Hall v. Hall

239 N.W. 825, 122 Neb. 228, 1932 Neb. LEXIS 4
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 7, 1932
DocketNo. 27943
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 239 N.W. 825 (Hall v. Hall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hall v. Hall, 239 N.W. 825, 122 Neb. 228, 1932 Neb. LEXIS 4 (Neb. 1932).

Opinion

Redick, District Judge.

This is an action in equity brought in the county court of Lancaster county, Nebraska, January 30, 1930, for the purpose of setting aside and canceling a judgment theretofore entered in said court on April 17, 1928, declaring the plaintiff an incompetent and appointing defendant John J. Ledwith guardian for the management of plaintiff’s estate. No appeal was taken from such judgment, and this is an independent action to set it aside on the grounds of alleged fraud practiced by plaintiff’s attorneys, defendants Ledwith and Charles E. Matson of the Lancaster Bar.

Prior to the guardianship proceedings, plaintiff was a farmer living on his homestead near Elmwood, in Cass county, Nebraska, for a period of over 50 years. His family consisted of his wife and nine children, all of whom are of age and none of them living at home at the time of these proceedings. His wife died in 1926. Plaintiff was and is the owner of personal property consisting principally of farm mortgages of the value of $100,000 and unincumbered real estate of the value of about $150,000.

January 4, 1928, plaintiff married Estelle G. Fowler, a widow 68 years of age. This lady was the mother of John Fowler, an officer of the Federal Trust Company of Lincoln, with whom plaintiff had done business exclusively for more than ten years in making investments in farm mortgages. Upon his marriage plaintiff went to live with his wife at her home in Lincoln, Lancaster county, taking with him his clothes and personal effects and securities, and continued to live there down to the present time.

On February 23, 1928, plaintiff’s nine children filed a petition in the county court of Lancaster county, alleging that on account of plaintiff’s advanced age, at that time 79 years, he was incompetent to transact business and care for his property, and prayed for the appointment of a guardian. Personal notice of these proceedings, together with a copy of the petition, was served upon the plaintiff, and upon the recommendation of Fowler, his step-son, plaintiff employed the defendant John J. Ledwith to rep[230]*230resent him in said proceedings and defend against the application for the appointment of a guardian, and later on, at the suggestion of plaintiff, Mr. Charles E. Matson was employed as an attorney to assist Mr. Ledwith. A number of consultations were had between plaintiff and his attorneys, an informal inventory of his property was taken, and Mr. Hall’s deposition was taken at the instance of the petitioning children in the presence of two doctors who, it appears, were present to observe the conduct and demeanor of the plaintiff while testifying. The- deposition is not in evidence and we are therefore not informed of its contents.

The application came on for hearing before the county court on April 16 at 2 o’clock p. m. All of the petitioners with their attorneys,' C. E. Sanden and Bernard S. Gradwohl, and the plaintiff and his attorneys, Ledwith and Mat-son, were present. Plaintiff was called as a witness by the petitioners and examined by their attorneys and by the court, but not cross-examined. About three hours were consumed in the examination, and at 5 o’clock the court adjourned until the morning of the 17th at 10 a. m. No further ■ evidence was offered, and the county judge announced that he would find the defendant incompetent and appoint a guardian for his estate, but not for his person, and asked the plaintiff if there was any one he would like to nominate as his guardian. Plaintiff replied that he would like to have one of his attorneys, John J. Ledwith, appointed. Thereupon Mr. Ledwith was called and examined as to his qualifications and willingness to accept the appointment. Counsel for petitioners objected to the appointment of Mr. Ledwith on the ground that he had been the attorney of Mr. Hall, but the county judge, being fully convinced of the good character and ability of Mr. Ledwith, announced that he would appoint him guardian upon giving a bond in the sum of $100,000. Later in the' day a decree was entered to that effect. Bond was duly filed and Ledwith took possession of the assets and continues to act as guardian, making regular reports to the court.

[231]*231After the first day’s hearing Ledwith and Matson had a consultation with the plaintiff, in the evening, at Led-with’s office, in which they informed plaintiff that the court would probably appoint a guardian, but that plaintiff had the right to nominate the person to be appointed, to which plaintiff replied that he wanted Mr. Ledwith, and did not want any one appointed by his children, and thereupon a written consent to the appointment of Mr. Ledwith was prepared and signed by Mr. Hall and filed in the county court the following morning.

For a year or more the guardian managed the estate without any objections from plaintiff, leasing the different portions of the real estate to some of the children, upon terms which, so far as the evidence shows, were usual and customary, and without objection by plaintiff until when plaintiff desired a certain 80 acres in Cass county to be leased to one Roden, which the guardian refused to do, having already leased it to one of plaintiff’s sons for that year. This is the first and only dispute between the guardian and his ward regarding the management of the estate. An allowance of $500 a month, later reduced to $400, was made for the support of plaintiff by the county court, and paid to him.

January 30, 1930, the petition herein was filed in the county court against the nine children of plaintiff and the guardian, to set aside the guardianship proceedings upon two grounds: (1) That the plaintiff at the time was a resident of Cass county and that the county court of Lancaster county had no jurisdiction; (2) that the decree finding plaintiff incompetent and appointing a guardian over his estate was procured by fraud of plaintiff’s attorneys. The petition alleges that plaintiff employed Led-with as his attorney, and later Mr. Charles E. Matson, to resist the charge of incompetency; that he believed himself competent; that prior to the date set for hearing plaintiff’s deposition was taken but no evidence was offered at the trial; that plaintiff’s attorneys advised him that the proceedings could be terminated and his property handled [232]*232by guardian but not that such appointment required finding of incompetency; that, while guardian, Ledwith advised him to.make a will wherein the Federal Trust Company, of which Ledwith was the attorney, was named as executor; that he executed the written consent to the appointment of Ledwith not knowing that a finding of incompetency was necessary; that he was not advised of any question of jurisdiction; that his attorneys stipulated with opposing counsel that plaintiff was a resident of Lancaster county; that Ledwith, as an inducement to sign the consent to his appointment as guardian, represented that he would handle the property as plaintiff wished, that the guardianship was a mere matter of form; that the form of the decree was determined by the attorneys without being submitted to him, and he had no knowledge of its terms until shortly before this suit was commenced; that his attorneys did not advise him of his right of appeal; that he was a resident of Cass county and the Lancaster county court had no jurisdiction; that, by reason of the above matters, his attorneys were guilty of fraud; that he is in fact mentally competent; and prays that the judgment may be set aside and canceled, and for general relief.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
239 N.W. 825, 122 Neb. 228, 1932 Neb. LEXIS 4, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hall-v-hall-neb-1932.