Estate of Lester J. Kile

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided March 7, 2017·No. 33613-1·Unpublished

Opinion

FILED

MARCH 7, 2017

In the Office of the Clerk of Court WA State Court of Appeals, Division Ill

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION THREE

In the Matter of the Estate of )

) No. 33613-1-111 LESTER J. KILE, ) (Consolidated with ) 34048-1-111)

)

Deceased. ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION )

KORSMO, J. -Jeannie Kile appeals from superior court rulings construing her late father's will and removing her as personal representative of his estate. We affirm.

FACTS

This is the second appeal to reach this court concerning the Kile Farm Trust established by the late Lester Kile. The previous action involved the dissolution of the marriage between Jeannie Kile and Gordon Kendall. In re Marriage ofKile, 186 Wn. App. 864, 347 P.3d 894 (2015). The primary contestants in this action are Lester's daughter, Jeannie Kile, and her son, Cody Kendall. Evidence from the dissolution trial figured prominently in both the trial and appeal of this TEDRA 1 action.

Lester died in March 2012, two months after being deposed for the dissolution case. The Farm Trust, created by the terms of Lester's will, gave all interest in Kile

1 Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act, chapter 11.96A RCW.

No. 33613-1-III; 34048-1-III In re Estate of Kile

Farms, Inc. to Jeannie Kile as trustee. Cody Kendall was appointed as successor trustee if Jeannie did not serve. The trust was to last "as long as there are family members willing and able to farm or manage the farming activity." Clerk's Papers (CP) at 8. Income from the farm trust was to be distributed to Jeannie Kile, subject to one important proviso: "If however, Cody Kendall operates the farm at any time herein, then he shall be entitled to two-thirds of such income and Jeannie Kile shall be entitled to one-third." CP at 8-9. The trust was also responsible for paying all expenses of the farming operation. CP at 8.

Lester Kile had leased the farm properties to Jeannie Kile since 1988. She held a retail job and, from 1990 on, had her husband Gordon farm the land. The characterization as community or separate property of that leasehold, as well as adjoining farm lands that Jeannie Kile purchased at her father's suggestion and with his assistance, was the primary issue in the appeal from the dissolution trial. Kile, 186 Wn. App. at 875- 885.2 Lester Kile's deposition stated his intent that the land stay in his family and, for that purpose, he only would lease to his daughter and assist her. He threatened to cancel the lease with his daughter if Gordon Kendall continued to farm the land and requested

2 This court ultimately concluded that ( 1) the profits from the farming operation should have been characterized as community property, (2) equipment purchased from Mr. Kile was community property subject to Ms. Kile's right to reimbursement for separate property contributions, and (3) the land purchased by Ms. Kile was her separate property, but was subject to a community right of reimbursement. 186 Wn. App. at 880-885.

No. 33613-1-111; 34048-1-111 In re Estate of Kile

that Jeannie Kile "tum over the farming operation to my grandson, Cody Kendall ... I am willing to renew the lease to Jeannie Kile on the basis that Cody becomes the primary operator of all farming operations involving my farm." CP at 795.

Ms. Kile submitted a declaration prior to the dissolution trial in which she indicated that Cody had taken over the farming operation and that it was her father's intent that Cody farm the property. CP at 815. She testified during the trial that she considered herself the "operator" of the farm and that Cody was currently farming the land. Exhibit 223 at 93, 255.

The will also appointed Ms. Kile to serve as personal representative of her father's estate and expressly named her as trustee of much of the property within that estate. Although Cody farmed the land in 2012, Ms. Kile declined to pay him any share of the profits while the estate was being settled. She requested on January 10, 2013, that her son sign an "At-Will Employment Contract" in order to continue farming. He refused to do so and Jeannie removed him from the farm operation and brought an unlawful detainer action to forcibly evict Cody and his family from the farmhouse. In separate transactions, Ms. Kile then leased the farmhouse and the farmland to third parties.

The following month, Cody filed this TEDRA action. After lengthy discovery, Judge Harold Clarke largely denied competing motions for summary judgment. He did grant Ms. Kile partial summary judgment, finding that the clause of the will granting Ms. Kile the power to manage the farm as trustee was not ambiguous, but he also concluded

No. 33613-1-III; 34048-1-III In re Estate of Kile

that the term "operate" was ambiguous. The case was tried to Judge Michael Price five months later.

Trial testimony showed convoluted record keeping for the farm during Ms. Kile's tenure as leaseholder and as trustee. She testified that there were 18 bank accounts associated with the farming operations. Ms. Kile also testified that she had always "operated" the farm during the years she held the lease and that both her son and her former husband had essentially served as employees when farming the land. Judge Price noted in his oral ruling that there was not a single word of Ms. Kile's testimony that was complimentary of her son, "not a word." He described her testimony "as a wholesale attack on every aspect of Cody Kendall's person." Report of Proceedings at 461. He determined that Jeannie was estopped from claiming to be the sole "operator" of the farm because she had taken the position in the dissolution trial that Cody had jointly operated the farm with her in accordance with her father's wishes.

Judge Price also concluded that by failing to pay Cody and failing to allow him to operate the farm, Ms. Kile was violating her father's wishes and thereby breached her fiduciary duty as both personal representative of the estate and as trustee of the farm trust. Judge Price removed Ms. Kile from her roles as personal representative and trustee, substituting Cody Kendall as successor for each role. A forensic accounting was ordered to determine damages, and Ms. Kile was ordered to personally pay attorney fees.

No. 33613-1-III; 34048-1-III In re Estate ofKile

Three experts submitted differing valuations for Judge Price's consideration. He rejected two of the accountings that failed to follow the parameters of Mr. Kile's will. He accepted the valuation of Certified Public Accountant Renee Grandinetti, with some minor adjustments involving rent and attorney fee costs. Subsequently, judgment was entered for Mr. Kendall against his mother in the sum of $340,928.

Ms. Kile timely appealed to this court. A panel considered the matter without argument.

ANALYSIS

Ms. Kile raises several contentions that can be grouped into five areas. She contends that the trial court erred in considering extrinsic evidence, and particularly in considering Mr. Kile's deposition, when construing the will. She also argues that the court erred in applying judicial estoppel, removing her as both personal representative and trustee, assessing attorney fees against her personally, and in calculating damages. She also assigns error to twelve findings of fact and one conclusion of law that she believes contains factual elements. We believe all of the findings were supported by the evidence and do not individually address those claims except to the extent necessary to address associated legal arguments. We address the legal arguments in the group order suggested by our statement.

No. 33613-1-III; 34048-1-III In re Estate of Kile

Construction of the Will Ms. Kile contends that the trial court erred both in construing the will and in considering Lester Kile's deposition to do so. We agree that the word "operates" was ambiguous and, therefore, subject to judicial construction. The trial court properly considered extrinsic evidence of the term's meaning.

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