Harris v. Brinkley

365 A.2d 304, 33 Md. App. 508, 1976 Md. App. LEXIS 376
CourtCourt of Special Appeals of Maryland
DecidedNovember 4, 1976
DocketNo. 52
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 365 A.2d 304 (Harris v. Brinkley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Special Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harris v. Brinkley, 365 A.2d 304, 33 Md. App. 508, 1976 Md. App. LEXIS 376 (Md. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinion

Thompson, J.,

delivered the opinion of the Court.

On February 11, 1976, the Orphans’ Court of Baltimore City found that the appellee, Monica C. Brinkley (Monica), is the posthumous illegitimate child of Jimmy Brinkley. Charlie Edward Harris, personal representative of the estate, Jack Allison Brinkley and Elizabeth Harris Brinkley, parents of the deceased, have appealed. In the language of the appellants the issues are as follows:

“1. Did the Trial Court err in permitting Georgianna Hamlin to answer questions over timely objection, in accordance with the Dead Man’s Statute, Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, Section 9-116 and Lord Mansfield’s Rule, questions concerning transactions had with or statements made by the decedent, Jimmy Brinkley, and the alleged paternity of Monica C. Brinkley?
“2. Did the Trial Court err, in its verdict by not [510]*510having sufficient evidence before it to decide whether the decedent openly and notoriously recognized Monica C. Brinkley to be his child?
“3. Did the Trial Court err, in its verdict by extending the provisions of the Estates and Trust Article, Section 1-208 to include posthumous illegitimate children?”

Jimmy Brinkley died intestate on October 11, 1974. He was unmarried. On January 8, 1975, Monica was born. Her mother, Georgianna Hamlin, filed a petition in the Orphans’ Court, as next friend, stating that Monica is the daughter of Jimmy Brinkley and requesting that her name be added to the List of Interested Parties filed by the personal representative.

At the hearing, the decedent’s mother, the appellant, Elizabeth Brinkley, testified that she had received a phone call from her son in 1974 during which he stated, “Georgianna thinks she is pregnant,” to which Mrs. Brinkley replied, “That’s your thing, you do what you want to do with it.”

Georgianna Hamlin testified that she had separated from her husband in May of 1970. Two children had been borne by her from this marriage, but one had died. Since the separation she had had no contact with her husband until April or May of 1975, when he called to speak with their child, Rosalind. They had never obtained a divorce. In May of 1972, she met the deceased and he moved into her apartment in June of that year. They continued to live together until his death. From the time Jimmy Brinkley moved into her apartment she did not engage in sexual intercourse with anyone else. During this time they maintained a joint checking and savings account. In May of 1974, she became pregnant by the decedent and gave birth to the appellee on January 8,1975.

Melvin Duncan, Jr., an insurance agent, testified that the decedent and Mrs. Hamlin visited his office in March of 1973. At that time the decedent told Duncan that Mrs. Hamlin was his fiancee and that he wished to obtain a life [511]*511insurance policy with her as the beneficiary. At the suggestion of Duncan the decedent’s mother was named as the beneficiary; this designation was never changed.

The appellee produced several additional witnesses, friends and relatives of Mrs. Hamlin and the decedent. Each testified that Mrs. Hamlin and Jimmy Brinkley were living together prior to his death, and that they had been told by the decedent that Mrs. Hamlin was pregnant with his child.

Connie Brown was called to the stand by the appellants. She testified that she had lived with the decedent before he had moved into Mrs. Hamlin’s apartment. She knew that the decedent was living with Mrs. Hamlin up until his death, but that just before his death the decedent had asked the witness to marry him.

Dead Man's Statute

The appellant argues that under Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, § 9-116, also known as the Dead Man’s ■statute, the testimony of Mrs. Hamlin should have been excluded. This section provides:

“A party to a proceeding by or against a personal representative, heir, devisee, distributee, or legatee, or by or against an incompetent person, may not testify concerning any transaction with or statement made by the dead or incompetent person, personally or through an agent since dead, unless called to testify by the opposite party, or unless the testimony of the dead or incompetent person has been given already in evidence in the same proceeding concerning the same transaction or statement.”

This statute does not make Mrs. Hamlin incompetent as a witness for all purposes but only in regard to transactions had with or statements made by the decedent.1 Stacy v. Burke, 259 Md. 390, 405, 269 A. 2d 837 (1970). The test for determining a “transaction” within the meaning of the [512]*512statute was stated in Schifanelli v. Wallace, 271 Md. 177, 184, 315 A. 2d 513 (1974), citing Ridgley, Exec. v. Beatty, 222 Md. 76, 83, 159 A. 2d 651 (1960), “Whether, in case the witness testify falsely, the deceased, if living, could contradict it of his own knowledge.” A portion of Mrs. Hamlin’s testimony dealt specifically with statements made by the decedent and her dealings with him. It was erroneous to admit her testimony to these facts. See Whitehurst v. Whitehurst, 156 Md. 610, 613, 145 A. 204 (1929), dealing with testimony of an alleged spouse in regard to her marriage with the deceased. We note that after proper objection some testimony was admitted subject to exception, and there was no motion to strike the objectionable testimony; thus the objection to this testimony was waived. Md. Rule 522 d 3. Davis v. State, 189 Md. 269, 274, 55 A. 2d 702 (1947). We perceive only one objection that may have been properly preserved, which was:

“Q. Did you hold yourselves out as husband and wife?
“A. Yes, I did.
“Mr. Eisenstein: Objection at this point.
“Judge Colgan: Overruled.”

Regardless of the waivers, any error on the part of the court in admitting Mrs. Hamlin’s testimony was harmless. All the witnesses produced by the appellee testified that the decedent and Mrs. Hamlin were living together at the time Monica was conceived and that the decedent had acknowledged that the child was his. Even the appellant, Mrs. Brinkley, recited that her son had informed her Mrs. Hamlin was pregnant. Appellants’ other witness admitted that the deceased and Mrs. Hamlin were living together. In other words there was an abundance of testimony in the record to show that Monica was the daughter of Jimmy Brinkley and no evidence to refute it.

Lord Mansfield Rule

Appellant further contends that the testimony of Mrs. Hamlin and all other witnesses presented by the appellee [513]*513should have been excluded under the Lord Mansfield rule. In the case of Shelley v. Smith, 249 Md. 619, 241 A. 2d 682 (1968), it was determined that Md. Code, Art. 16, § 66 F (b) relaxes the Lord Mansfield rule and applies in any case where paternity is in issue in connection with the right to inherit. That section provides as follows:

“(b) Hearing without jury; competency to testify; burden of proof.

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Bluebook (online)
365 A.2d 304, 33 Md. App. 508, 1976 Md. App. LEXIS 376, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harris-v-brinkley-mdctspecapp-1976.