaned him $6,466: $5,000 to put in a driveway and sidewalk, $266 for additional brick work, and $1,200 for siding. He testified that he and his wife repaid the money that Mr. Carpenter loaned to them in installments of $200 per month and then in installments of $400 per month between April 2004 and April 2006, when the loan was paid off. Mr. Layne introduced can-celled checks and his wife’s recorded ledger to support this testimony. He testified that Mr. Carpenter acknowledged in April 2006 that the loan was paid off and that the parties were on good terms. He testified that the alleged loans for which Mr. Carpenter was seeking repayment had been gifts: $50,000 for the land; $7,000 for siding, which Mr. Carpenter paid directly to the siding contractor; $4,500 for brick work, also paid directly to the contractor; and $4,000 to $5,000 in other gifts. He testified that none of the loans were put in writing and that Mr. Carpenter did not mention these alleged loans until he filed a complaint.

Mrs. Layne testified that she would occasionally go with her husband to Mr. Carpenter’s when they were paying bills.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
374 S.W.3d 871, 2010 Ark. App. 364, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 379, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carpenter-v-layne-arkctapp-2010.