Gorney v. Gorney

181 N.E.2d 779, 136 Ind. App. 96, 1962 Ind. App. LEXIS 263
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 12, 1962
Docket19,349
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 181 N.E.2d 779 (Gorney v. Gorney) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gorney v. Gorney, 181 N.E.2d 779, 136 Ind. App. 96, 1962 Ind. App. LEXIS 263 (Ind. Ct. App. 1962).

Opinion

Ryan, C. J.

This was an action brought by appellee as guardian to recover certain real estate which appellee’s ward has deeded to appellants, reserving in himself a life estate.

Trial by the court resulted in a finding and judgment for the appellee and against the appellants on an amended additional and second paragraph of amended complaint and for the appellants and against the appellee on the amended complaint.

The judgment ordered the appellants to reconvey to appellee’s ward all their right, title and interest in the particular piece of real estate involved by a good and sufficient deed within thirty (30) days from the date of the judgment. The judgment also provided for the appointment of Robert C. Young as Commissioner to make such conveyance to appellee’s ward and to deliver to him a proper deed for the real estate if appellants failed to do so.

The appellants’ motion for a new trial, containing six (6) specifications, was overruled by the trial court. The appellants assign as error that the court erred in overruling appellants’ demurrer to appellee’s amended complaint; that the court erred in overruling appellants’ motion to make appellee’s amended additional and second paragraph of amended complaint more specific; that the court erred in overruling appellants’ demurrer to appellee’s amended additional and *99 second paragraph of amended complaint; that the court erred in overruling appellants’ motion for a new trial.

The evidence in the case most favorable to appellee reveals that appellant Joseph A. Gorney was a nephew of appellee’s ward, Frank Gorney, and a son to appellee-guardian, Jacob Gorney. The appellants lived with Frank Gorney immediately after they were married in 1941 and continued to live with him until 1945. The appellants from October 26, 1945 to March 16, 1950 lived in a house that was on a twenty (20) acre parcel of land which appellants had purchased. This house was located approximately one (1) block from Frank Gorney’s house. The appellants moved back in with Frank Gorney on May 17, 1950 and continued to live there until after the execution of the deed which is the subject matter involved in this controversy.

Frank Gorney’s mother, who was appellee Joseph Gorney’s grandmother, was also living in the house when appellants moved in in 1950. Appellee’s ward was married in 1929 and divorced in 1936, and never remarried. He had no children. The evidence showed that Frank Gorney’s mother had divided up her land and deeded sixty (60) acres to Jacob Gorney and sixty (60) acres to Frank Gorney, and that appellee’s ward had sold ten (10) of his sixty (60) acres which he received from his mother.

There was conflict in the evidence concerning an alleged conversation between appellee’s ward, Frank Gorney, and his mother about the real estate involved in this case. Appellant Bernice Gorney testified that she, Frank Gorney and Frank Gorney’s mother had a conversation on May 15, 1950, and that Frank Gomey’s mother made the following statement: *100 “Frank, I want you to remember to deed that property to Joe and Bernice, because I want to keep this farm in the Gorney name, and Jacob sold his, but I want to make sure this side stays in the Gorney name, and the only way to make sure is to give it to Joe and Bernice”. She further testified that Frank Gorney in response to his mother’s statement, as set out above, stated: “Yes, mother. I hear what you say and that is just what I am going to do”.

Frank Gomey testified that he, his mother, and appellant Bernice Gorney did not have any conversation about the land at any time.

Bernice Gorney also testified that there was another conversation between herself, Frank Gorney and Frank Gorney’s mother which occurred on the day the mother died. In this conversation, it is alleged that Frank Gorney’s mother gave him orders to deed the property to appellants as soon as he possibly could. This purported conversation was also denied by Frank Gorney when he testified.

The evidence further shows that appellee’s ward, Frank Gomey, deeded the fifty (50) acres to appellants on June 23,1950, reserving a life estate. There is a conflict in the evidence concerning this conveyance to appellants. Appellant Bernice Gorney testified that Frank Gorney approached her and her husband and stated that he wanted to give them the fifty (50) acres. She further testified that Frank Gorney requested her to contact an attorney and make an appointment so that the deed could be made. Appellant Bernice Gomey also stated that she or her husband never requested Frank Gomey to deed the fifty (50) acres to them.

Appellee’s ward, Frank Gorney, however, testified that he did not request Bernice Gorney to make an ap *101 poiritment for him with an attorney to deed the property to appellants. He also testified that appellants stated that they would deed the property back to him. He further testified that he asked the appellants to deed the property back to him at least three or four times.

Appellants argue that it was error for the trial court to overrule appellants’ demurrer to appellee’s amended and additional second paragraph of amended complaint. Appellants allege that appellee’s amended additional and second paragraph of amended complaint seeks to have a constructive trust declared in favor of appellee’s ward and that fraud, actual or constructive, constitutes an essential element of a constructive trust. Appellants further contend that the appellee’s pleading attacked by their demurrer does not allege fraud. The appellants in this case did file a motion to make the amended additional and second paragraph of amended complaint more specific, which motion was overruled and thus the sufficiency of the pleading must be determined from the facts stated without support from any conclusion which is not drawn from the facts fully pleaded. Pearlmen v. Mass. Bonding & Ins. Co. (1956), 126 Ind. App. 294, 130 N. E. 2d 54.

It is a settled rule in this state that the term “fraud” need not be used in the pleading if facts are alleged which show fraud. In re Haas’ Will (1944), 115 Ind. App. 1, 54 N. E. 2d 119; Holliday v. Perry (1906), 38 Ind. App. 588, 78 N. E. 877. Therefore it is essential to review the appellee’s amended additional and second paragraph of amended complaint to see if it alleges facts which show fraud. The appellee in Paragraph 4 of the amended additional *102 and second paragraph of amended complaint alleged that appellants in order to enhance their credit and enable them to borrow money, induced the appellee’s ward to convey to them a remainder interest in the real estate involved in this controversy. Appellee further alleged that appellants agreed to reconvey the remainder interest to appellee’s ward after appellants had executed a mortgage on the real estate. It was further alleged in the complaint that at and before the time of conveyance the relations of appellee’s ward and appellants were of a very intimate and confidential character and thereby appellee’s ward was persuaded, influenced, advised and prevailed upon by appellants to believe that he could safely vest title in said remainder.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
181 N.E.2d 779, 136 Ind. App. 96, 1962 Ind. App. LEXIS 263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gorney-v-gorney-indctapp-1962.