Doelle v. Bradley

784 P.2d 1176, 124 Utah Adv. Rep. 20, 3 A.L.R. 5th 1083, 1989 Utah LEXIS 162, 1989 WL 156425
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 27, 1989
Docket860305, 860633
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 784 P.2d 1176 (Doelle v. Bradley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doelle v. Bradley, 784 P.2d 1176, 124 Utah Adv. Rep. 20, 3 A.L.R. 5th 1083, 1989 Utah LEXIS 162, 1989 WL 156425 (Utah 1989).

Opinions

ZIMMERMAN, Justice:

Plaintiff Robert R. Doelle (“Robert”) appeals from a judgment distributing the estate of his mother, Myrtle Woodbury Doelle (“Myrtle”). The district court ruled that 75 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the real property that comprised the residue of Myrtle’s estate was to be distributed to Robert and 25 percent was to go to his sister, Ruth Taylor Bradley (“Ruth”). Robert raises a number of arguments which, reduced to their essentials, amount to claims that (i) the trial court’s determination is not supported by the evidence, (ii) the trial court erred in granting Ruth a portion of the estate because she violated a “no contest” provision in Myrtle’s will, and (iii) the trial court erred in failing to recognize that Robert had gained title to the ranch by adverse possession. We affirm.

We state the facts in a light most favorable to the trial court findings. See Branam v. Provo School Dist., 780 P.2d 810, 810 (Utah 1989). Myrtle died in California in June of 1981. She was survived by two children, Robert and Ruth, and grandchildren not involved in this dispute. Myrtle was domiciled in California at the time of her death, and proceedings to probate her will were initiated in that state. The will directed, inter alia, that cash gifts be made to various grandchildren, that a house and the lot upon which it rested in Wayne County, Utah, be given to Robert, and that the residue of the estate, which consisted of property in Wayne County, go to Ruth. The house and lot that the will left to Robert are known as the Torrey home, and the property that comprised the [1178]*1178residue of Myrtle’s estate is known as the Happy Valley Ranch (“the ranch”).

The California court determined that Myrtle had a life estate in the Torrey home and that, according to a 1966 agreement, the title to the home was to be held in trust for Robert and Ruth. Therefore, it held that'the attempted devise of this property to Robert alone failed and that Robert and Ruth owned it as tenants-in-eommon. The California court next determined that the ranch passed to Ruth by virtue of the will’s residuary clause. The title to this property was still in the name of a defunct family corporation initially formed by Myrtle and her husband in 1958. However, the California court reasoned that because the property had been deeded to the corporation by Myrtle’s late husband, equitable title to it vested in Myrtle.

Shortly after the entry of the California decree, Ruth had the decree filed and recorded in Wayne County, Utah. She also commenced ancillary proceedings in the district court in Wayne County. The court entered an estate closing order on February 9, 1983, that conveyed title to the ranch to Ruth. Ruth subsequently sold the ranch to a party not involved in this aspect of the appeal. Robert was • not in the United States at the time and did not participate in either the California probate proceedings or the Utah ancillary proceedings.

In August of 1984, Robert filed suit against Ruth in the Utah district court. He sought to have title to the ranch quieted in him and damages. The case was tried by the court. After taking evidence, the court entered findings and conclusions. It found that the California probate decree was not entitled to full faith and credit in Utah because proper notice of the California proceedings was not given to all concerned. It thus proceeded to consider Robert’s claims. The court found, inter alia, that Myrtle owned 25 percent of the family corporation’s shares at the time of her death and Robert owned the remaining 75 percent. It concluded that since Ruth was to receive the residue of Myrtle’s estate, she was entitled to 25 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the ranch, as it was property of the corporation, and that Robert was entitled to 75 percent of the proceeds. Robert appeals, seeking all of the proceeds.

Robert raises a number of challenges to the trial court’s ruling that can be fairly characterized as claims that the trial court failed to adequately consider all the evidence pertaining to the status of the Doelle family corporation and the transactions affecting it. As a result, Robert contends, the court reached a number of factually erroneous conclusions which then formed the foundation for its ruling giving Ruth a part of Myrtle’s estate. Although not so characterized, this aspect of Robert’s attack on the trial court’s ruling amounts to a challenge to the findings of fact.

To successfully attack findings of fact, an appellant must first marshal all the evidence supporting the findings and then demonstrate that, even if viewed in the light most favorable to the trial court, the evidence is legally insufficient to support the findings. Reid v. Mutual of Omaha Ins. Co., 776 P.2d 896, 899 (Utah 1989); In re Estate of Bartell, 776 P.2d 885, 886 (Utah 1989); Scharf v. BMG Corp., 700 P.2d 1068, 1070 (Utah 1985). And the legal sufficiency of the evidence is determined under civil procedure rule 52(a), which provides: “Findings of fact, whether based on oral or documentary evidence, shall not be set aside unless clearly erroneous, and due regard shall be given to the opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses.” Utah R.Civ.P. 52(a). A trial court’s factual finding is deemed “clearly erroneous” only if it is against the clear weight of the evidence. Reid, 776 P.2d at 899-900; Bartell, 776 P.2d at 886; see Western Kane County Special Serv. Dist. No. 1 v. Jackson Cattle Co., 744 P.2d 1376, 1377 (Utah 1987).

In the present case, Robert has not attempted to marshal the evidence in support of the trial court’s findings and demonstrate that the evidence supporting the findings is legally insufficient. His brief presents the conflicting evidence in a light most favorable to his position and largely ignores the contrary evidence. Therefore, [1179]*1179there is no reason for us to disturb the trial court’s findings. See Ashton v. Ashton, 733 P.2d 147, 150 (Utah 1987). In any event, it appears that the challenged findings are not clearly erroneous.

A distinct prong of Robert’s attack on the judgment is his claim that the trial court erred by finding that Ruth is entitled to take under the residuary clause despite the fact that she had violated the will’s “no contest” provision. Thé provision in question states:

If any beneficiary under this Will in any manner, directly or indirectly, contests or attacks this Will or any of its provisions, any share or interest in my estate given to that contesting beneficiary under this Will is revoked and shall be .disposed of in the same manner provided herein as if that contesting beneficiary had predeceased me without issue.

In 1981, Ruth filed a document entitled “Creditor’s Claim” with the administrator of Myrtle’s estate in the California probate proceeding. In that document, Ruth asserted that although the will purported to pass to Robert clear title to the Torrey home, in fact, she had a present interest in the property.

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Bluebook (online)
784 P.2d 1176, 124 Utah Adv. Rep. 20, 3 A.L.R. 5th 1083, 1989 Utah LEXIS 162, 1989 WL 156425, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doelle-v-bradley-utah-1989.