D'Addario v. D'Addario

603 A.2d 1199, 26 Conn. App. 795, 1992 Conn. App. LEXIS 98
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedMarch 3, 1992
Docket10228
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 603 A.2d 1199 (D'Addario v. D'Addario) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
D'Addario v. D'Addario, 603 A.2d 1199, 26 Conn. App. 795, 1992 Conn. App. LEXIS 98 (Colo. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

Foti, J.

This appeal arises out of the conveyance of an estate in land by quitclaim deed from F. Francis D’Addario (the grantor) to his daughter (the plaintiff). After the grantor’s death, the plaintiff brought this action to quiet title of the property. The trial court determined that the plaintiff owned the property in fee [796]*796simple absolute. The defendants1 now appeal that decision, claiming that the trial court improperly found (1) that the estate conveyed to the plaintiff was a fee simple subject to condition subsequent, (2) that the power of termination remaining in the grantor was personal to him, and (3) that after the grantor’s death the plaintiff owned the land in fee simple absolute. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The undisputed facts are as follows. In December, 1982, the grantor executed a quitclaim deed of conveyance that provided: “Releasor grants all of the above described real property to Releasee for so long as and upon the condition that Releasee shall use the premises as her principal residence. In the event that Releasee does not use or ceases to use the above described real property as her principal place of residence, the above described real property shall automatically revert to Releasor or his heirs and assigns upon the recording by Releasor of the Affidavit attached hereto as Schedule B and it shall not be necessary for Releasor or his heirs or assigns to take any further action to effectuate the reverter.”

Attached to this deed was an affidavit form that, when recorded, would terminate the interest conveyed by the deed. This affidavit was never recorded. The affidavit form provided: “The undersigned being duly sworn, hereby deposes and says as follows:

“1. That he is the Releasor under a certain Quit Claim Deed to Virginia D’Addario as the Releasee, dated December 31, 1982 and recorded in volume_at Page _of the Land Records of the Town of Trumbull.

“2. That under such Quit Claim Deed Releasor granted certain real property described therein to [797]*797Releasee for so long as and upon the condition that Releasee should use the premises as her principal place of residence, and furthermore, that if Releasee did not use or ceases to use the real property as her principal place of residence said real property would automatically revert to Releasor and his heirs upon the filing of this Affidavit in the Land Records of the Town of Trumbull.

“3. That to the best of the undersigned’s belief and knowledge, said Releasee has ceased to use such real property as her principal place of residence as of_ and this Affidavit is being recorded to effectuate the automatic reverter of the real property to the undersigned.”

The trial court found that the grantor envisioned a family compound around his Trumbull home. Prior to executing the quitclaim deed, he spoke with the plaintiff about her taking up residence at 75 Williams Street, a piece of property next to his home. She told him that she would move in only if he would give her title to the house. During their discussion, the grantor indicated that he would not do so. He told the plaintiff, “This property won’t be yours until I die.” Nevertheless, the grantor executed the above deed, conveying an estate in the property to the plaintiff. The plaintiff, however, was unaware of the conveyance until after her father’s death on March 5, 1986.2 The plaintiff never resided at 75 Williams Street and the trial court found that the grantor knew that the plaintiff never resided there. The trial court also found that the grantor knew that on the town land records, title to the property was in the [798]*798plaintiff’s name. Additionally, the grantor paid certain bills on the property that were addressed to the plaintiff as title holder.

During his lifetime, the grantor never recorded the affidavit attached to the quitclaim deed. Subsequent to the grantor’s death, the defendants, as trustees under the grantor’s will, attempted to exercise the power of termination by executing and recording a similar affidavit on the Trumbull land records. This affidavit conformed to the one attached to the quitclaim deed. The defendants recorded this affidavit to effectuate the grantor’s right of reentry and to terminate the plaintiff’s interest in the land. In response, the plaintiff brought this action to quiet title.

The trial court found that the estate conveyed to the plaintiff by the quitclaim deed was a fee simple subject to condition subsequent with a power of termination in the grantor. The court further found that according to the language of the deed, the power of termination was personal to the grantor. Thus, when the grantor died, the power of termination was extinguished and the plaintiff became the owner of the property in fee simple absolute. We agree with the trial court.

We begin our analysis by laying out the appropriate standard of review. “[W]here the legal conclusions of the court are challenged, we must determine whether they are legally and logically correct and whether they find support in the facts set out in the memorandum of decision; where the factual basis of the court’s decision is challenged we must determine whether the facts set out in the memorandum of decision are supported by the evidence or whether, in light of the evidence and the pleadings in the whole record, those facts are clearly erroneous.” Pandolphe’s Auto Parts, Inc. v. Manchester, 181 Conn. 217, 221-22, 435 A.2d 24 (1980); [799]*799McClintock v. Rivard, 219 Conn. 417, 426-27, 593 A.2d 1375 (1991). In this case, the defendants challenge the legal conclusions of the trial court.3

I

The defendants first claim that the trial court improperly concluded that the grantor conveyed a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent to the plaintiff. At oral argument, the defendants asserted that the plaintiffs taking up residence at 75 Williams Street was a condition precedent and that because she never occupied the premises, no present estate ever vested in her. The defendants assert that at most, the plaintiff holds a life interest in the estate. Resolution of this issue turns on whether there was a present estate conveyed to the plaintiff and whether an estate remains vested in her. The narrower issue is whether the plaintiffs residency was a condition precedent or a condition subsequent to title vesting in her. “ Tf the act or condition required [does] not necessarily precede the vesting of the estate, but may accompany or follow it . . . then the condition is subsequent.’ ” Lewis v. Lewis, 74 Conn. 630, 634, 51 A. 854 (1902). An estate in fee simple subject to condition subsequent requires that the grantor take an affirmative action to divest the grantee of her estate. Oldfield v. Stoeco Homes, Inc., 26 N.J. 246, 254-55, 139 A.2d 291 (1958). On the other hand, a condition precedent is one that must be performed before the estate can vest. Warner v. Bennett, 31 Conn. 468, 475, (1863).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
603 A.2d 1199, 26 Conn. App. 795, 1992 Conn. App. LEXIS 98, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/daddario-v-daddario-connappct-1992.