Gorby v. Aberth

2017 Ohio 274
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 25, 2017
Docket28021
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2017 Ohio 274 (Gorby v. Aberth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gorby v. Aberth, 2017 Ohio 274 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

[Cite as Gorby v. Aberth, 2017-Ohio-274.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF SUMMIT )

RACHEL CAVANAUGH GORBY, et al. C.A. No. 28021

Appellants

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE JOEL R. ABERTH, et al. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO Appellees CASE No. 2013-CV-114

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: January 25, 2017

HENSAL, Judge.

{¶1} Plaintiffs-Appellants, Rachel Cavanaugh Gorby and Robert Donnan Cavanaugh,

appeal from a judgment of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division. This

Court affirms.

I.

{¶2} This appeal involves a dispute between the beneficiaries of a trust and the trustee.

Dr. Richard K. Cavanaugh died testate on April 6, 2012, and was survived by his two adult

children. Attorney Joel Aberth, Defendant-Appellee herein, is the executor of Dr. Cavanaugh’s

estate. The probate court admitted Dr. Cavanaugh’s will to probate in May 2012. The will

contained two specific bequests and a residual bequest to the Richard K. Cavanaugh Revocable

Trust, which named his children, Plaintiffs-Appellants Rachel Cavanaugh Gorby and Robert

Donnan Cavanaugh (the “Beneficiaries”), as income beneficiaries, and the University of San

Francisco (a non-party to the proceedings below and to this appeal) as the remainder beneficiary. 2

The trust named Mr. Aberth, Dr. Cavanaugh’s longtime attorney, as the first successor trustee.

The majority of the trust’s assets are held in an account with the wealth management firm Robert

Baird & Company. The trust also contains U.S. savings bonds valued at $60,000, and a

FirstMerit checking account containing around $9,000.1

{¶3} In July 2014, Mr. Aberth filed an accounting of the estate, and the Beneficiaries

filed exceptions. Thereafter, the Beneficiaries sued Mr. Aberth, alleging breach of trust and

breach of fiduciary duty, requesting his removal as the trustee and executor, and an accounting.

The magistrate consolidated the estate case with the trust case for purposes of judicial economy.

{¶4} After a five-day hearing, the magistrate found in favor of Mr. Aberth on all of

the Beneficiaries’ claims, and the Beneficiaries timely filed objections. The Beneficiaries made

several arguments in support of their position that Mr. Aberth committed a serious breach of the

trust, warranting his removal. In particular, they argued that Mr. Aberth failed to: (1) distribute

income to them on a quarterly or more frequent basis as required under the trust; (2) keep them

reasonably informed and promptly respond to their requests for information; (3) inform them

regarding his compensation; (4) comply with the annual reporting requirements under Revised

Code Section 5808.13(C); and (5) use his special skills as an attorney in his capacity as trustee as

required under Section 5808.06. The Beneficiaries also argued that Mr. Aberth engaged in self-

dealing. The Beneficiaries further argued that, even if each individual breach did not amount to

a serious breach, the series of breaches constituted a serious breach of the trust, and that Mr.

Aberth’s conduct resulted in a persistent failure to administer the trust effectively.

1 The record indicates that the trust originally held a PNC account containing approximately $90,000, which was later transferred to a different account. 3

{¶5} The probate court overruled the Beneficiaries’ objections and adopted the

magistrate’s decision. In doing so, the probate court held that the Beneficiaries failed to prove

by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Aberth breached his duties as the trustee or executor.

It further held that the Beneficiaries failed to demonstrate any harm that would give rise to an

award of damages. The probate court did, however, acknowledge that Mr. Aberth committed a

technical breach of the trust when he paid court fees with an IOLTA check when no funds from

the trust were in the IOLTA account. It further acknowledged a delay with respect to Mr.

Aberth’s first income distribution to the Beneficiaries, as well as a delay in issuing his first

report, but noted that the delays were explainable and did not warrant removal. The

Beneficiaries now appeal the probate court’s decision, assigning five assignments of error for our

review.

II.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR I

THE PROBATE COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW WHEN IT CONSIDERED PAROL EVIDENCE AND HEARSAY IN INTERPRETING THE TRUST DOCUMENTS.

{¶6} In their first assignment of error, the Beneficiaries argue that the probate court

erred as a matter of law when it considered parol evidence and hearsay while interpreting the

trust documents. More specifically, the Beneficiaries argue that the probate court erred by

relying on Mr. Aberth’s testimony regarding Dr. Cavanaugh’s wishes with respect to the trust,

namely, that Dr. Cavanaugh wanted Mr. Finkes (Dr. Cavanaugh’s financial advisor) to continue

as the trust’s financial advisor, and that Dr. Cavanaugh wanted to prevent Mr. Fogg (Dr.

Cavanaugh’s ex-wife’s boyfriend) from interfering with the trust. The Beneficiaries argue that

“[i]f Dr. Cavanaugh desired Mr. Finkes’ continued managing of the Trust’s assets or wanted the 4

trustee to exclude Mr. Fogg from the decision-making process, one would have expected that the

Trust documents would reflect those wishes.”

{¶7} As an initial matter, we note that the Beneficiaries called Mr. Aberth and Mr.

Finkes as witnesses and, therefore, their cross examinations occurred before their direct

examinations. Mr. Finkes, who testified before Mr. Aberth, testified on cross examination that

Dr. Cavanaugh told him that he wanted him to continue as the financial advisor for the trust. Mr.

Aberth then testified on cross examination that Dr. Cavanaugh was concerned about others,

particularly Mr. Fogg, attempting to control his assets and insisted that Mr. Aberth serve as the

trustee to protect the trust. Thereafter, on direct examination, Mr. Aberth similarly testified that

Dr. Cavanaugh wanted to keep the trust safe from outside influences and that Dr. Cavanaugh

wanted Mr. Finkes to serve as the trust’s financial advisor.

{¶8} Counsel to the Beneficiaries objected to Mr. Aberth’s testimony on the basis of

hearsay and parol evidence, which the probate court overruled. On appeal, the Beneficiaries

argue that by relying on this testimony, the probate court erroneously used parol evidence to

modify the trust documents, and then used those modifications to justify Mr. Aberth’s behavior.

The Beneficiaries further argue that this testimony constituted inadmissible hearsay because it

was not offered to rebut testimony as required under Evidence Rule 804(B)(5).

{¶9} Our review of the record indicates that Mr. Aberth’s testimony regarding Dr.

Cavanaugh’s concern about Mr. Fogg and other outside influences was, in fact, first elicited by

counsel to the Beneficiaries. Specifically, counsel to the Beneficiaries elicited the following

testimony from Mr. Aberth on cross examination:

Q: Mr. Aberth, why haven’t you resigned as the trustee and the executor, considering all the friction with the family? 5

A: I made a promise to Dr. Cavanaugh, which he implored that I serve as trustee, because he was very, very concerned about people -- namely, Mr. Fogg -- trying to -- to control his assets. * * *.

{¶10} Additionally, counsel to the Beneficiaries first elicited testimony regarding Dr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Lance v. Boldman
2018 Ohio 44 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
Brown v. Brown
2017 Ohio 8938 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
Jacob v. Jacob
2017 Ohio 8725 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
Delp v. Delp
2017 Ohio 7774 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
In re Estate of von Meyer
2017 Ohio 5839 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2017 Ohio 274, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gorby-v-aberth-ohioctapp-2017.