Edwards v. Urice

2009 OK CIV APP 20, 220 P.3d 1145, 2008 Okla. Civ. App. LEXIS 108, 2008 WL 6825747
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedJuly 17, 2008
Docket104,594. Released for Publication by Order of the Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, Division No. 1
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2009 OK CIV APP 20 (Edwards v. Urice) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Edwards v. Urice, 2009 OK CIV APP 20, 220 P.3d 1145, 2008 Okla. Civ. App. LEXIS 108, 2008 WL 6825747 (Okla. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinions

CAROL M. HANSEN, Judge.

T1 Defendant/Appellants, Rex Urice (Ur-ice) and BaneFirst, seek review of the trial court's judgment in favor of Plaintiff/Appel-lee, Patricia Bowers Edwards (Edwards), individually and as next friend of her son, Robert Drew Bowers (Drew), on Edwards claims to set aside for undue influence amendments her mother, Eloise Cooper Bowers (Bowers), made to The Eloise Cooper Bowers 1991 Trust (Bowers 1991 Trust), and to dissolve for lack of donative intent The Robert S. Bowers and Eloise C. Bowers Foundation (Foundation). Edwards also sought to recover damages for breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. We reverse as to the breach of contract claim and otherwise affirm the trial court's judgment because it is neither clearly against the weight of the evidence nor contrary to law.

12 Drew is Edwards' incapacitated adult son. He lived with his grandmother, Bowers, until her death. Edwards formerly was married to Robert Hefner III, whose daughter, Catherine Hefner (Hefner), formerly was married to Urice. Following the death of Bowers' husband in 1985, Bank of Oklahoma served as trustee for several Bowers family trusts, including the Bowers 1991 Trust.

18 In 1997, Bowers executed the Second Amended and Restated Trust Agreement of the Bowers 1991 Trust, removing Bank of Oklahoma as trustee and replacing it with BaneFirst and Urice as co-trustees. The trust agreement provided no beneficiary had the power to remove Urice as trustee and only Urice had the power to remove the corporate trustee. It provided for certain distributions upon Bowers' death, including a distribution of one million dollars to Edwards conditioned upon Edwards not contesting the provisions of any Bowers trust or the appointment of Urice as Drew's guardian. It created Foundation to hold the balance of the trust fund as a nonprofit charitable foundation with Urice to be sole trustee until his death.

T4 Bowers again amended the trust in 2000. The Third Amended and Restated Trust Agreement provided for the distribution to Edwards to be made in ten annual installments, conditioned upon Edwards not contesting the provisions of any Bowers trust, the establishment and funding of Foundation, the appointment of any trustee of the Foundation, or the appointment of John Duty (Duty) or any other person to serve as guardian of her son Drew.

15 Edwards brought the present suit against Appellees and Bowers on August 17, 2001. She dismissed Bowers as a party defendant after Bowers died.1 Edwards [1149]*1149amended the petition in 2004, adding a negli-genee claim for injury to Drew from lack of medical care and supervision against BaneFirst, John Duty, Michael Bickford, and Personal Nursing Care, Inc. as parties defendant. In compliance with a writ of mandamus from the Oklahoma Supreme Court in Edwards v. Parrish, Case No. MA-102350 (Sept. 12, 2005), the trial court bifurcated the equitable causes of action from the negligence claim. Edwards later dismissed Duty and Bickford and won judgment based on a jury verdict against Personal Nursing Care, Inc.

T6 Edwards filed a separate action against Fellers, Snider, Blankenship, Bailey & Tip-pens (Fellers) on October 15, 2004, for (1) dissolution of Foundation and setting aside the amendments to the Bowers 1991 Trust, (2) breach of the terms of certain Bowers trusts requiring a corporate trustee, (8) fraud and fraudulent concealment of Drew's abuse and neglect, (4) intentional infliction of emotional distress, and (5) conspiracy to unduly influence Bowers and to alienate Edwards from Drew and Bowers. The trial court granted summary judgment to Fellers on the first and second causes of action except for damages for undue influence. It granted summary judgment to Fellers on the remaining causes of action to the extent Edwards, in her individual capacity, sought relief predating a 1999 settlement agreement regarding Drew's guardianship, pursuant to which Urice resigned as trustee of five Bowers family trusts and Edwards released all claims against Bowers, Drew, Urice, Hefner, and Duty. The trial court later granted reconsideration and modified its order to grant summary judgment to Fellers on the first and fifth causes of action except to the extent Edwards sought dissolution of Foundation and setting aside of the second and third trust amendments.

T7 The trial court consolidated the two cases for trial on the equitable claims. The parties tried the matter to the court in July, September, and October, 2006. At the conclusion of trial, the trial court granted judgment in favor of Edwards, based upon extensive findings of fact and conclusions of law. It made the following rulings regarding Edwards' right to seek relief In the 1999 settlement agreement, Edwards released any claims arising prior to October 13, 1999, but retained whatever rights she had as a contingent beneficiary under the trusts. Edwards' claim against BaneFirst and Urice for breach of fiduciary duty arising from payment of co-trustee fees prior to August 17, 1999, is barred by the statute of limitations because Edwards filed suit on the claim in 2000, dismissed it in 2003, and did not refile within one year. However, Drew's claim is not barred. Neither Edwards' nor Drew's claim for undue influence is barred by the statute of limitations. Drew has standing to bring the undue influence claim by virtue of the detriments caused by change of trustee and the loss of the bargain and sale provisions pertaining to the house and furnishings. Plaintiffs' claims are not barred by the doctrine of judicial estoppel.

[8 The trial court made the following conclusions of law on the merits. The Second and Third Amended and Restated Trust Agreements were procured by undue influence. Urice was receiving more than a mere trustee fee, inasmuch as he could not be removed as trustee and only he could remove the corporate trustee. Edwards could not contest his appointment as Drew's guardian. Urice was not a natural object of Bowers' affection, was a confidential advisor, and was involved in the preparation and procurement of the Second and Third Amended and Restated Trust Agreements. James Dickson (Dickson), the president of BaneFirst's trust department, was a confidential advisor of Bowers and involved in the preparation and procurement of the Third Amended and Restated Trust Agreement. Bowers was elderly at the time of execution of the documents and did not receive independent and disinter[1150]*1150ested advice. The Second and Third Amended and Restated Trust Agreements are invalid, and the First Amended and Restated Trust Agreement dated July 26, 1994 is declared to be the valid trust instrument of Bowers.

T 9 The trial court also made the following conclusions of law. Bowers did not have the donative intent required to establish a valid inter vivos gift to Foundation and did not ratify the gift. Foundation should be dissolved and the $227,668.48 in fees paid to Urice from Foundation should be reimbursed. Urice breached the terms of the 1999 settlement agreement requiring him to resign as co-trustee. Urice is liable for damages of $217,901.42, which should be reimbursed to the Bowers 1991 Trust. BaneFirst breached its fiduciary duty by appointing Urice as co-trustee of certain Bowers family trusts in violation of the trust agreement and without court approval. Urice breached his fiduciary duty by accepting appointment as co-trustee in violation of the trust agreement. BanceFirst and Urice are jointly and severally liable for trustee fees improperly paid to Urice, including $134,984.59 from one trust and $14,885.43 from another trust.

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Related

Earles v. Cleveland
W.D. Oklahoma, 2019
Edwards v. BancFIRST
2011 OK CIV APP 100 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2009 OK CIV APP 20, 220 P.3d 1145, 2008 Okla. Civ. App. LEXIS 108, 2008 WL 6825747, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/edwards-v-urice-oklacivapp-2008.