Howell v. Deady

48 F. Supp. 116, 1941 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2200
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedMay 19, 1941
DocketNo. E—9641
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 48 F. Supp. 116 (Howell v. Deady) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Howell v. Deady, 48 F. Supp. 116, 1941 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2200 (D. Or. 1941).

Opinion

JAMES ALGER FEE, District Judge.

Some confusion has arisen in the minds of counsel over the interpretation of the will by the court, in the opinion on motion to dismiss. A recrystallization of the decision may, therefore, be of moment.

The court held, taking the will by its four corners, that the clear intention of the testatrix was, first to give two-thirds of the real property in fee simple to her son, Henderson Brooke Deady, and one-third jointly, by like title, to her grandsons, Hanover and Matthew Edward Deady; and second, to control the disposition of the income from the whole property for a period of at least twenty-five years. In the third place, based upon these clear objectives, the court found a desire to substitute Hanover and Matthew Edward Deady for Henderson Brooke Deady as fee devisees, upon death of the latter during her lifetime without children. In the fourth place, although the court found the will required construction in order to discover intent, no ambiguity latent or patent, with regard to the devolution of title, was discovered. These findings will now be reviewed in this order.

As to the first point, the intent to give a fee simple to Henderson to two-thirds of the real property was shown by many factors. He was her sole surviving, and apparently favorite son. Another parcel is given to him in fee simple. He is principal legatee, one of the residual legatees, and trustee and executor. His estate was incumbered expressly with the identical “conditions, provisions and charges” and only those, which incumbered the estates given the grandsons, which latter were admittedly in fee simple. It is further provided that after ten years, the division of the income shall “follow the title and ownership of said real property” and be distributed two-thirds to Henderson Brooke Deady and one-third to the grandsons. The residuary estate is given two-thirds to Henderson and one-third to Hanover and Matthew.

Everyone admits the son received this portion of the property in fee, but defendants claim this title was defeasible. This clear intention to give him fee simple title was mirrored in the will, since the Oregon rule requires that when a fee simple is given in a prior clause, such title shall not be cut down by words of doubtful import in a subsequent clause.1

[118]*118The second clear purpose of the will was to prevent alienation of the property for twenty-five years and to keep the property intact to pay off the mortgage. Mrs. Deady had, by her acumen, turned this realty into a paying piece of property and unquestionably wished it held intact and desired her devisees to deal with the income rather than with the title. These provisions would have violated the rule against perpetuities if devolution of the realty was based thereon. The cognate rule against prolonged restrictions on alienation was violated thereby.

Third, upon these clear objectives, the court found the words, whereby the grandsons claim to obtain a fee simple interest in the two-thirds of the property given to Henderson Brooke, were of doubtful import. To the lay mind these words might indicate, if viewed without the context, that the fee was to pass any time Henderson died without issue. But* the draughtsman was a lawyer, who must have been acquainted with the Oregon rule that a fee simple given in one clause can not be cut down without a clear cut expression in a subsequent clause. He must have also known that by the great weight of American authority the words used imported a “substitutionary intent.” The court gave full weight to the opinions of the Supreme Court of Oregon in construing similar wills. The court noted that the life of Henderson was not used as the time for devolution of the title. The intent not to make the expiration of the trust and shackle on alienation, the time of devolution was also noted. This period was beyond a life or lives in being, plus twenty-one years and the period of gestation, so that an executory device dependant thereon would have been void. Construed according to the canons, no other solution was possible but to find Henderson held fee simple title, if he outlived his mother. All through the opinion, the court refers to and follows the principle enunciated by the Oregon court and the statutes of the state that the intention of the testatrix gathered from the will as a whole, without strict regard for the canons of construction, was binding. Although an attempt was made to reconcile the finding with the canons and the Oregon cases, the court ultimately found the intention of Mrs. Deady was to give a fee simple title to two-thirds of the real property to her sole surviving son, Henderson Brooke Deady, if he outlived her.

Finally, nowhere in the opinion of this court is it indicated that the will contains ambiguities, either patent or latent, regarding title to the real property, although it is noted that if the draughtsman had made the gift to Henderson, dependant not only upon the “conditions, provisions and charges” as was the gift to the grandsons, but had added “and subject also to the executory devise”, a different result might have followed. Clarity of interpretation might also have resulted from an addition to the words of the Seventh Clause of the Will as follows: “Seventh, That in the event my son Henderson Brooke Deady die without issue during my lifetime”, then to the grandsons. There was a problem of construction, but no ambiguity so far as the devolution of the real property is concerned.

The will is before the court. The general rule is that explanation, remarks or declarations of intention by the testator will not be received to explain, modify or vary the construction of a testament.2 The formalities surrounding the execution of a will could be thus entirely destroyed.

There is nothing in the Oregon cases in contravention of that rule. In Stubbs v. Abel, 114 Or. 610, 621, 233 P. 852, 236 P. 505, the court construed the will in the light of the surrounding circumstances but did not specifically pass upon declarations of a testator. In Schramm v. Burkhart, 137 Or. 208, 212, 213, 2 P.2d 14 the court did give weight to oral declarations to prove a contract upon which joint and mutual wills between husband and wife were based. But this is an entirely different doctrine and has nothing to do with the interpretation of wills not so based. See O.C.L.A. § 2-206; Holman v. Lutz, 132 Or. 185, 282 P. 241, 284 P. 825. In Crown Co. v. Cohn, 88 Or. 642, 655, 172 P. 804, the court found a latent ambiguity and used expressions of the trustor and testimony of the surrounding circumstances to clear the matter up.

Since the court here held that there was a clear purpose to give a fee simple title to Henderson on the face of the will, none [119]*119of these authorities are opposed to the construction placed upon the will.

The oral expressions of Lucy A. H. Deady are rejected. The problem of construing wills is to find the intention of the testator by a consideration of the language used. Certainly, if there be doubt about identification of an article or person, testimony can be adduced to show this feature.3 At times, also certain surrounding circumstances may be shown. But the very purpose of requiring formalities in the promulgation of a testament is to prevent the use of loose expressions of the testator to found property rights. The scientific language used by lawyers is a guard against this very thing.

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Related

Howell v. Deady
48 F. Supp. 123 (D. Oregon, 1941)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
48 F. Supp. 116, 1941 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2200, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/howell-v-deady-ord-1941.