Cohn v. Heymann

544 So. 2d 1242, 1989 WL 54989
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 24, 1989
Docket88-275
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 544 So. 2d 1242 (Cohn v. Heymann) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cohn v. Heymann, 544 So. 2d 1242, 1989 WL 54989 (La. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

544 So.2d 1242 (1989)

Ian Jeffrey COHN & Lauren Kerry Cohn Fouros, Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
Herbert HEYMANN, Individually; Herbert Heymann, in his Capacity as Executor of the Succession of Jacqueline Heymann Cohn; The Heymann Foundation; Oil Center Realty Company, Inc.; Heymann's, Inc.; Heymann Commercial Buildings, Inc.; Heymann Office Buildings, Inc.; Out of Town Realty, Inc.; Southern Commercial Buildings, Inc.; and Heymann Realty Company, Inc., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 88-275.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

May 24, 1989.

*1243 Oscar W. Boswell II, Lafayette, for plaintiffs-appellants.

Nancy Dunning, Lafayette, for defendants-appellees.

Before FORET, YELVERTON and KING, JJ.

FORET, Judge.

The trial court granted a motion for summary judgment filed by defendants herein, and plaintiffs have appealed. Plaintiffs herein are Ian Jeffrey Cohn and Lauren Kerry Cohn Fouros. Defendants herein are Herbert Heymann, individually and as executor of the Succession of Jacqueline Heymann Cohn; The Heymann Foundation; Oil Center Realty Company, Inc.; Heymann's, Inc.; Heymann Commercial Buildings, Inc.; Heymann Office Buildings, Inc.; Out of Town Realty, Inc.; Southern *1244 Commercial Buildings, Inc.; and Heymann Realty Company, Inc.

FACTS

The following items have been filed into the record in these proceedings:

(a) Pennsylvania succession proceedings pertaining to the Estate of Jacqueline Heymann Cohn;

(b) Ancillary Louisiana succession proceedings;

(c) A certificate of death of Jacqueline Heymann Cohn.

The documents of record establish that Jacqueline Cohn died on December 28, 1980, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, leaving an estate valued at several million dollars, a large portion of which was real estate situated in Louisiana, and stock in closely held corporations domiciled in Louisiana. Mrs. Cohn left a will executed in the State of Pennsylvania dated July 2, 1980. The will was thereafter amended by codicil also executed in the State of Pennsylvania dated October 16, 1980. In her will, Mrs. Cohn made several cash bequests and other particular legacies. She also left her brother, Herbert Heymann, all of her corporate stock in Heymann's, Inc., a Louisiana business corporation. Additionally, she bequeathed to each of her two children, Ian Cohn and Lauren Cohn Fouros, an undivided one-fourth interest in and to all real property owned by decedent located in the State of Louisiana, to be held in trust. The remaining undivided one-half interest in Mrs. Cohn's Louisiana real estate was bequeathed to The Heymann Foundation, a Louisiana non-profit corporation. Finally, Mrs. Cohn also named The Heymann Foundation as residuary legatee.

A succession proceeding was opened in the Orphans Court Division, Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia. Thereafter, Mrs. Cohn's will and codicil were admitted to probate and, in due course, Herbert Heymann was placed into possession of the Heymann's, Inc. stock. Additionally, the stock owned by Mrs. Cohn in several other Louisiana corporations (Heymann Realty Co., Inc.; Heymann Commercial Buildings, Inc.; Heymann Office Buildings, Inc.; Southern Commercial Buildings, Inc.; and Out of Town Realty Co., Inc.) was redeemed by approval of the Orphans Court on July 30, 1984, and the proceeds of the redemption were thereafter delivered to The Heymann Foundation as residual legatee. The probate proceedings in Pennsylvania were concluded on July 30, 1984, and an ancillary succession proceeding was opened in the State of Louisiana, pursuant to which plaintiffs therein were each placed into possession of an undivided one-fourth interest in and to all of Mrs. Cohn's Louisiana real estate.[1]

On appeal, plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred in granting defendants' motion for summary judgment as they contend the following allegations asserted in their petition raised genuine issues of material fact:

(a) that the decedent intended to use the Louisiana corporations as a means of preventing her children from obtaining an interest in Louisiana immovable property, thereby reducing their legitime in violation of the strong public policy of our State in favor of forced heirship;
(b) that decedent remained a Louisiana domiciliary at the time of her death and therefore Louisiana succession law should apply to the disposition of the decedent's entire estate, movable and immovable property;
(c) alternatively, a proper interpretation of the decedent's will indicates that she also intended to bequeath to her children, an undivided one-half interest in all immovable property located in the State of Louisiana owned by closely held corporations in which she has an interest;
(d) that the plaintiffs should be allowed to pierce the corporate veil of those Louisiana corporations owning immovable property located in the State of Louisiana in which decedent has an interest;
*1245 (e) that Louisiana should abandon the traditional conflicts of law approach to successions in order to adopt a more flexible comprehensive interest analysis and that upon doing so, it becomes clear that Louisiana succession law should apply to the disposition of all of the decedent's property, both movable and immovable.

For the reasons hereinafter assigned, we affirm the judgment of the trial court granting defendants' motion for summary judgment. Because of the number and complexity of plaintiffs' arguments, we shall address them singularly:

USE OF LOUISIANA CORPORATIONS AS A MEANS OF REDUCING PLAINTIFFS' LEGITIME IN VIOLATION OF OUR STRONG PUBLIC POLICY IN FAVOR OF FORCED HEIRSHIP

In this argument, plaintiffs acknowledge that the current position of our jurisprudence with regard to the choice of law issue presented herein is that Louisiana law applies to the disposition of Louisiana immovable property, but we defer to the law of the domicile of the decedent and place of executing the will insofar as the disposition of movable property is concerned. La.C.C. art. 10[2]; Succession of Goss, 304 So.2d 704 (La.App. 3 Cir.1974), writ ref., 309 So.2d 339 (La.1975). Plaintiffs contend that, assuming the decedent was a Pennsylvania domiciliary, she transferred her interest in Louisiana immovable property to Louisiana corporations in order to convert her ownership interest to corporate stock (movable property), the disposition of which is controlled by the laws of the State of Pennsylvania and therefore not subject to Louisiana forced heirship laws. We find this argument to be without merit. Plaintiffs do not allege that the transfers were for an inadequate consideration nor do they contend that the transfers were, for any reason, lacking in the proper formalities. We know of no cause of action that exists in this State against the estate of a decedent arising out of the transfer of immovable property to one or more corporations in exchange for stock of adequate value. The reasons behind such transactions may have been many and will, in all likelihood, never be known to anyone in view of the fact that the decedent has now been dead for over eight years. In fact, plaintiffs introduced no evidence at all, in opposition to defendants' motion for summary judgment, to indicate that the motive behind these seemingly legitimate transactions was simply to reduce the legitime of the plaintiffs. Accordingly, we find that no genuine issue of material fact is presented by plaintiffs' allegations in this regard in view of the complete lack of evidence of record in support thereof.

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Related

Cohn v. Heymann
548 So. 2d 1233 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
544 So. 2d 1242, 1989 WL 54989, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cohn-v-heymann-lactapp-1989.